Shout! Online :: All about Madonna

WOMAN: ANGEL VS. BAD GIRL

Last updated 26.10.09

LOVELY MADDY (1993)

WHO'S THAT GIRL?

Once she became an icon for female pop stars thanks to her proven ability to artistically reinvent herself while still retaining complete control of her career, Madonna is also one of the most commercially successful artists in the history of popular music.

Over the course of her extraordinary career, much has been made of Madonna’s multi-faceted attributes and abilities: executive and entrepreneur, video pioneer and perpetual trendsetter, role model and devoted mother… the list goes on.

Yet, ultimately, the essence of this epochal icon is best, always and finally, captured in music. It is through lyrics, melody and rhythm that Madonna most fully expresses her deepest feelings, her most enduring insights. It is the language of her spirit, the essence of her creativity — the point at which who she is becomes what she does.

Madonna Louise Ciccone was born on August 16th, 1958 at Bay City, Michigan, USA. The third of eight children in a large traditional Italian family, she was named after her mother who passed away from breast cancer when Madonna was only six years old. Sylvio Ciccone raised his children not only with a solid Catholic background, but with a disciplined work ethic as well.

In high school Madonna was a cheerleader and straight-A student. She fell in love with dance and sometimes spent up to five hours a day taking dance classes and working out. Upon graduation she won a dance scholarship to the University Of Michigan. Finding the academic atmosphere stifling, after a year of college Madonna set off for New York City in 1977 with just $35 and her suitcase of leotards and toe shoes. Before long she had earned a spot with the Alvin Ailey Dance Troupe and, for a while, worked as the assistant to modern dance choreographer, Pearl Lange. Sometime she's working as a model. After struggling for several years in the dance world she began to broaden her artistic horizons.

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 Club. Madonna played drums and sang with the band before setting up new band 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 NY DJ Mark Kamins as producer, Madonna recorded her first «Everybody», a US club hit in 1982. Madonna broke out from the disco scene into mainstream pop with «Holiday», written and produced by John 'Jellybean' Benitez. It reached the US Top 20 in late 1983 and 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 catchy «Like A Virgin» as a 1984 single. The track provided Madonna with the first of her subsequent US No. 1st.

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 August 16th 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 No. 1st, «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 LP «True Blue». Like an increasing number of her songs, «Who's That Girl» (her second transatlantic No. 1) and «Causing A Commotion» were tied-in to a movie - in this instance, a poorly received comedy in which she starred with 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 no. 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» film).

TRY TO PLAY WITH ME (1991)

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 no. 1 single.

BAD GIRL (1994)

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 Bjork. «Take A Bow» returned Madonna 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».

ANOTHER PLAY (1996)

In 1996, her need to shock had mellowed considerably with a credible movie portrayal of Eva Peron in Alan Parker's film «Evita». Later that year she became «with child» on October 14th with the birth of Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon.

FOREVER YOUNG (1998)

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».

JUST QUEEN (2001)

She worked with Orbit and French dance producer Mirwai 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 August 11, Madonna gave birth to her second child, Rocco. On December 22nd, she married the UK film director Guy Ritchie in Scotland.

To be continued...