| This article is about the American entertainer.For other uses, see Madonna.On December 13, 2007, it was announced that Madonna would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.Madonna is the third of six children (her siblings are Martin, Anthony, Paula, Christopher, and Melanie).She was raised in a Catholic family in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Avon Township (now Rochester Hills).Madonna's mother died of breast cancer at age 30 on December 1, 1963.Madonna convinced her father to allow her to take ballet classes.Her ballet teacher, Christopher Flynn, exposed Madonna to gay discotheques.As a young girl, Madonna attended St.Madonna received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan after graduating from high school.After being convinced by her ballet teacher, she left the University of Michigan at the end of her sophomore year, in 1977, and moved to New York City to pursue a dance career.She also worked as a nude model.She studied with Martha Graham and Pearl Lang, and later performed with several modern dance companies, including Alvin Ailey and the Walter Nicks dancers.Madonna became romantically involved with the musician Dan Gilroy, with whom she later formed her first rock band, the Breakfast Club, back in New York.In it, she sang and played drums and guitar before forming the band Emmy in 1980 with drummer and former boyfriend Stephen Bray.She and Bray wrote and produced dance songs that brought her local attention in New York dance clubs.Disc jockey and record producer Mark Kamins was impressed by her demo recordings, so he brought them to the attention of Sire Records founder Seymour Stein.Madonna in her first music video for 1982's "Everybody."In 1982, Madonna signed a singles deal with Sire Records, a new wave label belonging to Warner Bros.He signed her from his hospital room.These results convinced Sire Records to finance an entire album by Madonna.After finishing several songs, however, she was dissatisfied with the outcome.She felt her vocals were fine but was displeased with Lucas' music tracks.John "Jellybean" Benitez, who remixed and rearranged them.He also added a song ("Holiday").Billboard Hot 100 singles, "Holiday" (U.At the time of its release, Madonna sold two million copies worldwide, one million of those in the U.Madonna's look and manner of dress, portrayed in photographs, live performances and music videos, became increasingly influential among young girls and women.USA For Africa's "We Are The World"), Angel" (U.The album sold eight million copies in the US and another four million worldwide at its time of release.In 1985, Madonna entered mainstream films, beginning with a brief appearance as a club singer in the film Vision Quest.The soundtrack to the film contained her second U.Incidently, these songs were released by Geffen Records during the run of Madonna's "Like a Virgin" album.Madonna embarked on her first concert tour in the U.The Virgin Tour, with opening act The Beastie Boys.In July 1985, Penthouse and Playboy magazines published a number of black and white nude photos of Madonna taken in the late 1970s.The publications caused public controversy.Madonna took legal action to try and block them from being published, but when that failed she became unapologetic and defiant.Speaking to a global audience at the outdoor Live Aid charity concert at the height of the controversy, Madonna made a critical reference to the media and stated she would not take her jacket off, despite the heat, because "they might hold it against me ten years from now".Madonna in the European version of her song music video "True Blue".It was also the first to credit her as producer.Though Madonna had already made videos expressing her sexuality, she added religious iconography, gender archetypes, and social issues to her oeuvre, and these concepts would carry through her work for years to come.In 1987, Madonna starred in Who's That Girl, and contributed four songs to its soundtrack, including the film's title track.Later that year, Madonna released a remix album of past hits, You Can Dance, which included one new song, "Spotlight."Madonna in a bustier.The statue was intended to commemorate the fact that some of Madonna's ancestors had lived in Pacentro.Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray.She teamed up with Prince on a duet, and he also played guitar on two songs.Like a Prayer garnered Madonna the strongest reviews of her career and attracted a more mature audience.Rolling Stone hailed the album as "..Like a Prayer peaked at number one on the US album chart and sold seven million copies worldwide, with 4 million copies alone sold in the U.Madonna's string of 17 consecutive Top 10 hits from "Borderline" (1984) to "Cherish" (1989).In early 1989, Madonna signed an endorsement deal with soft drink manufacturer Pepsi.The video depicted a black man who comes to the aid of a white woman being murdered by white men but the black man is arrested for the crime.Madonna, who has witnessed the crime, secures his release.Pepsi revoked the commercial and allowed Madonna to keep her five million dollar fee, as the contract was nullified.In 1990, Madonna starred as "Breathless" Mahoney in a film adaptation of the popular comic book series Dick Tracy.To accompany the launching of the film, in May 1990 she released I'm Breathless, which included songs from and inspired by the film's 1930s setting.I'm Breathless was a success in Europe, Australia and the United States, and sold 7 million copies worldwide (2x platinum in the U.The second single released from "I'm Breathless" was the saucy serving "Hanky Panky" which describes the pleasures of a nice spanky; the song would peak in the U.Featuring now familiar religious and sexual themes and symbolism, the tour drew controversy from Madonna's performance of &am |
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