MADONNA RELEASED THE ALBUM LIKE A VIRGIN 30 YEARS AGO TODAY

WOW! 30 years ago today Madonna officially started her rise to power! Sure, Madonna's first self-titled debut album was very successful, so much so, in fact, that the single and album Like A Virgin had to be pushed back from April to November 1984 to accommodate releasing more singles from the first album. But Madonna patiently waited and finally performed the song Like A Virgin live on the very first MTV VMAs on September 14, 1984, shocking the audience, popping out of a cake in a wedding dress and her "BOYTOY" belt, and starting a revolution. She writhed her way to one of the most iconic performances of all time and, despite her manager saying she had just ruined her career, the album gained momentum VERY quickly. Like A Virgin, the album, reached #1 on the Billboard 200 chart February 9, 1985 , but by July of that same year it became the first album by a female artist to reach sales of 5 million units in the US. The album's title track hit #1 on the Hot 100 on December 22, 1984 and stayed there for six weeks, becoming Madonna's first of 12 number-one singles. The video, shot in Venice, Italy, was sensual, girly and a perfect companion to take Madonna's girl-power, take-no-prisoners image to the next level. As a follow up Madonna released a song that she said she regrets ever releasing because it stuck her with a nickname she hates: Material Girl. We are glad she did. Further solidifying Madonna as an icon, Material Girl is undeniably one of her catchiest hits and also one of the most beloved. The video is absolutely a classic; Madonna as Marilyn. There's never been a better fit. Material Girl shot to #2 on the Hot 100, held off by REO Speedwagon's Keep On Loving You (what???), and briefly shared the top 5 with another Madonna single, Crazy For You, from the Vision Quest Soundtrack. (Crazy For You was later added to special editions of Like A Virgin, but was not originally on the album, so fuck that noise for now.) The one-two punch of Like A Virgin and Material Girl had Madonna on top of the world. The third single, and one that seems to be overlooked quite often, is the supremely light and lovely Angel. Angel became Madonna's fifth consecutive top 5 single on the Hot 100, reaching #5 in the summer of 1985. Though it did not have an accompanying video, Angel was released with a VERY famous B-side; Into The Groove. While a chart hit everywhere else in the world, Into The Groove was never officially released as a single in the US and therefore was ineligible to chart, but it was also added to later pressings of Like A Virgin. The fourth and final single released from Like A Virgin was the stylishly slinky Dress You Up. The last song to be included on the album, producer Nile Rogers initially was not sold on the song, but Madonna championed it and it eventually became her sixth consecutive top 5 single, hitting #5 in the winter of 1985. The music video was shot live on Madonna's Virgin Tour. Dress You Up was also famously added to The Filthy Fifteen, a list of songs complied by Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center in 1985 that they believed should be banned from radio for supposed adult content. HAHAHA!! Though not too far off stylistically from Madonna's debut album, Like A Virgin was definitely sharper and better produced, thanks to Chic's Nile Rogers. There was a sense of maturity that does not show on her debut. Any track could have easily been a single, from the bouncy pep-talk of Over and Over to the wanton loneliness of the final track Stay. Her cover of Rose Royce's 1978 song Love Don't Live Here Anymore is one of the first tracks on which Madonna-as-songstress appears, performing from her gut and showing that she could deliver a ballad. Critics and fans began to agree that Madonna was more than image and that Like A Virgin was a hit from beginning to end. Of course, the album and its singles are among the most famous of the 80s certainly, arguably ever, and to date the album has sold over 21 million copies worldwide. There is no denying the iconic images, videos and controversy the album produced and, because of all that, we are still here talking and reading about it 30 years later. Like A Virgin was Madonna's first #1 album and the birth of what would become THE pop star of this or any generation. Enjoy the singles below.

THE #1 SONG 30 YEARS AGO TODAY WAS.....

....What's Love Got To Do With It by Tina Turner. Ms. Turner, though legendary in the rock and blues world, was all but washed up by 1984. She hadn't had a hit in years and was touring and recording as, basically, a nostalgia act. 1984 would certainly change all of that. Along with her new manager, Roger Davies, Turner got to work on some hard rock and roll material and released the mega-smash album Private Dancer. There was no denying that Tina was BACK!!! The second single from Private Dancer (the first was a moderately successful cover of Al Green's Let's Stay Together (#26 US)) was the now-classic What's Love Got To Do With It. The song was released on June 4, 1984 and climbed steadily up the charts until it peaked at #1 on September 1st and held on for three weeks. Tina hadn't had a top 10 hit in the US since the early 70s, but What's Love Got To Do With It kicked her back onto the top of the charts, becoming the #2 song of the year behind When Doves Cry by Prince & the Revolution, and was followed by a string of classic hits. The song also earned Tina three Grammys for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2012. Needless to say, Tina Turner is a legendary star and this song has MUCH to do, much to do with it. Here is the #1 song from this day in 1984, What's Love Got To Do With It.

THE #1 SONG 30 YEARS AGO TODAY WAS....

......Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper. In 1984 Cyndi Lauper was THE female pop star. Her debut album, She's So Unusual, was a bona fide hit, changing the game in pop music, especially for women, and her single Girls Just Want To Have Fun had already burned up the charts earlier that year. Instead of releasing another dance floor burner, Cyndi and her label decided to show her versatility and release a ballad as her second single. Time After Time was a smash and topped the chart on June 9, 1984, staying there for two weeks and proving that A) Cyndi was no one-hit wonder and B) the girl had chops. The song is an absolute classic and has been covered by countless artists. Time After Time was also nominated for Song of the Year at the 1985 Grammy Awards, at which Cyndi took home the trophy for Best New Artist. Unlike other 80s ballads, Time After Time is ageless and seems to transcend all musical styles to remain fresh as ever 30 years later. Here is Cyndi Lauper's timeless classic, Time After Time, the #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 exactly 30 years ago today.

THROWBACK THURSDAY: 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF CYNDI LAUPER'S "SHE'S SO UNUSUAL"

In 1983 women in rock were still pretty marginalized. There were a few up-and-comers trying to break that mold, including Madonna (who was yet to hit big) but the first woman to change the game, take control and ignite some girl power on the charts was Cyndi Lauper with her debut solo album She's So Unusual. Although it was released at the tail end of 1983, She's So Unusual really took off in 1984, so Cyndi toured the album last year but just released She's So Unusual: A 30th Anniversary Celebration on April 1st. The set comes packed with demo versions of the songs on the album, a demo of a left out track and some special remixes and B-sides. It's a doozy! Of course, upon its original release, She's So Unusual was praised by critics for Cyndi's unique voice and persona as well as the maturity of the songwriting and vocal performance. It was the first album by a woman to have four top 5 singles on the Hot 100 from one album with Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (#2), Time After Time (#1), She Bop (#3) and All Through the Night (#5). She had one more hit with Money Changes Everything (#27) as well. What is most remarkable about the album is that there is not a single filler song on it. Cyndi's flexible voice covered Prince (When You Were Mine) and Jules Shear (All Through the Night) as well as taking musical influence from ska, reggae and even covered a Boop-style song from 1929! She even not-so-subtly addresses the joy of female masturbation in the song She Bop. WERQ! She's So Unusual was showered with accolades including six Grammy nominations, including album of the year, and ten MTV VMA nominations. Cyndi won Best New Artist at the Grammy awards and home the Moon Man for Best Female Video for Girls Just Wanna Have Fun at the VMAs. She's So Unusual pops up on most "Best of" charts in music magazines including Rolling Stone's 2003 "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (#494) and Slant Magazine's "Best Albums of the 80s" (#22). The album is an absolute jewel and a time capsule of early/mid 80s music. I saw Cyndi perform the album live last year and, let me tell you, that bitch can still sing every note. She's the real deal. Enjoy the album's videos below and the tracks not released as well, in order as they appear on the album. Here is Cyndi Lauper's seminal girl-power album, She's So Unusual.

THE #1 SONG 30 YEARS AGO TODAY WAS.....

....Footloose by Kenny Loggins. Yes, everybody was cutting "footloose" back in '84 and, although that sounds incredibly painful, it was actually totally fun. Kenny Loggins was pretty much the soundtrack king back in the day. Between the songs from Footloose, the title track and I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man) (#22 US, 1984) my actual favorite Kenny Loggins soundtrack song, I'm Alright (#7 US, 1980) from Caddyshack, Danger Zone (#2 US, 1986) from Top Gun, Meet Me Halfway (#11 US, 1987) from Over the Top, and Nobody's Fool (#8 US, 1988) from Caddyshack II,  Kenny was the go-to dude to have a hit on MTV to promote your movie. Footloose, the song, soundtrack and movie, were all cultural phenomena when they hit in early 1984 and Footloose was the lead single. The song hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 31st and stayed for three weeks, becoming the first of two #1 songs from the film, the other being Deniece Williams' Let's Hear It For The Boy. The video was put together using the now-iconic scenes from the film, especially the warehouse dance sequence. It sold the shit out of the film, girl!! Footloose hit #1 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand as well as her in the US. There is no doubt that anytime, anywhere there is an 80s playlist on, Footloose will be the ass-shaker coming up next. Here is the #1 song from 30 years ago today, Footloose by Kenny Loggins.

THE #1 SONG 30 YEARS AGO TODAY WAS....

.......Jump by Van Halen. Up until the the release of Van Halen's album 1984, the group had been a straight forward hard-rock band. All guitar and swagger, but no pop elements to their music necessarily. 1984 would see a huge change for the Van Halen's sound and for their success on the charts. Adding a lot of synth, Eddie Van Halen other passion besides the guitar, 1984 came out of the gate hard with the band's first and only #1 single ever, Jump. Jump is probably Van Halen's most recognizable song and certainly one of their most beloved. The song and the album, although their most successful up to that point, also lead to the eventual break up of Van Halen with their lead singer David Lee Roth, who thought the more synth-driven direction of the band was the wrong call. Regardless, Jump hit #1 on the Hot 100 February 25, 1984 and stayed atop the list for five weeks. The album went on to produce three more Hot 100 hits with I'll Wait (#13), Panama (#13) and Hot For Teacher (#56) and the band later replaced Roth with Sammy Hagar and had many years' worth of chart hits thereafter. David Lee Roth went solo and, sticking to his heavy-metal guns, covered the hard rock classic California Girls by the Beach Boys to much success. See what I did there? Jump, though, is still their crowning glory and one helluva pop-rock anthem. So here is the #1 song 30 years ago today. Enjoy and -- if you remember it -- feel old.
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