Rolling Stone '89 ~ Part 2

Fabulous.

Mahalo! Madonna Does Hawaii

Over the last 28 years, she's been so many women that it's difficult to put them all together. But here, Madonna's Hussy Sex Bomb incarnation was superbly photographed by Herb Ritts in Hawaii ~ at the height of Like a Virgin's success.

Living in pop culture's Madonna Aftermath - it's hard to remember the furor she caused just wearing her innate sex. The Gloria Steinem feminists were horrified, saying she was setting women back 25 years. Seems tame now - throes of ecstasy, nipples and all - but you can still feel it.

Two of these shots were featured in Rolling Stone's Summer Style section in May 1985.

Yellow Nail Polish

Madonna at the 3rd Annual APLA Dance-A-Thon

@aplatweets

On April 21, 1991 at The Sports Arena in Los Angeles - where a year earlier Madonna did 5 nights of her Blond Ambition Tour (and yes, I was there every night) - Madonna hosted the 3rd annual APLA Dance-A-Thon. She brought along her friends Herb Ritts, Juliette Hohnen and the Blond Ambition dancers and back up singers.

3 years earlier she had done the first ever APLA Dance-A-Thon with her mentor Christopher Flynn who died of AIDS shortly after in 1990. At a time when the consensus was that AIDS was only a homosexual disease, Madonna - the biggest star in the world - not only crusaded for but also tried to convey to the public that it could affect anyone and had been doing so since the beginning of her career.

Don't know who filmed that fabulous footage but I'm glad they did. Madonna visibly clocks at the end but she knew that camera was on her the entire night. Trust. Ha! xo

I always loved this day - so cool and beautiful here. Just Sex Sex Sex - great outfit, great hair, great Madonna.

George Magazine - If I Were President by Madonna

October 1995. John F. Kennedy Jr.'s inaugural issue of George magazine that ran from 1995 - 2001. Cindy Crawford was on the cover, photographed by Herb Ritts. Madonna contributed a written piece in this premiere issue for the column titled, If I Were President.

All reminds me of the little ditty Olive Oyl sang in Popeye, If I Were President.

Italian GQ - December 2001 - The Best Of Madonna

Angel

In disguise, I can see it in your eyes!!!

I love Angel, the 3rd single from the Like a Virgin album. There was supposed to be a video for it but MTV said they couldn't add another Madonna video to their playlist. There were too many already! They were playing Virgin, Material Girl, Into the Groove, Crazy For You and Gambler and others from the first album. Of course, it would have been fabulous to have a video of Angel, but in some ways I'm glad there isn't. The song isn't tainted by a visual, it stands on it's own. And, it's brilliant.

¿Quién es esa Niña?

From the Who's That Girl Tour book. One of my all time favorite Madonna photo shoots.

The Boys of Summer - Rolling Stone - May 9, 1985

One of my all-time favorite photo shoots of Madonna by Herb Ritts.

Who's That Girl?

The Face of All Faces

Madonna and Child

New Madonna in Vanity Fair - Los Angeles 1984

Fantastique! From the new Herb Ritts book, The Golden Hour.

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Wearing the famous '85 Susan poster earring - for those who go way back. xo

Happy Birthday Herb Ritts

Herb Ritts
August 13, 1952 - December 26, 2002

xo

After Dark, My Sweet Premiere

Jason Patrick, James Foley, Madonna and Herb Ritts at Foley's After Dark, My Sweet premiere.

Foley and Madonna

In the Beginning

New York 1984

It was all due to Rosanna Arquette. When they were discussing who to bring in to do publicity shots for Desperately Seeking Susan, it was Rosanna Arquette who recommended Herb Ritts. She said that she could feel the gravitational pull between Madonna and Herb on their first meeting. Herb did side shots of Madonna that day. This is where this shot is from and we all know where they went from here.

At 17 years old, I was invited in 1988 (and took Betty!), to the Herb Ritts Pictures book release party at the Ebel Theater on Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles and Herb had a slide show and spoke of each photo that appeared in his book. When this image came up he said, Madonna arrived with cigar box full of her jewelry and just gave herself over to the camera.

mirror, mirror...

madonna / ritts 1986 ~ lee miller / man ray 1930