And We Danced

It is probably impossible to overestimate Madonna’s impact on the history of Dance music. Although she did not emerge as a star until the early 80’s, she has remained the most consistently successful and innovative Dance music artist for over 2 decades. Although her sales figures and success in mainstream Pop music has faded somewhat in recent years, she has arguably solidified her status in clubs. Madonna has been a leader in development of Dance music and also incorporated influences from a wide range of other artists to keep her own music fresh and invigorating. It would be a different Dance music world without Madonna.

Madonna Louise Ciccone was born August 16, 1958 in Bay City, Michigan. In 1977 Madonna dropped out of college to move to New York to study with Alvin Ailey for a career as a dancer. By 1979 she had signed on to dance and sing behind Disco performer Patrick Hernandez who had a major hit with Born To Be Alive. While traveling with Hernandez in Paris she met Dan Gilroy and formed the group Breakfast Club with him after heading back to New York. She left Breakfast Club in 1980 to put together the group Emmy with drummer Steven Bray. Madonna and Bray soon began working on their own Dance music demos and shopping them to record labels. Sire Records signed Madonna in late 1982. Her first Dance single was Everybody which soon landed at #3 on the Dance chart. It was followed by the combination of Burning Up and Physical Attraction in early 1983. Her third single,Holiday, written and produced by Jellybean Benitez, became a Pop as well as Dance hit. In the wake of its success Madonna released her first self-titled album and it landed in the Top 10 of the Pop album chart.

The following two years were a whirlwind of success for Madonna. Nile Rodgers produced her second album, Like A Virgin, released at the end of 1984, and it included the title single, her first simultaneous #1 Dance and Pop hit. During 1985 Madonna appeared in her first movie Desperately Seeking Susan, performed in her first concert tour with support from the Beastie Boys, appeared in the massive Live Aid concert, and late in the summer married actor Sean Penn. In early 1986 she began one of her most fruitful artistic collaborations, writing songs with Patrick Leonard. The pair are responsible for massive hits in the late 1980’s including Like A Prayer, Live To Tell, and Cherish. Stephen Bray also continued to be a frequent collaborator on hits like Express Yourself and True Blue.

Madonna began the new decade with her massively successful Blonde Ambition tour and a starring role with Warren Beatty in the film version of Dick Tracy. She began to dominate the Dance charts with number one hits such as Vogue and Justify My Love. The latter featured a music video that generated controversy for sexually explicit scenes. In 1992 Madonna released Sex, a book of erotic photography of her and a number of other celebrities and models. Although it generated widespread denunciations, sales were still strong, and she was more successful than ever on the dancefloor. Among her chart-topping Dance hits of the early 90’s are Erotica, Deeper and Deeper, Secret, and Bedtime Story.

Madonna’s career took another sharp turn with the 1996 release of her starring role in the film version of Evita. She took vocal lessons to improve the range and richness of her voice in tackling the role. A Dance version of Don’t Cry For Me Argentina from the movie topped the Dance chart. Late in the year she gave birth to her first child, Lourdes, and became one of the most famous first-time moms in the world. She returned to the studio in 1997 with producer William Orbit and released Ray Of Light in the spring of 1998, her first full-length studio album in 4 years. Ray Of Light is a musical masterpiece blending Madonna’s classic Dance/Pop with influences from contemporary Trance and House. The singles Ray Of Light and Frozen brought her more #1 Dance hits.

As the new century began, Madonna began working with French producer Mirwais. Their collaboration has been a very fruitful one with Dance audiences but has resulted in her Pop sales sliding from her previous peaks. Music, their first album together, received strong critical accolades and the title single was her first Pop #1 in 6 years. Followup singles continued to score in Dance clubs but were not as successful with Pop audiences. Her 2003 album American Life appeared amidst new controversy stemming from adamantly anti-war content in the original cut of the video for the song American Life. Madonna agreed to reshoot the video but the single limped to #37 on the Pop chart. Dance audiences were undaunted, however, and the album included an unprecedented 5 chart-topping Dance singles.

Madonna is currently at work on a 3rd album with Mirwais and has rarely seemed more in touch with her first and primary audience, the Dance community. She continues to garner headlines for her personal life as well. Most recently her active promotion of adherence to the Jewis mystical sect Kabbala has raised eyebrows. Among her projects outside music, she has become a bestselling author of books for children. Madonna remains one of the most intriguing and artistically inventive individuals in the history of popular music.