Madonna Extreme

Shep Pettibone: Vogue only had a budget of $5,000 To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Madonna’s “Vogue” reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart,  Billboard.com  reached out to the song’s co-producer and co-writer, dance legend Shep Pettibone, for — amazingly — his first interview in 20 years. They talked to Pettibone, of course, about the genesis and making of “Vogue,” but also his later work with the diva on The Immaculate Collection and Erotica, the sampling lawsuit against him and Madonna over “Vogue,” and why he stepped away from the music business nearly 20 years ago. The producer/writer/remixer and DJ, now 55 years old, rose to prominence as a go-to remixer in the 1980s for such acts as Janet Jackson, New Order, Pet Shop Boys, George Michael, Whitney Houston and, most spectacularly, Madonna. His reworkings would often earn official promotion to radio, be used in an artist’s music videos, and be heard on tour. (A search for the phrase “Shep Pettibone” on Yo

On  May 22nd, 1990  Madonna released  I'm Breathless , a studio album that is often seen as the soundtrack of  Dick Tracy . However, only three songs are actually from the movie:  More ,  Sooner Or Later  and  What Can You Lose , which are written by Stephen Sondheim and produced by Madonna and  Bill Bottrell . The other songs are "inspired by" the film  Dick Tracy  and all written and produced by Madonna and  Patrick Leonard . Since the sound of all the tracks is very similar - all retro cabaret-jazz with an ironic twist - it's a very conceptual album. The only song that breaks with this concept is  Vogue , which doesn't really belong on the album. It was released as a single two months before the release of I'm Breathless and was added to the album at the last moment because of its huge success. In June  Hanky Panky  was released as a single, but it was destined to stay in the shadow of its predecessor  Vogue . It probably was  Vogue  as well tha

Daniel Kellison is a big-time producer now, running Jackhole with Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla. But in the 1990s, he landed his first job on the David Letterman show, doing a little of everything — researching, producing, booking guests. In an amazing new Grantland piece, he spills the behind the scenes secrets from some of the biggest names he worked with. But the best story by far is of that night in 1994 when Madonna went crazy on the show, dropping 14 F-bombs — then believed to be some sort of a record for network TV, or at least late night — taking off her underpants and asking Letterman to smell them, and so much more. In a subsequent appearance in 2009, Madonna admitted to Letterman that she’d smoked a joint before coming on. But Kallison tells an even wilder story. He says it was endo, which is essentially oxycontin, that she was smoking. That explains it! As Kellison tells the story, there was a plan for the appearance. Letterman had been making fun of Madonna every n

The assless   chaps , questionable   kisses   and   Great Fall   were worth it, guys; Madonna has racked up more number one songs than any other artist on   Billboard ’s Dance Club Songs chart. *throws glitter in the air and dances around like a “Ray of Light”* With her latest single “Ghosttown” reaching number one this week, Madonna is now unrivaled in her rule of Dance music,  according  to  Billboard , to which she gave the following exclusive statement. She’s also got more number one singles on a single chart than any other artist in history, including George Strait over on the Hot Country Songs chart. “Thanks to all my fans on and off the dancefloor,” Madonna said. “I’ll (always) be your partner.” Madge has 45 hits on the Dance chart, ahead of Beyoncé and Rihanna who each have 22. For a bit of music nerd history,  Billboard ’s Dance chart debuted in August 1978 and Madonna’s first number one hit was “ Holiday / Lucky Star ” in September 1983. “Ghosttown,” from h

Primally sexual, stripped down and muscular, Martha Graham’s aesthetic is here made eternally new by Madonna, who recalls her first meeting with the legend. Photographed by Peter Lindbergh Its NBA Ali-Star Weekend and I’m sitting in front of my television, excited, full of anticipation, completely sucked in. It’s gotten to the point where I’m happy to watch NBA players simply walk down a hallway. They don’t even have to be doing anything; their accomplishments, them talent and their energy make their most pedestrian activities mesmerizing. You know that they’ve just done something great, or that they’re about to. You’re probably wondering what all this has to do with anything. I just thought I’d share a subject that I happen to be completely inspired by before sharing another subject that 1 happen to be completely inspired by: Martha Graham. I’m not an authority on the NBA or Martha Graham, but I don’t think you have to be an authority to instinctively know when you’re in the p

On May 18 1987, Madonna was honored for Best Songwriting for  Live To Tell  at the 4th annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA; the award was accepted on her behalf by brother-in-law Christopher Penn.