Madonna Louise Ciccone is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting and visual presentation. Madonna's works, which incorporate social, political, sexual, and religious themes, have generated both controversy and critical acclaim. A cultural icon spanning both the 20th and 21st centuries, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame called her one of the most "well-documented figures of the modern age" in 2008. Various scholarly reviews, literature, and art works have been created about her along with an academic mini subdiscipline devoted to her called Madonna studies.
William Mark Wainwright, known professionally as William Orbit, is an English musician and record producer who has sold 200 million recordings worldwide of his own work, his production and song-writing work. He is a recipient of multiple Grammy Awards, Ivor Novello Awards and other music industry awards.
Who's That Girl is the first soundtrack album by American singer and songwriter Madonna. It was released on July 21, 1987, by Sire Records to promote the film of the same name. It also contains songs by her label mates Scritti Politti, Duncan Faure, Club Nouveau, Coati Mundi and Michael Davidson. The soundtrack is credited as a Madonna album, despite her only performing four of the nine tracks on the album. After the commercial success of the film Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), in which she co-starred, Madonna wanted to act in another comedy film titled Slammer, about a woman named Nikki Finn who was falsely accused of homicide. However, due to the critical and commercial failure of her adventure film Shanghai Surprise (1986), Warner Bros. was initially reluctant to greenlight the project but later agreed.
Stephen Pate Bray is an American songwriter, drummer, and record producer. He is best known for his collaborations with Madonna, being a member of the band Breakfast Club, and for winning the 2017 Grammy Award for the Best Musical Theater Album of the Tony Award-winning revival of The Color Purple. Bray owns and operates Saturn Sound recording studios and the Soultone Records label.
Madonna is the debut studio album by American singer Madonna, released on July 27, 1983, by Sire Records. In the late 1970s, Madonna had established herself as a singer in downtown New York City; alongside her Michigan boyfriend Stephen Bray, she put together a demo tape with four dance tracks and began pitching it around local nightclubs. She managed to get Mark Kamins, the resident DJ at Danceteria, to play "Everybody" —one of the songs from the tape. The song drew positive reception from the crowd, and Kamins took Madonna to Sire Records, where label president Seymour Stein signed her on for three twelve-inch singles. Following its release on October 6, 1982, "Everybody" found success on the dance scene, and the label approved the recording of an album.
You Can Dance is the first remix album by American singer and songwriter Madonna. It was released on November 17, 1987, by Sire Records. The album contains remixes of tracks from her first three studio albums—Madonna (1983), Like a Virgin (1984) and True Blue (1986)—and a new track, "Spotlight". In the 1980s, remixing was still a new concept. The mixes on You Can Dance exhibited a number of typical mixing techniques. Instrumental passages were lengthened to increase the time for dancing and vocal phrases were repeated and subjected to multiple echoes. The album cover denoted Madonna's continuous fascination with Hispanic culture.
"You Keep Me Hangin' On" is a song written and composed by Holland–Dozier–Holland. It was first recorded in 1966 by American Motown group the Supremes, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Brenda Joy Kaplan, known by her stage name Brenda K. Starr, is an American singer and songwriter. She is well known originally in R&B, dance and pop but now mostly in salsa-based music. She is also well known for her 1980s work with freestyle music.
Alisha Ann Itkin is an American freestyle and dance-pop singer who had several club hits in the 1980s and 1990s.
Regina Marie Cuttita, also known as Regina Richards or simply Regina, is an American singer born in Brooklyn, New York. She began her career in the late 1970s as the frontwoman of the new wave band Regina Richards and Red Hot. She is perhaps best known for the hit single "Baby Love", which reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1986. "Baby Love" was her only song to chart on the Hot 100, making her a one-hit wonder. The song also reached number 50 on the UK Singles Chart that same year.
Deborah Christine "Siedah" Garrett is an American singer and songwriter who has written songs and performed backing vocals for many recording artists in the music industry, such as Michael Jackson, the Pointer Sisters, Brand New Heavies, Quincy Jones, Tevin Campbell, Donna Summer, Madonna, Jennifer Hudson among others. Garrett has been nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Original Song, and won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards for co-writing "Love You I Do" for the 2006 musical film, Dreamgirls.
"Burning Up" is a song written and recorded by American singer Madonna included on her debut studio album Madonna (1983). Written by the singer and produced by Reggie Lucas, the song was released as a double-sided single with "Physical Attraction" on March 9, 1983. In early 1980, Madonna was beginning her music career as a member of band the Breakfast Club; together with band drummer Stephen Bray, they formed a new band, Emmy and the Emmys, but shortly after, she decided to pursue a solo career. She and Bray created demos for three songs: "Everybody", "Ain't No Big Deal", and "Burning Up".
"Everybody" is a song written and recorded by American singer Madonna and produced by DJ Mark Kamins. In 1982, the singer was living with her former Michigan boyfriend Stephen Bray in New York, and since dance music was in style, they created a demo with four dance tracks, one of which was "Everybody". Madonna, who was not signed to any record label at the time, pitched the tape on her own: she would go to local nightclubs and try to convince the DJs there to play it. She met and befriended DJ Mark Kamins at Danceteria nightclub, who played "Everybody" to a positive reception from the crowd. Afterwards, Kamins took the tape to Sire Records, where Seymour Stein, the label's president, signed Madonna for two twelve-inch singles.
Pre-Madonna is a collection of demos by American singer Madonna. It was released in 1997 by Stephen Bray, who was the producer of the songs when they were recorded, and was distributed by Soultone. Madonna met up with Bray, her former boyfriend, in 1980 when she was trying to establish her music career. She had left the band Breakfast Club and enlisted his help to further her career. Together they started writing songs and recorded them at New York's Music Building studio. The songs recorded at that time were released in Pre-Madonna.
"Baby Love" is a song by American singer Regina. The single hit number one on the dance charts for two weeks in mid-1986. The single crossed over to the pop singles chart, where it peaked at number 10 on US Billboard Hot 100 and at number 30 on the Billboard Soul Singles chart. "Baby Love" would be her only single to chart on both the Pop and Soul Singles charts, but several follow up singles charted on the dance chart.
"Rico Mambo" is a 1984 single by the American band Breakfast Club. Written by the band's lead singer Dan Gilroy and originally produced by drummer Stephen Bray, it was re-recorded for the band's eponymous 1987 album with production by Deodato.
Daniel Alan Gilroy is an American musician best known as the former lead singer of the group Breakfast Club. Following Breakfast Club, he acted in the children's programs Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.
"Right on Track" is a 1987 hit single by the American band Breakfast Club. Written by the band's lead singer and drummer, Dan Gilroy and Stephen Bray respectively, the single climbed to number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on May 30, 1987. The single also peaked at number 54 on the UK Singles Chart and number 7 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart that same year.
"Physical Attraction" is a song by American singer Madonna. It was included on her debut studio album Madonna (1983). Written and produced by Reggie Lucas, the song was released as a double A-side single with "Burning Up" on March 9, 1983.
