Okay, she's my girl!.. You either love her or
hate her, but chances are you have some
strong opinion of Madonna. If you've read
my other chartopper columns
it comes as
no surprise that, for the past 20 years, I've
adored her! And she continues to inspire me
with each new album. For the next few
months, in celebration of the twentieth
anniversary of the release of her very first
record, I'll be looking back at Madonna's
amazing career and talking about each
release! We'll have some fun trivia with
great prizes so stay tuned and please keep
reading Chartoppers: Madonna! Email me
at chris@fredflare.com.
I'd
love to hear your stories
about Madonna! Xxoo, Chris Click
here
for Chartoppers:
the 80’s!
Do you remember your first time?
I remember the first time I ever saw Madonna perform live. I was on Spring Break
with my Grandma and my cousin Jenny Spears in Florida. We were visiting Jenny’s
Grandma who had moved down there for her retirement, but Jenny also had some
plans of her own. Somehow she had managed to score us two tickets to see Mo’s “Virgin
Tour” in Orlando. Now at that time I certainly knew of Madonna, but I had
no idea how much my life was about to change.
We took the bus to the concert stadium all by ourselves, two 15 year olds on
their big night out. I’d never done anything so adventurous and unsupervised
by an adult before. I remember Jenny was an actress at the local theater back
in my hometown so she was always hamming it up in some crazy character. On the
bus we had this great idea to speak in a British accent. We also put eyeliner
on that Jenny had stolen from her Mom. We were so cool! But deep down, I was
petrified. This was my first concert ever and I was so nervous!
When we finally arrived at Orlando’s Orange County Civic Center, we did
as any red-blooded teenager would. We headed straight for the concession stand,
got our gigantic sodas with tons of candy and then began the search for our seats.
The place was buzzing with wall-to-wall wannabees! At the time I didn’t
even know what a Madonna wannabe was, but Jenny quickly enlightened me on this
new fashion movement. She flashed her lace gloves, displayed her rubber bracelets
from Claire’s Boutique and fluffed the giant raggedy Christmas bow in her
hair. I understood everything.
When the lights finally went down and Madonna appeared at the top of a tall staircase
in a green and purple paisley ragamuffin outfit, the screams from the building
roared at a deafening volume. She began to sing and shimmy to “Dress You
Up” and my little virgin eyes could hardly take it all in! Maddy danced
and sang her heart out and I became more and more fascinated with each progressing
number. It was like I was being told a secret I had waited my whole life to hear.
At the end of the show when the cascade of balloons fell down on us, each printed
with “Dreams Can Come True”, I felt completely bewitched by this
sparkling magical spell.
Needless to say, the first thing I did when I got back home was buy a copy of
Like a Virgin, Madonna’s second album. Like
a Virgin, which Mo dedicated “to
the virgins of the world” was actually completed early in 1984 but not
released until the fall of that same year. See, M’s first record, titled
simply Madonna, was such a slow burning hit that
it really didn’t break
the top ten until well over a year after its release. Remember, MTV was still
kinda new then and Madonna’s early eye candy videos were essential in helping
to establish an audience for this new artist.
While the completed Like a Virgin smoldered in
the background, Madonna was nominated
for Best New Artist at MTV’s very first VMA awards to be held at New York’s
Radio City Music Hall. She even managed to score a performance gig at the awards.
Genius planner that she is, she decided not perform her hit “Borderline” for
which she was nominated but instead highlight her new single “Like a Virgin” from
her new album just about to break. You all know what followed. She burst out
of a big wedding cake and rolled around on the floor in pure ecstasy. It was
a legendary moment, the birth of a true star.
It was also the beginning of Madonnamania. The Like
a Virgin record
went on to become such a phenomenal global mega-hit smash that it forever burned
Madonna
into our social conscience in a way that few, if any, artists have been able
to match since. Like a Virgin literally
catapulted Mo into becoming the most famous woman in the world! It was defining.
It was
intense. It was BIG, so much
so that it is hard for me to try and capture it all in this column. From that
performance at the first VMA’s to "Like a Virgin’s" steamy video
set
in Venice and then on to more iconic territory with Mo’s Marilyn turn in “Material
Girl”, Madonna’s career moves of this period make your head spin.
I’ll begin by outlining the amazing singles of that time but keep in mind
all the other pop provocation Madonna also entertained us with in those days.
From “Desperately Seeking Susan” to the Playboy and
Penthouse spreads to her landing on the cover
of Time Magazine, the girl was
everywhere! Okay people,
paint on that Madonna mole and cinch up your boy toy belts as we tread some Virgin territory!
Madonna’s first single out of the gate was, obviously, its title track
that spent a whopping six weeks at the top of the charts in late ‘84. Contrary
to popular belief, though, the song isn’t about, well you know... It’s
really just exploring that fun, starting-out phase in a new relationship and
how it gives you that excited feeling where everything seems “shiny and
new”. But, wow, it sure did cause quite the scandal in its day. I mean,
just hearing the word “virgin” on the radio was pretty shocking at
that time.
But the most interesting thing about “Like a Virgin”, I think, is
its reinvention over the years. Madge performed the hit with a Middle Eastern
vibe at the “Blonde Ambition” tour and then gave it some Marlene
Dietrich flair during the “Girly Show” tour. And remember when the
jam popped up in “Moulin Rouge”? I loved that. When Keith and I saw
Mo at Tower Records this spring she even sang “Like a Virgin” on
request, totally spontaneous. She was so cute laughing all the way through it.
Then of course there’s the recent smooch smash with Christina and Britney
at this year’s VMA’s. This somewhat silly tune has really gotten
the royal postmodern treatment!
The next single from Like a Virgin was also a
gigantic hit. “Material Girl” finds
Mo in full 80’s irony. Packed with sparkling bells, an infectious hook,
and tons of “hey!” and “that’s right!” this ode
to consumerism is equally as much about power, independence and love, the most
pervasive themes in any of Madonna’s “material”. And the vid
clip says it all. Directed by my fave Mary Lambert, after Jean Paul Gaultier
bailed, the “Material Girl” video is a re-enactment of Marilyn Monroe’s
performance of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” from the
movie “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” with Maddy in the exact pink Marilyn
gown on the exact pink Marilyn set. But the comparison ends there. Mo’s
no damsel in distress! Here she’s giving these boyz a run for their money.
The funniest thing I’ve read recently about the video is that Maddy “doesn’t
dig gold, she picks pockets.” I love that!
What followed was a non-album single that was released in the midst
of the Virgin storm. “Crazy
for You,” Maddy’s #1 song from ’85
was her very first ballad. This slow jam even dethroned “We Are the World”.
That’s major! Taken from the movie “Vision Quest” in which
M also had a cameo as a club singer, “Crazy for You” proved that
Mo had more. She already had us boogying on the dance floor so here she demonstrated
that she could slow it down for a couple’s dance. Just listen to a lyric
or two and you’re practically back at high school prom: “Swaying
room as the music starts... Strangers making the most of the daaaaark...” Oh
Mo, I’m so crazy for you, too!
Our next course is the “Angel” / “Into the Groove” deluxe
platter. “Angel”, the third single from Like
a Virgin is
a sugar sweet song that has Madge all up in the clouds and oozing about how her
baby’s
an angel in disguise. I’ve always loved this one. It’s super cute
yet somehow oddly mysterious. Maddy never performed this #4 hit live after the "Virgin
Tour" nor featured it on any greatest hits compilation. And there’s no video. Why? Basically,
they blew the budget with “Material Girl”!
Same with “Into the Groove”. Its video is merely a splicing of clips
from the movie “Desperately Seeking Susan”. Did you know that “Into
the Groove” was never actually released as a single here in the States?
Can you believe that? The only place it even could be located at the time was
on the B-side of of the 12” remix of “Angel”. Even though it
was never technically released, this get-up-’n-dance jam remains one of
the most played non-singles in the history of modern music. I got that tidbit
from one of my Madonna sites... I’m not sure how you measure something
like that but I am pretty certain that this song is probably one of the most
beloved Madonna hits out there. It is truly the perfect dance gem. It’s
both sexy and fun while equally celebrating love and good beats. With lines like “Only
when I’m dancing can I feel this free,” Madonna invited us all to
take a chance on the dancefloor.
The fourth and final single from Like a Virgin was
the fashion smash of late
summer ’85. “Dress You Up,” a rockin’ hit with an awesome
electric guitar solo, finds Madge singin’ all about her fancy pants b-friend.
He gets his suits custom made in London but she’s the one that’s
gonna create a special “look” just for him. Somehow I doubt she really
has plans for new outfits for her guy, though. It’s more about getting
him out of outfits, if ya know what I mean. In
Madonna’s world fashion
as sex is always in style!
The video for “Dress You Up” was Mo’s first “live” clip
taken from the “Virgin Tour” and this one really celebrates my girlz,
the Madonna wannabe’s, with a super cute montage of their hot fashions
in the song’s intro. Oh, what I would have done to be part of that girl
gang back then... Jenny showed me the way but it was difficult for me to incorporate
the bras, bows and bangles into my everyday look. I had to settle for stealing
my Dad’s rubber plumbing gaskets and passing them off as Madonna bracelets.
Ya gotta give me an “A” for effort!
The other songs on Like a Virgin,
though never
released as singles, remain as
some of the most luscious filler songs evah! I’ll start with “Love
Don’t Live Here Anymore”. To be honest, I never really liked this
angst-filled melodrama. I mean, Mo sounds totally awesome doing this cover of
Rose Royce’s 70’s hit, but I just never really got into it. I’d
mostly fast-forward straight to “Shoo Bee Doo”. Penned by Mo herself,
this is one of my all-time
faves. One delightful listen and it’ll have you skipping and shoo-bee-doo-bee-doo-ooooh-la-la-ing
all the way down the street!
The songs “Pretender” and “Stay” both kinda sound alike
but still rock. In “Pretender” Madge’s guy is a phony fake
liar but still, she’s hooked. In “Stay” now Mo’s the
big fat liar. Good thing her guy can see through her lies and deception and,
hopefully he’ll, y’know, stay anyway. I’ve saved my all-time
super fave song from Like a Virgin for
last: “Over and Over”.
This is my high-octane Madonna manifesto! “You try to criticize my drive,” sings
Mo, “If I lose I don't feel paralyzed.” It’s so inspirational!
I love it when she says, “You're never gonna see me standin' still. I'm
never gonna stop 'till I get my fill.” Clearly words to live by from a
woman set on ruling the world.
I always play “Over and Over” whenever
I’m out running along the Hudson River. It just takes me higher! I also
sometimes play it after I get off the phone from one of those difficult business
calls that I’m sure I sucked at. In fact, I recommend keeping this jam
handy to pick you up and get you back on your feet after any minor or major failure.
If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from Madonna all these years
it’s that you gotta get up again, over and over. Thanks a million, Mo!
