What was Madonna's first album?
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American singer Madonna has released 13 studio albums, three soundtrack albums, five live albums, six compilation albums, and 34 other limited releases. In 1982, Madonna signed a recording contract with Sire Records, a label owned by Warner Bros. Records. The first release under the label was her self-titled debut album, "Madonna" (1983). It peaked at number eight on the "Billboard" 200 and was certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). She followed the debut album with the sophomore release, "Like a Virgin" (1984). The album topped the chart in several countries and was certified diamond by the RIAA. "True Blue" was released as her third studio album in 1986 and sold over 25 million copies worldwide, while becoming her second chart topper in US. In 1987, she released two albums that reached platinum status in the United States: the "Who's That Girl soundtrack" and her first remix compilation, "You Can Dance". Madonna's fourth studio album, "Like a Prayer" (1989), became her third number-one album on the "Billboard" 200, achieving quadruple platinum in US.
Madonna albums discography
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Madonna (retitled Madonna: The First Album for the 1985 re-release) is the debut album by American singer Madonna, released on July 27, 1983 by Sire Records. After having established herself as a singer in downtown New York City, Madonna was signed by Sire president Seymour Stein, due to the success of her debut single, "Everybody" (1982). She became the sole writer for most of the album's tracks, and chose Reggie Lucas as its primary producer. Unhappy with Lucas's production outputs, she invited John "Jellybean" Benitez to complete the album, who remixed three tracks and produced "Holiday".
Madonna (Madonna album)
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The album was re-released in 1985 for the European market and re-packaged as "Madonna: The First Album" with a different artwork created by photographer George Holy. The cover features Madonna in similar style of dress to the original cover but this time with crucifix as her earrings. Madonna's trademark style was catching on as a fashion statement among club kids and fans, with her crucifix accessories becoming the jewelry of the moment. Madonna said that wearing a crucifix is "kind of offbeat and interesting. I mean, everything I do is sort of tongue-in-cheeks. Besides, the crucifixes seem to go with my name." In 2001, Warner Bros. Records released a remastered version of the album with its original artwork and two bonus remix tracks of "Burning Up" and "Lucky Star". Madonna dedicated the album to her father, Tony Ciccone, with whom her relationship had not been good until the release of the album. In an interview with "Time" magazine, Madonna said: "My father had never believed that what I was doing here [in New York] was worthwhile, nor did he believe that I was up to any good. [...] It wasn't until my first album came out and my father started hearing my songs on the radio that he stopped asking the questions."
Madonna (Madonna album)
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Madonna released her eighth studio album, "Music", in September 2000. It featured elements from the electronica-inspired "Ray of Light" era, and like its predecessor, received acclaim from critics. Collaborating with French producer Mirwais Ahmadzaï, Madonna commented: "I love to work with the weirdos that no one knows about—the people who have raw talent and who are making music unlike anyone else out there. "Music" is the future of sound." Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic felt that ""Music" blows by in a kaleidoscopic rush of color, technique, style and substance. It has so many depth and layers that it's easily as self-aware and earnest as "Ray of Light"." The album took the number-one position in more than 20 countries worldwide and sold four million copies in the first ten days. In the U.S., "Music" debuted at the top, and became her first number-one album in eleven years since "Like a Prayer". It produced three singles: the Hot 100 number-one "Music", "Don't Tell Me", and "What It Feels Like for a Girl". The music video of "What It Feels Like for a Girl" depicted Madonna committing acts of crime and vandalism, and was banned by MTV and VH1.
Madonna (entertainer)
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After Lourdes's birth, Madonna became involved in Eastern mysticism and Kabbalah, introduced to her by actress Sandra Bernhard. Her seventh studio album, "Ray of Light", (1998) reflected this change in her perception and image. She collaborated with electronica producer William Orbit and wanted to create a sound that could blend dance music with pop and British rock. American music critic Ann Powers explained that what Madonna searched for with Orbit "was a kind of a lushness that she wanted for this record. Techno and rave were happening in the 90s and had a lot of different forms. There was very experimental, more hard stuff like Aphex Twin. There was party stuff like Fatboy Slim. That's not what Madonna wanted for this. She wanted something more like a singer-songwriter, really. And William Orbit provided her with that."
The album garnered critical acclaim, with "Slant Magazine" calling it "one of the great pop masterpieces of the '90s" "Ray of Light" was honored with four Grammy Awards—including Best Pop Album and Best Dance Recording—and was nominated for both Album of the Year and Record of the Year. "Rolling Stone" listed it among "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Commercially, the album peaked at number-one in numerous countries and sold more than 16 million copies worldwide. The album's lead single, "Frozen", became Madonna's first single to debut at number one in the UK, while in the U.S. it became her sixth number-two single, setting another record for Madonna as the artist with the most number two hits. The second single, "Ray of Light", debuted at number five on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The 1998 edition of "Guinness Book of World Records" documented that "no female artist has sold more records than Madonna around the world".
Madonna (entertainer)
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When Madonna had started working on her third studio album, "True Blue" in 1985, she was already in a relationship with actor Sean Penn whom she married by the year-end. It was the first album that the singer acted in the role of a record producer and wanted to add her own "sophistication" to it. Her optimism assimilated in the songs created, including the title track, which she co-wrote and co-produced the song with Stephen Bray. According to Madonna, "True Blue" takes its title from a favorite expression of Penn and to his very pure vision of love. The song and the album was inspired by Madonna's "unabashed valentine" for Penn. In an interview, Bray said, "She [Madonna] was very much in love. It was obvious if she's in love she'll write love songs. If she's not in love she definitely won't be writing love songs." In 2015, Madonna said that "True Blue" is "a song about true love. I didn't know what I was talking about when I wrote it."
True Blue (Madonna song)
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According to journalist Mary von Aue from "Vice" magazine, "Bedtime Stories" is the "most important" album released by Madonna. For months leading up to its release, the promotion associated cited the record as an apology for the singer's sexually provocative imagery. Critics had also hoped for a return to more innocent form of music. However Madonna instead chose to portray herself as unapologetic for her imagery, as well as talking about scrutiny that female musicians faced. Madonna went opposite to what was being portrayed as the theme of the album in the promotional campaigns, and continued addressing her critics and people who had tried to shame her for being provocative. Von Aue added that "Today, "Bedtime Stories" is not the first album that comes to mind in Madonna's legacy. It is, however, the most relevant to many of the cultural conversations that are still happening. Had she acquiesced to the public's call for apology, it could have set a dangerous standard for how the public can decree an artist's silence, and it would have allowed the categories for female singers to remain in place".
Bedtime Stories (Madonna album)
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A former dancer and fixture on the New York club scene, Madonna Louise Ciccone became known to the world simply as Madonna, with the release of her 1983 self-titled debut album "Madonna". Fueled by hit songs like "Holiday", "Borderline" and "Lucky Star", the album was one of the best selling of the year and helped Madonna become one of the most exciting new artists of the 1980s. When she started work on her second album, Madonna felt that her first album had succeeded in introducing her "street-smart dance queen" persona, and she wanted to solidify and build upon that concept. According to her, "My work, my dedication—the stubbornness for getting "Madonna" released—had paid off. Now it was time to solidify my future."
Like a Virgin (album)
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In 1983, Madonna met John "Jellybean" Benitez, who worked as a DJ at the Funhouse club in lower Manhattan. Soon after, they started dating each other and worked on Madonna's self-titled debut album, released in 1983. When Benitez started work on his debut EP, "Wotupski!?!", he asked Madonna to write a song for him. Within two days Madonna wrote "Sidewalk Talk", whose idea she had initially thought of using on her debut album. According to Benitez, "Wotupski!?!" was a concept album, "It's a street slang in the Bronx. It means 'what's up, what's new'?" The artist credit of the song was simply Jellybean, with lead vocals credited to Catherine Buchanan. Madonna provided background vocals for the track with Audrey Wheeler and Cindy Mizelle. Benitez produced the track as well as arranged and mixed it. Michael Hutchinson assisted on engineering, recording and mixing the track. Producer Stephen Bray also arranged "Sidewalk Talk" with Benitez. Instrumentation featured in the track included bass guitar by Marcus Miller, synthesizer by Boyd Jarvis, Fred Zarr and Bray, electric guitar by Ira Siegel, percussion by Bashiri Johnson and Trevor Gale, and lastly drum programming by Benitez and Bray.
Sidewalk Talk
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The album was first released in the United States on July 27, 1983 by Sire Records. It was originally slated to be titled "Lucky Star", after the track of the same name, but eventually titled simply "Madonna", perhaps that this singular name could have star power. The album's artwork was shot by photographer Gary Heery and directed by Carin Goldberg. The front cover shows Madonna with short-cropped platinum hair, wearing a number of black rubber bangles on her hands and a dog chain around her throat. Her navel is also prominent on the inner sleeve of the album. Madonna commented: "The picture inside the dust of sleeve of my first album has me, like, in this Betty Boop pose with my belly button showing. Then when people reviews the album, they kept talking about my cute belly button. [...] I think there are other unobvious places on the body that are sexy and the stomach is kind of innocent." Regarding the album photoshoot, Gary Heery recalled:
Madonna (Madonna album)