Madonna "Hung Up"

Celebrities are people too! As a morning show producer, I arranged phone calls with celebrities. During one interview with Dan Akroyd, his young son picked up the phone during our interview and started dialing. "Hello? Dad's on the phone," Akroyd said to his son. His son later hung up the phone and Akroyd continued the interview without missing a beat.

Madonna "Ray of Light"

"If you want to succeed in life, you need to constantly reinvent yourself," said the guest speaker in one of my college courses. Those wise words from this man (who at the time worked for the upstart WB Network) continue to remain relevant as I celebrate my 20 year college reunion. Credit to Madonna for artistically reinventing herself with every passing album. Even today, at 60 years of age, Madonna will embark on her Madame X Tour in support of her 14th studio album.

Madonna "Holiday"

My friend's parents stocked up on canned peaches in fear of the year 2000. Y2K scared many folks into believing the world would end because our computer systems were ill-prepared to handle the transition from a year beginning with "19" to the year 2000. While working at soft rock Windy 100 in Chicago on New Year's Day 2000, I arrived nearly two hours early and nervously stared at the computer as the clock flipped from 1999 to 2000 with Madonna's "Holiday" playing. Somewhere in my basement, I still have the memo from my boss detailing what to do in case Armageddon happened.

Madonna "Into the Groove"

After school in the mid-1990s, teenagers all across Chicago would run home and turn on Channel 26 to watch U Dance with B96. Yes, a TV show much like American Bandstand that featured teenagers dancing to house music used to air on the low-powered UHF television station WCIU (known as "The U") from 1995-97. Hosted by B96 DJ's Bad Boy Bill, Julian Jumpin' Perez, and Brian "Hit Mix" Middleton, the show aired on the independent TV station whose lineup featured classic shows like The Munsters and Leave It to Beaver. One particular week, word circulated around my high school that an attractive senior named Becky would be dancing on the show. It happened around the same time Sir Mix-A-Lot made "Oh My Gawd, Becky. Look at her butt." a household catchphase thanks to his earworm "Baby Got Back". Becky from high school was a blonde, curvy and attractive girl who was waaaay out of my league. That afternoon, my friends and I raced home to watch Becky bump 'n grind on U Dance, and she didn't disappoint.

Madonna "You Must Love Me"

For her role as Evita Peron, Madonna immersed herself and pushed herself outside her boundaries both in her acting and singing abilities. For the song "You Must Love Me", Madonna underwent vocal training to help her reach an upper register she didn't know she had. The ballad peaked at #15 on the Adult Contemporary Chart. 

Madonna "Papa Don't Preach"

Despite her larger-than-life personality, Madonna stands at a mere 5-foot 3-inches. She also suffers from insomnia with her sleeping issues dating back to when her mom died at the age of 30. Six hours of sleep is a success according to Madonna.

Madonna "Lucky Star"

Although the hook has Madonna singing, "Star light, star bright", her 1983 song actually takes the name "Lucky Star".

Madonna "Borderline"

Early in her career, Madonna repeatedly performed "Borderline" that she swore off singing it during concerts for much of the '90s and 2000s. It wasn't until 2008 that she finally re-added the pop song to her Sticky & Sweet Tour. She again dusted off the song in 2016 to perform a more soulful but slower version of the tune on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon while President Barack Obama (who was also a guest on the show) looked on in the distance.

Madonna "Rain"

My fifth grade Catholic school teacher suggested I take speech therapy classes because she claimed I didn't properly enunciate my "L's". Each week, I would leave class in order to play thrilling games like Word Bingo alongside a third grade student who also had some speech issues. With all due respect, neither my parents nor I thought there was an issue, but I went along with the program because that was the kind of person I was.

After a few weeks of speech therapy, I had enough and stopped going. A few weeks passed before my speech teacher found me in my classroom. Visibly upset, she wanted to know why I stopped attending. After a handful of excuses, I told her I felt dumb trekking it down to speech class each week to over-enunciate the words "lemonade" and "lettuce". My only recollection of her during that conversation was that she seemed visibly upset and nearly out of breath. She contacted my parents and, in order for me to get out of these speech therapy lessons, they had to sign numerous documents. My dad questioned why I was so opposed to it, and I just begged him to sign the papers and make the weekly Word Bingo games disappear. Ultimately, I finally elevated my social status to "cool" during the fifth grade and going to speech therapy classes didn't make me feel popular...not to mention, I didn't think I had a speech issue.

Fast-forward to my first paid radio gig: I was a board operator who played public affairs shows and five hours of recorded programming at WPNT-FM in Chicago. My shift began at 6 A.M. and went until 1 P.M. Between two of the early-morning shows, my boss permitted me to do an on-air weather report which was the highlight of my shift. Somewhere in the radio broadcasting Hall of Fame is my first weather report from 6:29 A.M. on June 9, 1996. While a cutesy weather jingle played, I started my report by saying, "Light lane this morning...". You can almost hear my 5th grade speech therapy teacher laughing...

Madonna "Don't Cry for Me Argentina"

When your name is Madonna and you get handed one of the world's most recognized songs ("Don't Cry for Me Argentina"), what do you do? Since we're talking about Madonna, we can easily guess she will push the envelope and do something completely different to the song. Of course, that's exactly what she did. Madonna took the sleepy ballad famous for being delivered on a balcony and morphed it into a high-octane Latin-flavored dance tune. Not only did Top 40 radio stations take notice and put Madonna's "Miami Mix" of the song in heavy rotation, but dance clubs, discos and even Adult Contemporary radio stations embraced the high-energy take on the classic song. Critical reception to the song helped justify the decision to cast the controversial Madonna as Eva Peron in Evita. In Madonna's four-page letter to the movie's writer/director Alan Parker in 1994, she cited the video to "Take A Bow" as part of her audition for a role Madonna once told Vanity Fair that she was "born to play". 

Madonna "Secret"

Unlike previous singles from Madonna like "Justify My Love" and "Like A Prayer", the song "Secret" didn't come hand-packed with controversy. The R&B-tinged song introduced the world to a more mature Madonna--one who would soon take on the film role of Evita. "Secret" worked its way to #2 on the Adult Contemporary Chart (#3 on the Hot 100 and Mainstream Top 40 Charts).

Bette Midler "The Rose"

Which of the following nicknames sounds the coolest?
Michael Jackson: The King of Pop
Prince: The Purple One
Madonna: The Material Girl
Aretha Franklin: The Queen of Soul
James Brown: The Godfather of Soul
Bette Midler: The Divine Miss M

I'll put my money on Bette Midler.

Madonna "Crazy for You"

Wherever Madonna went, controversy usually followed.  While certainly less controversial than most stories, her 1985 song "Crazy for You" also came out of the kitchen with a side order of drama.  Madonna recorded the ballad for use on the soundtrack to the movie Vision Quest, but her record people complained the song would detract from her Like A Virgin album.  Who cares, right?  Well, her record peeps argued that "Crazy for You" was Madonna's first ballad -- a song much different from hits such as "Lucky Star" or "Like A Virgin" that were popular at that time.  A tug-of-war ensued complete with a shouting match between her record people and the movie people.  Ultimately, her record people signed off on the inclusion of "Crazy for You" on the film's soundtrack.  The result: "Crazy for You" was Madonna's first #1 single on the Hot 100 Chart and a #2 hit on the Adult Contemporary Chart -- a format she had never before been a part of and in the dozen or so years to follow, a format she would remain a fixture.

Regina - "Baby Love"

If you can't get Madonna to agree to sing a song, find someone who sounds just like her and let her record it.  That sums up the story behind the pop song "Baby Love".  Originally written for Madonna, the singer Regina stepped up after Madonna passed on the song and turned the catchy tune into her one and only hit in 1986.

Madonna - "Hung Up"

"Hung Up" helped pull Madonna into a tie with Elvis Presley for the most Top 10 singles in history.  The disco-tinged dance tune was Madonna's 36th Top 10 single and reminded the world that she was still relevant.

Madonna - "Beautiful Stranger"

If it wasn't for that darn Britney Spears, Madonna's would have had the #1 song in 1999.  Britney's mega-breakout hit "Baby...One More Time" edged "Beautiful Stranger" out of the top spot.  Thankfully, Madonna and Britney would later kiss and make up at the MTV VMA's in 2003.

After 7 - "Ready or Not"

Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds had his hands all over R&B music during the late-80s and 90s.  He was part of the '80s group Deele and later became a super producer responsible for hits from Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men, and Madonna.  Babyface also founded Soda Pop Records and co-founded LaFace Records -- a record label responsible for TLC, Usher, and Toni Braxton.  Heck, the state of Indiana even renamed a portion of I-65 in Indianapolis after the successful singer, songwriter, producer, and Hoosier.  As someone who has driven I-65 numerous times, I am well aware how little there is to see aside from the creepy wind farm.  His brothers, Melvin and Kevon, performed in After 7 and produced the Top 10 hit "Ready or Not" in 1990.

Madonna - "Causing A Commotion"

Certain trivial things unexpectedly stick in my brain.  One such memory using up precious space on the hard drive known as my memory is an interview between Madonna and Matt Lauer.  I don't recall when the interview happened, but I remember Lauer posed the question: "Do you think your fans will let you age?".  At the time, I recall it being an insightful question.  In August, Madonna turned 58 and she will forever be challenged to appear more youthful.

Madonna - "The Power of Goodbye"

Like you, I forgot about this catchy little ballad from Madonna's Ray of Light album.  As the master of reinvention, Madonna again showed the world a different version of Madonna.  Thanks to her role in Evita coupled with the fact that she was now a mother, the world witnessed the softer, tamer, and more mature side of Madonna.  That, my friends, is the power of goodbye.

Stereo MC's - "Connected"

The often forgotten, but catchy as hell song "Connected" came from Stereo MC's.  The group (of producers and disc jockeys) later remixed Madonna's "Frozen" in the 1998.