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

"Madonna is such an icon grew up listening to her music and really respect her as an artist. Legend."

"She has the voice, looks, moves, stage presence....basically everything."

"I absolutely love Madonna."

"Only a select few artists have had a longevity in their music career as long as/close to that of Madonna's while remaining on top of the game throughout that entire of time, 30+ yrs ! That's a feat that even most great artists wouldn't be able to accomplish as most fade away after a few years of success . She's a musical LEGEND!"

"Greatest female vocalist of all-time."

"She sure came a long way, overcoming all obstacles to women in the music industry."

"Golden Madonna. This woman's talent knows no bounds."

"I've been listening to Madonna all my life! Talent, charisma and great work!"

"What's the one word for the definition of an enduring, evolving, elegant, legendary, talented, Female Pop Icon, Superstar: MADONNA!"

"She is one of the greatest balladeers in history."

"She broke the barriers, she broke the racial stigmas, she paid the price so every female artist after her could say and do whatever they wanted creatively....She's the pioneer."

"Madonna will go down in history as being one of the greatest singers of all-time."

"PERFECT Voice."

"Madonna has enjoyed the best career of any female in music history."

"What an icon!"

"Obsessed with Madonna. What an ICON...LEGEND...MUSICAL ROYALTY. Wow, there aren't enough words to describe this UNIQUE MUSICAL GEM."

"Queen of Pop and the dance floor."

"True artist and revolutionary."

"She is fantastic."

"I adore her."

"Powerful voice."

"Amazing, Madonna, you gave strength to millions!"

"My 👑. Inspirational success. LEGEND!"

"Greatest female artist of all time!"

"Her music cleanses my soul 💖"

"Whenever I'm feeling down i just listen to Madonna. Her songs have embraced me and comfort me all these years. Thank you Madonna."

"Madonna gets me at my heart."

"Madonna forever a legend. The queen."

"Madonna carried the 80s single-handedly!"

"The hair, makeup, fashion, aesthetics, music, music videos, dance moves and the rest!"

"You can see why she became a megastar. She just captured something really free-spirited and rebellious."

"Madonna changed the world and the music industry for women."

"Yes, our beloved Madonna Louise is most definitely an ULTIMATE ESSENTIAL RENAISSANCE ARTIST."

"She is a icon, she is a legend, she is THE MOMENT, four decades and she is still THE QUEEN."

"Iconic and Timeless..."

"The woman is simply amazing. A legend."

"She's such a legend, a diva."

"I am , completely overcome by Madonna's pure genius. "

"LOVE how she pushed boundaries and has always stood up for others and what she believes in. Truly an expert of her craft."

"She is the best always. She inspired me. I wish I had her talent, beauty and strength."

"Queen of Pop, none can replace Madonna in any way!

Music to beauty to style!"

"This women was such a powerhouse!"

"Thank you for your music Queen Madonna!"

"She is amazing!"

"An amazing singer for30 years, always changing her image, staying at the top."

"Madonna is a living legend!"

"She is still shining as the star that she is."

"This woman made her dreams come true . So inspirational."

"Madonna is the template for the empowered female artists of our generation."

"Michael Jackson and Madonna owned the 80s."

"Madonna has been consistent; female empowerment, equality and doing things her way. No other female artist has paved the way like her, she did it first."

Madonna Louise Ciccone was born August 16, 1958 in Bay City, Michigan and was raised in Pontiac and Avon Township (now Rochester Hills), both suburbs of Detroit.  When her mother died of breast cancer at the age of 30 (when Madonna was just five), she turned to her paternal grandmother.  In 1966, Madonna's father married the family housekeeper, Joan Gustafson.  Madonna resented her Dad getting remarried and began rebelling against him.  

Madonna went to St. Frederick's and St. Andrew's Catholic Elementary Schools and West Middle School.  She began taking classical piano but rather than learn about music she switched to ballet.  Her ballet teacher, Christopher Flynn, suggested Madonna pursue a career in dance.  At Rochester Adams High School, Madonna was a cheerleader and straight-A student.  She received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan and studied at the American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina.  

But Madonna was in a hurry to be successful and dropped out of college to move to New York City.  She found a job working at Dunkin' Donuts to pay for classes at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.  Eventually, she studied dance under dancer and choreographer Martha Graham and performed at the Pearl Lang Dance Theater.

Madonna began dancing for established artists, and she met musician Dan Gilroy while Madonna was performing as a backup singer and dancer for Patrick Hernandez ("Born To Be Alive") on his 1979 world tour.  Madonna and Gilroy became romantically involved and formed the group the Breakfast Club.  

That relationship ended and so did Breakfast Club, so Madonna found a new boyfriend (drummer Stephen Bray) and formed the group Emmy.  Madonna and Bray began writing songs together, but Madonna was in it for herself and chose to promote herself as a solo performer.  Disc jockey and producer Mark Kamins was impressed and arranged a meeting for Madonna with Seymour Stein, founder of Sire Records.  

Madonna signed a recording contract with Sire and released the debut single "Everybody" in 1982 and "Burning Up" shortly afterward.  Both were hits in clubs, but success was contained there. 

But the success on the Dance chart did prompt Sire to give her a recording contract and Madonna began working on songs for her eponymous debut album.  She was dating artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, but that didn't work out because of Basquiat's heroin addiction.  

 

She quickly jumped into a relationship with a new man, John "Jellybean" Benitez, and asked him to help with the album's production.  Meanwhile, Curtis Hudson and Lisa Stevens, members of Pure Energy, came up with this song and recorded a demo.

Hudson and Stevens shopped the song around but couldn't find any takers (Mary Wilson of the Supremes is among the artists who turned them down).  Then Benitez asked them if they had anything for a new artist he was producing.  They gave him "Holiday" and Madonna recorded it, the last song needed to complete the album.  In 1983, Madonna released her debut album and single "Holiday".  It reached #2 in the U.K., #9 in Germany and #16 in the United States (#1 on the Dance chart).

   Producer Reggie Lucas wrote Madonna's second single specifically for her.  He also wrote "The Closer I Get To You" for Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway as well as the Stephanie Mills song "Never Knew Love Like This Before". 

"Borderline" became Madonna's first Gold record, a #2 smash in the U.K. that snuck in at #10 in the U.S.

"Borderline" earned Madonna an MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best New Artist.  In addition to her tour of the United States, Madonna flew across the pond to the U.K., where she performed and also did photo shoots and interviews.  Madonna's style of dress and her music videos had a big influence on young girls at the time.  "Lucky Star" hit #4 in the U.S. and #8 in Canada. 

Madonna's popularity began to grow, and songs such as the aforementioned "Everybody" began to get renewed airplay.  It is one of five songs on the album in which she had the sole songwriting credit.

 

A LinnDrum, programmed with real drum samples by Reggie Lucas and Leslie Ming and featuring guitar from Paul Pesco, is prominent on "Burning Up".

 Madonna performed this song on May 13, 1983 at the FunHouse (526 West 26th Street in New York City), which is where Benitez became a star DJ.  His first collaboration with Madonna was in the remix of "Physical Attraction".

Madonna's influence continued to grow with the release of the album Like a Virgin in 1984.  Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly wrote the title song, which rocketed to #1 for six weeks in the United States and also achieved #1 in Canada and Australia and was a Top 10 hit in virtually every major country in the world.  It has sold over one million copies. 

Republican hypocrites who now stand by everything that Donald Trump does, including assaulting and raping women and separating families at the border, complained that "Like A Virgin" "undermined family values".  Never mind that putting kids in cages, cursing, threatening, and beating journalists and police officers trying to do their jobs and assaulting the U.S. Capitol are the exact opposite of someone having "family values".  

 

Like a Virgin was the first album by a female artist to sell over five million copies.  It has now sold over 10 million copies in the U.S. and 21 million worldwide.  Peter Brown and Robert Rans wrote "Material Girl", which, with a peak of #2, is one of The Top #2 Songs of the Rock Era*.

Madonna won seven Billboard Music Awards--Top Pop Artist of the Year, Top Pop Singles Artist, Top Pop Album Artist-Female, Top Pop Singles Artist-Female, Top Dance Sales Artist, Top Dance Club Play Artist and Top Music Videocassette for Madonna.  She also scored an MTV Video Music Award for Video Vanguard and a nomination for Best Female Video for "Material Girl".

Madonna went on her first tour of North America to promote the album.  She landed a minor role in the movie Vision Quest, and John Bettis and Jon Lind wrote one of her new songs on the soundtrack.  Bettis has written many hits, including "Top Of The World" and "Goodbye To Love" for the Carpenters, "Slow Hand" for the Pointer Sisters and "One Moment In Time" by Whitney Houston.  "Crazy For You", became a big hit, topping charts in the U.S., Australia and Canada and selling over two million copies.

"Gambler" (also from Vision Quest) hit #3 in Italy, #4 in the U.K. and #10 in Australia.

She was on an amazing run, and her story continues in Part Two!