Happy 25th Anniversary True Blue!

Billboard Magazine Advert : Volume 98 NO. 27 : July 5, 1986

Happy Silver Anniversary, True Blue. A Quarter of a Century. Fabulous.

Planet Earth's top selling album of 1986 and reached Number 1 in 28 countries - an unprecedented achievement at the time. It has become one of the best selling albums in history, selling 24 million copies worldwide.

The summer album of not only 1986 but 1987, as well.

Madonna - True Blue (Greek Edition)

With True Blue coming on it's 25th anniversary on June 30th, Madonna Scrapbook reader X-STaTIC PRO=CeSS sent these great photos of the Greek Edition of True Blue! I have never seen it. Fab.

Paper Bag Records Cover Madonna's True Blue Album

Paper Bag Records is celebrating eight years as a label and their new website by releasing a tribute album covering Madonna’s 1986 album True Blue. The label asked their roster of artists — including Born Ruffians, PS I Love You, The Rural Alberta Advantage, and You Say Party (RIP) — to record songs from the album, which is 25 years old this year. There were great songs to chose from — the album includes big Madonna singles like “La Isla Bonita,” “Live To Tell,” “Papa Don’t Preach,” and “Open Your Heart.” The latter was covered by Montreal-based trio Young Galaxy. Their version of “Open Your Heart” is light and airy, with little more than two keyboards and a drum machine behind singer Catherine McCandless’s voice. It’s a nice contrast to PS I Love You’s “Where’s The Party,” which is all crashing guitars and anguished vocals (that one is also below).

LISTEN TO ALBUM HERE

La Isla Bonita 45 Single

Beautiful

All about those shoes.

Papa Don't Preach

I Made Up My Mind

In the mid 80's, as her contemporaries ballooned and were drowning in their cemented public images, Madonna opted to crop her hair off, strip away the layered look and exhibited a sculpted physique that would later define that decade. Papa Don't Preach was that moment where Madonna showcased not only the strong vocals on the song but also her wonderful classic 50's Americana style in the accompanying video, directed by James Foley. While we got a little prior glimpse of the upcoming change of sound and look with Live to Tell, this was her real first major metamorphosis since her debut album, Madonna, in 1983.

Prior to Madonna, a star would create a public image and stick with it so the public would be able to identify them. Not so from this moment on. A chameleon by nature, it was innate with Madonna to change. For the others, then and now, it seems forced and expected.

So, If You Should Ever Doubt...

Forbes - The World's Most Powerful Celebrities

Oh, uh huh, right.

Just touring over the span of 2 months - on the second leg of her Sticky and Sweet Tour, that didn't touch American soil, and that Glee episode - has landed Madonna at number 10 on the 2009 Forbes 100 Most Powerful Celebrity list.

A total of 27 nights on tour ($6 million a night) and a television episode - in which she didn't even appear - that's Power.

For the list - Click HERE.

Black Leather Blond

from Modern Screen magazine.

Japanese Who's That Girl Tour and Movie Press Conference - 1987

A very special thanks to Scrapple.

Oh, how I love this Madonna. That hair, that face, that dancer's body, those flats! Is she wearing the Papa Don't Preach dance segment outfit under that embroidered 50's style jacket? If so, fantastique! Here in America we only saw a few snippets on MTV's Week in Rock. And by few, I mean - Stop following me in the park...and...It's so the opposite of America. Anyway, here's five glorious minutes of the press conference and her accepting an award for True Blue. Enjoy!

Melissa Crowe and the Madonna EBAY scandal

Debi M., Erica Bell and Madonna on the set of True Blue in one of the EBAY items up for grabs.

From Madonnatribe.com:

Yesterday we ran a story about private items that belonged to Madonna's former assistant Melissa Crow being put up on Ebay by a seller who had purchased the boxes of personal photos, polaroids, video, diaries, autographed items from a moving company.

Today MadonnaTribe.com has been informed that Melissa is actually shocked to know some personal items that belonged to her are up for sale and she is indeed very upset by this situation and is trying to find a way to prevent the sale of these personal items.

What bothers Melissa the most is that some fans on the various forums where this story is being monitored and discussed (on our board as well) may have the impression she is indeed the one putting these items up for auction on Ebay and trying to cash on Madonna's fame. MadonnaTribe can deny this is the case. We have heard that Melissa Crow wants fans to clearly understand that she is NOT behind this Ebay auction and that she is doing anything to get the items back into her possession. She is also kindly asking people not to bid on the items.

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I knew Sweet Melly Mel couldn't be behind this.

True Blue 45

The True Blue 45 and single artwork.

Ah, the True Blue 45. Mesmerizing. Blue vinyl (!!!) with a b-side of Ain't No Big Deal - originally set as her first single, the song that really got her signed to Sire Records. First properly produced by Mark Kamins then produced by Reggie Lucas for the Madonna album but discarded last minute and then replaced with Holiday. It had been previously released a few years earlier on a rare Warner B-Sides Album called Revenge of the Killer B's prior to the release of Like of Virgin. If you're interested, I posted about it HERE.

Anyway, Ain't No Big Deal got its proper release here on the 45 and the masses got to hear the very Motown sounding song, a perfect companion piece to True Blue - which hearkened the Sixties girl groups. True Blue was the third single off Madonna's True Blue album and written and produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray. This glorious piece of retro sounding pop candy reached number 3 on the US Billboard charts and the top ten around the globe.

The Hostess Outfit.

The Hostess Outfit, one of my favorites, was popularized in the 1950's. The outfit, for entertaining or lounging, was worn over slacks or capri pants. The front was a fitted top with a train that would be either short, mid-length or long and flowing. From Edith Head to Jean Louis, it's nearly impossible to get through a film of the 1950's and not have a sighting. Madonna asked Marlene Stewart, her personal costumer of the time, to design one for her and most of us know it from the True Blue video.

Madonna's Hostess Outfit from True Blue by Marlene Stewart
1986



Judy Holliday's Hostess Outfit from Born Yesterday by Jean Louis 1950



Lucille Ball's Hostess Outfit from I Love Lucy by Elois Jenssen 1952

Billboard - July 5, 1986 - Back Cover

Madonna's US 10th Consecutive Top Ten Single - True Blue

"An Image of Classic Hollywood Glamour." The Year in Rock - 1986.

What's the matter?

La Isla Bonita

True Blue (Single Remix)

Jaded Live To Tell Review and Cartoon