Biography
Born Madonna Louise Ciccone, 16 August 1958, Bay City, Michigan, USA. An icon for female pop stars thanks to her proven ability to reinvent herself while retaining complete control of her career, Madonna is also one of the most commercially successful artists in the history of popular music. Without doubt an artist with "star quality", no other female singer in the pop arena has been as prominent or as successful over such a long period.
The young Madonna Louise Ciccone excelled at dance and drama at high school and during brief periods at colleges in Michigan and North Carolina. In 1977, she went to New York, studying with noted choreographer Alvin Ailey and taking modelling jobs. Two years later, Madonna moved to France to join a show featuring disco singer Patrick Hernandez. There she met Dan Gilroy and, back in New York, the pair formed club band the Breakfast CluBorn Madonna played drums and sang with the band before setting up Emmy in 1980 with Detroit-born drummer and former boyfriend, Steve Bray. Together, Madonna and Bray created club tracks which led to a recording deal with Sire Records. With leading New York disc jockey Mark Kamins producing, she recorded "Everybody", a US club hit in 1982. Madonna broke out from the disco scene into mainstream pop with "Holiday", written and produced by Jellybean. It reached the US Top 20 in late 1983 and was a Top 10 hit across Europe the following year.
By now, her tough, raunchy persona was coming across to international audiences and the attitude was underlined by the choice of Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg's catchy "Like A Virgin" as a 1984 single. The track provided the singer with the first of her subsequent 11 US number 1s. The follow-up, "Material Girl", included a promotional video which introduced one of Madonna's most characteristic visual styles, the mimicking of Marilyn Monroe's "blonde bombshell' image. By the time of her appearance at 1985"s Live Aid concert and her high-profile wedding to actor Sean Penn on 16 August the same year, Madonna had become an internationally recognized superstar, known to millions of tabloid newspaper readers without any interest in her music. Among the fans of her work were a growing number of "wannabees", teenage girls who aped her independent and don't-care stance.
From 1985-87, Madonna turned out a stream of irresistibly catchy transatlantic Top 5 singles. "Crazy For You", her second US chart-topper, was co-written by ex-Carpenters collaborator John Bettis, while she co-wrote her first UK number 1, "Into The Groove", with Steve Bray. These were followed by "Dress You Up", "Live To Tell", and the transatlantic chart-topper, "Papa Don't Preach". "True Blue", "Open Your Heart" and "La Isla Bonita' were further successes taken from 1986"s True Blue. Like an increasing number of her songs, "Who's That Girl" (her second transatlantic number 1) and "Causing A Commotion" were tied-in to a movie - in this instance, a poorly received comedy in which she starred with Sir John Mills. Madonna's film career had begun with a minor role in the b-movie A Certain Sacrifice before she starred in the acclaimed Desperately Seeking Susan. The following year she appeared with husband Penn in her first real failure, Shanghai Surprise. She separated from Penn in 1988, the same year she appeared on Broadway in David Mamet's play Speed The Plow. Back on the music scene, the singer continued to attract controversy when, in 1989, the video for "Like A Prayer" (her third transatlantic chart-topper), with its links between religion and eroticism, was condemned by the Vatican and caused Pepsi-Cola to cancel a sponsorship deal with the star. The resulting publicity helped the album of the same title - co-produced with new collaborator Patrick Leonard - to become a global bestseller.
In 1990, her career reached a new peak of publicity and commercial success. She starred with Warren Beatty in the blockbuster movie Dick Tracy, while the extravagant costumes and choreography of the Blond Ambition world tour were the apotheosis of Madonna's uninhibited melange of sexuality, song, dance and religiosity. The tour was commemorated by the following year's documentary movie, Truth Or Dare. Among her hits of the early 90s were the transatlantic number 1 "Vogue", devoted to a short-lived dance craze, "Hanky Panky", "Justify My Love" (co-written with Lenny Kravitz), "Rescue Me", and "This Used To Be My Playground" (from the soundtrack of A League Of Their Own).
Madonna's reputation as a strong businesswoman, in control of each aspect of her career, was confirmed in 1992 when she signed a multi-million dollar deal with the Time-Warner conglomerate, parent company of Sire. This guaranteed the release of albums, films and books created by her own Maverick production company. The publication of her graphic and erotic book Sex put her back on top of the charts, though this time it was in the bestselling book lists. The book was an unprecedented success, selling out within hours and needing an immediate reprint. The attendant Erotica marked a slight creative downturn, and was her first album since her debut not to generate a US number 1 single. She returned to form on Bedtime Stories, on which she teamed up with Soul II Soul producer Nellee Hooper, who wrote the title track in conjunction with Bj”rk. "Take A Bow" returned the singer to the top of the US singles chart, while the rest of the album boasted songs that combined, by her own description, pop, R&B, hip-hop and Madonna. The 1995 compilation of her slower material, Something To Remember, featured the excellent new song, "You'll See".
In 1996, Madonna's need to shock had mellowed considerably with a credible movie portrayal of Eva Peron in Alan Parker's Evita. Later that year she became "with child' on 14 October with the birth of Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon. She returned to music with March 1998"s Ray Of Light, one of her finest recordings to date. Collaborating with producer William Orbit, Madonna positively revelled in a new found musical freedom. Her voice had also matured into a rich and expressive instrument. The album generated several transatlantic hit singles, including "Frozen" (a UK chart-topper), "Ray Of Light", "Drowned World (Substitute For Love)", "The Power Of Good-bye", and "Nothing Really Matters". "Beautiful Stranger', taken from the soundtrack to the Mike Myers" movie Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, reached number 2 in the UK charts in June 1999. Another soundtrack, for the movie The Next Best Thing, co-written and co-produced by Madonna and Orbit, was released on the singer's Maverick label. It featured her new single, a reworking of Don McLean's classic "American Pie".
Madonna worked with Orbit and French dance producer Mirwais on her next collection, Music, the title track of which was a transatlantic chart-topper in September 2000. Shortly before the release of the album, on 11 August, the singer gave birth to her second child, Rocco. On 22 December, she married the UK film director Guy Ritchie in Scotland and managed once again to grab most of the newspaper headlines. She went on to collaborate with Ritchie on the controversial video for "What It Feels Like For A Girl", and in 2002 starred in the director's ill-fated remake of Swept Away. The same year Madonna performed the theme song to the new James Bond movie, Die Another Day. The following year she released her new studio album, American Life, a transatlantic chart-topper. In June 2004, Madonna announced she was selling her stake in her record label Maverick to its parent company Warner Music Group.
Discography:
Madonna (Sire 1983)***, Like A Virgin (Sire 1984)***, True Blue (Sire 1986)****, Who's That Girl film soundtrack (Sire 1987)**, You Can Dance remix album (Sire 1987)***, Like A Prayer (Sire 1989)****, I'm Breathless (Sire 1990)***, Erotica (Maverick 1992)***, Bedtime Stories (Maverick 1994)****, Evita film soundtrack (Warners 1996)***, Ray Of Light (Maverick/Warners 1998)****, Music (Maverick/Warners 2000)***, American Life (Maverick/Warners 2003)***, Remixed And Revisited EP (Maverick/Warners 2004)**.
Compilations:
The Immaculate Collection (Sire 1990)*****, Best Of The Rest Volume 2 (Sire 1993)***, Something To Remember (Maverick 1995)****, The Early Years: Give It To Me (Sanctuary 2001)***, GHV2 (Maverick 2001)****.
Videography:
The Virgin Tour (Warner Music Video 1986), Ciao Italia - Live From Italy (Sire 1988), Immaculate Collection (Warner Music Video 1990), Justify My Love (Warner Music Video 1991), The Real Story (Wienerworld Video 1991), Madonna Video EP (Warner Music Video 1991), In Bed With Madonna (Video Collection 1991), Madonna: The Unauthorised Biography (MIA Video 1994), Ray Of Light (Warner Home Video 1998), The Video Collection 93:99 (Warner Vision 1999), What It Feels Like For A Girl (Warner Reprise Video 2001), Drowned World Tour 2001 (Warner Music Vision 2001), Madonna Exposed (Wienerworld 2002).
Bibliography:
Madonna: Her Story, Michael McKenzie. Madonna: The New Illustrated Biography, Debbi Voller. Madonna: In Her Own Words, Mick St Michael. Madonna: The Biography, Robert Matthew-Walker. Madonna, Marie Cahill. Madonna: The Style Book, Debbi Voller. Like A Virgin: Madonna Revealed, Douglas Thompson. Sex, Madonna. Madonna Unauthorized, Christopher Anderson. I Dream Of Madonna: Women's Dreams Of The Goddess Of Pop, Kay Turner (compiler). The I Hate Madonna Handbook, Ilene Rosenzweig. Madonna: The Girlie Show, Glenn O'Brien. Deconstructing Madonna, Fran Lloyd. Live!, no author listed. The Madonna Scrapbook, Lee Randall. Madonna: An Intimate Biography, J. Randy Taraborrelli. Madonna: Queen Of The World, Douglas Thompson. Madonna, Andrew Morton. Madonna Style, Carol Clerk. The English Roses, Madonna.
Filmography:
A Certain Sacrifice (1979), Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Vision Quest (1985), Shangai Surprise (1986), Who's That Girl? (1987), Bloodhounds Of Broadway (1989), Dick Tracy (1990), Madonna: Blond Ambition World Tour '90 (1990), Madonna: Truth Or Dare (1991), A League Of Their Own (1992), Shadows And Fog (1992), Body Of Evidence (1993), Dangerous Game (1993), Blue In The Face (1995), Four Rooms (1995), Girl 6 (1996), Evita (1996), The Next Best Thing (2000), Swept Away (2002).
Music Albums
madThe Early Years (Receiver)
Receiver Records (UK)
09/15/1998
Madonna [Remaster]
Warner Bros. Records
05/22/2001
Like A Virgin [Remaster]
Warner Bros. Records
05/22/2001
True Blue [Remaster]
Warner Bros. Records
05/22/2001
You Can Dance
Sire Records
11/17/1987
Like A Prayer
Sire Records
1989
I'm Breathless (Music From Dick Tracy)
Sire Records
05/22/1990
The Immaculate Collection
Sire Records
11/13/1990
The Royal Box
Sire Records
12/11/1990
Erotica [PA]
Maverick
01/20/1992
Keep It Together [EP]
Sire Records
1990
Vogue [EP]
Sire Records
04/05/1990
Bedtime Stories
Maverick
10/25/1994
Something To Remember
Warner Bros. Records
11/07/1995
Ray Of Light
Warner Bros. Records
03/03/1998
Inthebeginning
Gravity
08/11/1998
Interview Disc
Baktabak - (import)
12/07/1995
Interview Disc Vol. 2
Baktabak - (import)
03/28/1995
Music
Warner Bros. Records
09/19/2000
Music [Limited]
Warner Bros. Records
09/19/2000
Absolute Madonna
Griffin Music
02/20/2001
In The Spotlight With Madonna [ECD]
Matrix Music Marketing
05/08/2001
Miss American Pie
Baktabak - (import)
04/10/2001
The Complete Audio Biography
Chrome Dreams
05/01/2001
Maximum Audio Biography
Chrome Dreams
06/05/2001
Maximum Madonna
Chrome Dreams
05/18/1999
The Early Years: Give It To Me
Trojan
10/09/2001
GHV2
Warner Bros. Records
11/13/2001
Erotica [Edited]
Maverick
10/20/1992
GHV2 [Limited]
Warner Bros. Records
12/11/2001
The Early Years (Trojan)
Trojan
01/22/2002
American Life [ECD] [PA]
Warner Bros. Records
04/22/2003
American Life [ECD] [Edited]
Warner Bros. Records
04/22/2003
American Life [ECD] [PA] [Limited]
Warner Bros. Records
04/22/2003
Remixed & Revisited *
Maverick
11/25/2003
Source: Encyclopedia of Popular Music
