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!
I remember the summer of 1986 vividly.
It was my True Blue summer, after all.
I had just gotten my mom’s old car, a 1981 black Chevy Monte Carlo with
burgundy interiors and fake wood paneling. I named her Marilyn. Marilyn and I
went everywhere together! One of our fave haunts was this amazing record store
in town, The Crow’s Nest. The Crow’s Nest had every possible record
from any genre you could think of… Punk, Ska, New Wave, Rock, Metal, Jazz,
Country, Classical, Pop and Dance… Needless to say, many a Madonna merch
was perched at the Nest.
In June of ’86 I drove there nearly every day in anticipation of True
Blue’s new release. I guess I had a vague idea
of when it was dropping, but I didn’t
know for sure. Those things were so mysterious to me back then… So, I’d
go each day hoping it had arrived. Yeah, I could have saved a lot of time and
energy if I had just asked someone, but that would’ve spoiled the fun.
When it did finally show up on June 30th I was in heaven! I bought two cassettes
and two LP’s, one for play and one for back up. Then I sat in the parking
lot and Marilyn and I listened to the cassette 3 times in a row.
It was official. I was now totally and helplessly obsessed with Madonna. Certainly,
I had been a fan during the "Lucky Star" days. She was super cute and
her videos were fun, but I had bigger fish to fry, like playing heated games
of Barbie! I guess it took me a little while to grow out of that… With
Like a Virgin, I was definitely drawn in deeper,
though. My junky habits with Miss Ciccone were percolating, but I was still so
young and innocent, unaware
of her complete power over me. But with True Blue I
had become a full-blown Madonna addict! There was no turning back. So I just
went with it.
Davitt Sigerson of Rolling Stone was quoted calling
Madonna the "patron
saint of Parochial School America" and I was her eager disciple. Attending
Catholic School every day and experiencing all that came with that – favoritism,
abuse, punishment and guilt – combined with the challenges of growing up
in my dysfunctional working class family, Madonna’s bold message of "you
can do it!" spoke perfectly to what was missing in my life. I held her in
my mind as my own personal cheerleader. I’m not sure I felt there was anyone
else around who seemed so dedicated to what she was doing. And, at that time,
Madonna was also completely dedicated to her new husband Sean Penn. In True
Blue she calls him "the coolest guy in the universe". When I cranked up
that new album in the Monte Carlo I felt pretty cool myself.
Madge’s True Blue was a phenomenal success,
both here and abroad. Hitting #1 in 28 countries, which had never before been
done by a female artist, the
album landed in The Guinness Book of World Records where
its international performance
was viewed as "totally unprecedented". With this album Madonna entered
what I like to call the "Megastar" phase of her career. Okay, lemme
explain… There are four major stages of Madge’s 20-year career that
I, fredflare.com’s resident Madonna scholar, have distinguished. Yes, there
are definitely sub-themes, off-shoots and such but so far I see four major motifs.
I’ll outline them below…
First, with "Pre-Madonna", we find Mo in her early NYC club phase.
She’s a sweet street tart with dime store jewelry, a gritty, underground
dance floor maven with brassy hair and bravura. Next up is her "Megastar" phase,
brought on by the release of True Blue. Here
we find Mo slimmed down and blonded up, enjoying incredible chartopping success
and recognition as, officially, an
artist with longevity. This is her "can-do-no-wrong" phase. Third up
is her "Sex" phase. Here it does all go wrong. But she comes out of
it on top with the fourth and current phase, "Electronica". Here we
see mother Mo turn more spiritual as she introduces a new sound that, with Music,
sorta leads her back to her dance floor roots. Okay, so there you have it – Madge’s
career, according to Chris. Now, back to True Blue.
There is something really important about True Blue that
I must now point out: no rubber bracelets! Seriously, people, at the time this
was shocking. Everyone
was talking about her "new" look. She was now all cleaned up with a
toned bod, short platinum blonde hair and a wedding band. The Boy Toy had gotten
married and was now singin’ about true love! It was a real departure from
what had come before and it hit home the power of Mo’s chameleon antics
for which she would become so famous.
But the real shock was all the cha-chinging at registers everywhere when True
Blue went on to become Mo’s best-selling record to date, moving nearly
20 million copies worldwide! She also took major career strides by co-producing
the entire record with long-time collaborator Stephen Bray ("Into the Groove")
and newbie Patrick Leonard who helped create "Live to Tell", but more
on that in a bit. She even co-penned (no pun intended) 8 of the 9 tracks, placing
herself one step closer to total artistic control. (Hey X-tina, it took Madonna
three records to get there, so stop all your
complaining!)
Even the album cover was a smash. This iconic shot by Herb Ritts, who would shoot
M for many years to come, is probably her most recognizable album cover. Head
back, eyes closed, it’s almost as if Madonna just stepped on the gas of
her own Monte Carlo, relishing the rush of power and speed. Watch out!
Which brings me back to good ol’ Marilyn and the summer of 1986. One thing
I remember is regularly driving over to the Joliet Beach Club. Those were the
days… This one time I saw my mom’s sister, Aunt Boo, there. We chatted
a bit and then she pulled out a cassette of True Blue from
her purse. She looked
at me and said, "Have you heard of this Madonna person? She’s pretty
good." Wow, I thought to myself, even my Mom’s generation likes this
Madonna "person". This is major. Okay, people, put your swim trunks
on cuz we’re going to dive into True Blue track
by track! Let’s break
it down…
True Blue makes a splash with "Papa Don’t Preach", its first
track and Madonna’s second single from the record. "Papa" initially
serves up violins, then tosses us the groaning guitar as Mo, portraying a pregnant
teen, sings of her unborn child. And she’s keepin’ her baby! Boy,
did "Papa" stir up some controversy or what? I guess it pretty much
blew over once the video came out, or least I didn’t hear much about it
after that. I was way too obsessed about her
wet pixie cut to care!
Directed by James Foley and shot mostly on Staten Island with great views of
the Manhattan skyline, it has a sweet narrative but is perhaps most known for
that amazing "Italians Do It Better" tee that Madonna sports. For me,
the most striking look of the vid is her Marilyn moment dancing around with her
platinum coif, bright red lips and that bustier! I’d never even heard of
a bustier, let alone seen one, ‘til Madonna came along.
Mo sports a Gaultier bustier – Hey, I made it rhyme! – in the video
for "Open Your Heart", the second track and True Blue’s fourth
single. Just so you know, this song was her third number one hit from the record.
This is practically unheard of for a record’s fourth single to reach that
chartopping position, but not for Madge. She did it using her particular brand
of heart-on-your sleeve gusto! "Open Your Heart" begins with a quick "Watch
out!" and all those closed down, self-absorbed guys better take note. Mo’s
got your number… I love how this song is basically saying "Yes, I’m
crushed out on you, but I know what I’m doing and I’m gonna get what
I want!"
Maddy serves up another incredible pushing-the-envelope video with this one.
Directed by fashion photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino, who would go on to direct
other stellar clips like "Justify My Love" and "Don’t Tell
Me", Madge portrays an edgy stripper in a desolate peep show theater strutting
her stuff in front of some real freak-a-zoids! Then, at the crack of dawn, she
emerges to find an obsessed fan… who’s probably about nine years
old. He seems kinda cute so she gives him a kiss and then they dance off together
into the sunrise. Looking at that video now, I kinda see the kid as representing
all her young gay fans.
The third track on True Blue finds us at a rockin’ little number called "White
Heat", dedicated to the late and great James Cagney. (True Blue is
big on
the 50’s via the 80’s motif.) The song is kinda like a madcap "Express
Yourself" in training with a driving self-esteem anthem, pushing "Open
Your Heart’s" agenda even further. I love the line, "My love
is dangerous. This is a bust!" Again, watch out…
Next up is track 4, "Live to Tell". This is one of Madonna’s
most-loved ballads. Released a whole season before True Blue even
came out, this
song was actually a promo single for Sean Penn’s film At Close Range.
Obviously,
the single was a lil’ more successful than the movie… But, boy, this
is a drama jam if I ever heard one! It’s sweeping and epic, dark and tragic,
yet it was everywhere that Spring and went on to become a major prom moment for
years to come. The video for "Live to Tell" was strikingly simple and
a dramatic departure from Madonna’s prior single and video, "Dress
You Up". Here we saw her in a floral frock with elegant hair and pastel
makeup against a minimal black background. It was haunting and unforgettable.
Right as "Live to Tell" makes you shiver, Madonna whips us into a party
mood with the upbeat "Where’s the Party". Mo must’ve really
loved this jam because it shows up on the remix album You Can Dance and
was also
performed at the "Who’s That Girl" and "Blonde Ambition" tours.
In "Where’s the Party" you get the sense Mo’s had a week
from hell on the job so, now that it’s the weekend, it’s time to
kick back and party down! I can totally relate.
Next up is the album’s title track and third single, "True Blue".
It’s 80’s/50’s again as Mo goes girl group on us with this
adorable ode to her Valentine. "True Blue", so obviously about Sean
Penn, is a real be-true-to-your-guy kind of jam. The song is fun and perky, but
also kinda sad in a weird way, like how sometimes nostalgia leads to melancholy
or regret. I don’t know. It had strange appeal. I remember I had this friend
in high school, John Garry. He was a total punk but even he liked "True
Blue".
The next track and fifth single is "La Isla Bonita". With its Latin
flair decades ahead of its time, this jam went on to become an insane mega-hit
internationally. It even spawned a sequel bi-lingual hit, "Who’s That
Girl?" Oh, but when you hear it all you want to do is find that magical
place under the palm trees and get swept up in the hot romance! The vid clip
for "La Isla Bonita", directed by my fave Mary Lambert has a boyish
Maddy all boo-hooin’ in her rocking chair, missin’ her Latin lovah
until – Pow! – she whips out that crazy flamenco polka dot cha-cha
number and boogies down the street. I don’t know about that longhaired
guy playing the guitar, though…
Mo’s obsessed with another guy that’s probably no good for her in
the hilarious "Jimmy Jimmy". I love "Jimmy Jimmy". It’s
all slicked-back hair, leather jackets and convertibles as Mo sings about her
50’s b-friend. He’s very misunderstood… So maybe he crashes
his car, but he’s got big dreams! He’s gonna get out of this 2-bit
town and be the king… of Las Vegas? Strangely, Madonna’s a lil’ shy
in this song. She never tells her guy that she truly loves him and now he’ll
never know…
We couldn’t possibly end on such a sad note so Madonna brings it on home
with "Love Makes the World Go Round", an awesome make-love-not-war
jam with a sorta Miami Sound Machine vibe. Performed live for the first time
at "Live Aid", Madonna shimmied with a tambourine into the hearts of
millions with this don’t-just-talk-the-talk number.
At that same moment, somewhere in Joliet, Illinois, a young boy was watching
television and dancing up a storm, so happy to have discovered his blue-collar
super hero! He never got to dance off into the sunset with her but he grew up
completely captivated by this incredible star. And remains true.
