Madonna, born Madonna Louise Ciccone in Bay City, Michigan, in 1958 has five other siblings, and taking care of them after their mother passed away has taught Madonna all she ever needed to know about being strong and responsible Madonna’s mother passed away when she was only thirty, and Madonna five, in 1963.
Madonna received a dance scholarship, and that made it possible for her to attend the University of Michigan. She dropped out of school in 1977, and with only a few bucks on her she took a bus to New York to pursue her dream of becoming a big singer and dancer.
She founded her first band in 1979, when she was 21. It was called the Breakfast Club, and she sang, played guitar and the drum set A year later, she founded the band Emmy with her then boyfriend Stephen Bray. It was in this band that she first attracted the attention of Seymour Stein, the CEO of Sire Records, who quickly recognized her talent and signed her for a contract. The result of this early cooperation was Madonna’s first single Everybody. it was released in 1982, but it failed to enter the charts, as did her second single, Burning Up. Fortunately for Madonna, her third release, Holiday, went on to become a big hit.
After those early successes, Madonna went on to release numerous hits. In fact, she is the third artist with the most number one spots on Billboard’s Top 40 list. Only The Beatles and Elvis Presley are above her in that regard.
Some of her biggest hits include:
Like a Virgin, which was Madonna’s first single that topped the charts, also caused a lot of controversy and negative public attention.
Take a Bow, which came out in 1995, was Madonna’s biggest success, and it topped the charts for almost two months.
Vogue and Hanky Panky, both came out in 1990 on the soundtrack for the movie Dick Tracy, which Madonna also starred in along Warren Beaty.
Music, from the year 2000, brought Madonna two Grammy nominations.
Like a Prayer, which came out in 1989 is also interesting for a fact that Pepsi Cola paid Madonna several million dollars to promote their product, but felt that the video for the song portrayed their brand poorly and pulled the commercial which featured parts of the video and the song after only one airing.
Papa don’t Preach, notable not just for it’s strong Motown music feel, but for dealing with abortion and teen pregnancy as well.
Justify my love, another cause for controversy, came out in 1991, and quickly got banned from MTV.
Crazy For You from 1985 followed the movie Vision Quest, and starred then popular Matthew Modine.
Who’s that girl, from the movie by the same name.
These are just some of the hits Madonna has recorded in her almost thirty long year career. Madonna received universal recognition as one of the most influential artists of all times, and was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. She is still going strong, recording new songs and touring regularly.