Madonna, The #7 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Three

 

(Continued from Part Two)

Madonna toured the world, with her show near Paris, France drawing 130,000, then a record for the highest-attended female concert of all-time.  She released the album You Can Dance, feature dance remixes of previous hits.  The lyrics in this song reference her hit "Into The Groove".  "Causing A Commotion" peaked at #2 in the United States, Canada and topped out at #4 in the U.K., her 14th straight Top 10 single.

 

When "The Look Of Love" from the soundtrack failed to chart, it broke Madonna's consecutive Top 10 hits streak.  Sean Penn and Madonna were divorced in 1989.  Madonna signed an agreement to endorse Pepsi, but after she performed "Like A Prayer", the new single and title song from her upcoming album, in one of the Pepsi commercials, Pepsi stopped the commercial and canceled the contract.  "Like A Prayer" became her seventh #1 song in the U.S. and a #1 song in every major country except Germany and France, where it stopped at #2.  The two-million seller is another Madonna entry in The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*.

Madonna co-wrote and co-produced the album along with Prince, Bray, and Patrick Leonard.  As mentioned above, Bray and Madonna met at the University of Michigan when they both studied dance and formed the group the Breakfast Club.  Madonna left to pursue her solo career but Bray was the drummer when the band had the 1987 hit "Right On Track".  Bray also wrote the hits "Into The Groove" and "True Blue" with Madonna.  "Express Yourself" is another of The Top #2 Songs of the Rock Era* and has sold over one million singles.

 

Like a Prayer has sold over 15 million copies worldwide, with "Like A Prayer" winning Viewer's Choice at the MTV Video Music Awards while also being nominated for Video of the Year and "Express Yourself" nominated for Best Female Video.  Leonard, who wrote this song, also wrote "Like A Prayer", "Who's That Girl" and "Live To Tell".  "Cherish" topped the Canadian chart and also reached #2 in the U.S. and #3 in the U.K.  It also ranks in The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*.

Madonna's best career album also contains some Top Tracks*, including this one, written to give the perspective of a younger Madonna talking to herself.  This is  "Promise To Try".

Madonna earned American Music Award nominations for Favorite Pop (Rock) Female Artist and Favorite Dance Single (for "Like A Prayer").  Another great track is "'Til Death Do Us Part".

 

Like "Promise To Try" above, this song is about the problems Madonna had growing up.  "Oh Father" was a popular song on the album but by the time it was released as a single, momentum had slowed and it stopped at #20.

Madonna won a Billboard Music Award for Top Adult Contemporary Artist and an MTV Video Music Award for Artist of the Decade.  "Keep It Together" landed at #8 in the U.S. and Canada.

 

We also want to feature "Spanish Eyes" from the album.

 

The act of contrition is a common Catholic prayer normally associated with the act of reconciliation.  Here is that song from the album--"Act Of Contrition".

In 1990, Madonna starred with Warren Beatty in the movie Dick Tracy.  The soundtrack album, I'm Breathless, included "Vogue", #1 in most countries.  It has cleared four million in singles and also ranks among The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*.  It also became Madonna's fifth straight #1 on the Dance chart.

"Vogue" earned Madonna an American Music Award for Favorite Dance single, though the success of the song did not translate into awards for the major nominations that she was nominated for (Favorite Pop (Rock) Female Artist, Favorite Dance Artist and Favorite Pop (Rock) Single.  The video was nominated for Video of the Year, Best Female Video, Best Dance Video and Viewer's Choice at the MTV Video Music Awards. 

Madonna toured the world, with the filming of concerts earning her a Grammy Award, her first, for Best Long Form Music Video.  Madonna released the compilation album The Immaculate Collection, which included two new songs.  "Justify My Love", co-written by Lenny Kravitz and Ingrid Chavez, was a worldwide hit, including #1 in the United States and Canada and #2 in the U.K. and Italy.  It has topped two million in sales in the U.S. alone.

Madonna was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1990.  She  had no plans to release "Rescue Me" as a single, but heavy airplay demanded its release, and it also reached the Top 10 and sold over one million singles.

The Immaculate Collection has sold over 10 million copies in the U.S. and 31 million worldwide.  In 1991, Madonna released the documentary film Truth or Dare.  She starred with Tom Cruise in the movie A League of Their Own, which was a big hit at the box office. 

Madonna has scored many hits in the years since.  Join us for part Four!