Legends of Rock & Roll: Madonna

By James Hoag

Is there anyone in this country who has not heard of Madonna. The superstar with one name has come from a normal childhood in Michigan to a star
of unequaled prominence.
She is, unquestionably, the queen of pop. She is now a dynasty all of her own.

There have been other books written about Madonna, but none that include the last ten years of her life.
Also, The Legends of Rock and Roll series concentrates on the music. Every hit she has had is covered in this book.
If you're a fan of Madonna, if you like her music or if you just want to learn about her life, this book will cover all of that.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James Hoag
• Release date: Jan 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005272326

James Hoag

James Hoag has always been a big fan of Rock & Roll. Most people graduate from high school and then proceed to "grow up" and go on to more adult types of music. James got stuck at about age 18 and has been an avid fan of popular music ever since. His favorite music is from the Fifties, the origin of Rock & Roll and which was the era in which James grew up. But he likes almost all types of popular music including country music.After working his entire life as a computer programmer, he is now retired and he decided to share his love of the music and of the performers by writing books that discuss the life and music of the various people who have meant so much to him over the years.He calls each book a "love letter" to the stars that have enriched our lives so much. These people are truly Legends.

Book preview

Introduction

As the Legends of Rock & Roll series moves into the Eighties, we now consider a woman who is, arguably, the most famous and best-selling female artist of all time. How many people do you know that can be identified by just one name? Cher comes to mind, and I’m sure there are a few others, but the list is small. Madonna not only is on that list, she is at the top. Madonna started out like most performers: small, singing in clubs, and working her way up. Her first few singles were not great hits, but she persisted and soon started hitting number one and the Top 10 with almost everything she recorded.

She then raised the bar considerably by becoming one of the most controversial figures in the entertainment world. That did so well for her that she has never given up being controversial even to this day.

I have never seen Madonna in person but, like every other red-blooded American male, have always wanted to. I remember fondly the days of sitting in front of the television with my friend as we watched videos on MTV of such songs as Like a Virgin, Material Girl, and Crazy for You.

My son just asked me what Madonna’s real name was, and I told him that that was her real name. I think many people believe she uses a stage name, but this is not so. Her given name is Madonna.

Legends of Rock & Roll is about the music. I write these tributes because I love the music. I especially love Madonna and the music she has produced over the years. I like the fact that she was born just a hundred miles or so from where I was living at the time. That makes me feel a little closer to her. I hope you love Madonna, too. I hope you like this fan tribute to a great performer. I present to you: Madonna.

A Young Girl

Madonna’s parents, Silvio Anthony Tony Ciccone and Madonna Louise Fortin, were married in Bay City, Michigan, but they moved soon after that to Pontiac, Michigan, where he took a job as an engineer at Chrysler Automotive Corporation. They had two boys: Anthony (born 1956) and Martin (born 1957). Then, on a trip back to Bay City, mother Madonna went into labor and their first girl, who they also named Madonna, was born on August 16, 1958. Her birth name is Madonna Louise Ciccone. She comes from a big family. The Ciccone family were devout Roman Catholics and, I’m sure, that is where the Madonna names come from. Because she and her mother had the same first and middle name, they called her Little Nonni. Besides her two older brothers, she had two younger sisters: Paula (born 1959) and Melanie (born 1962) and one younger brother, Christopher (born 1960). Later, she would have two more siblings.

Madonna grew up in a strong Catholic family. She was confirmed in 1966 and took the name of Veronica as a confirmation name. From then on, when she gave her full name, she was known as Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone. Tragedy struck when Madonna was five years old. Her mother passed away from breast cancer. She had been diagnosed about a year before she died, and little Nonni had to watch her mother gradually fade away. She was too young to understand exactly what was happening to her mother, and she took her death extremely hard. Her mother died on December 1, 1963. She spent the last year of her life in the hospital. Madonna later said this has had a profound impact on her entire life. She said she suddenly felt alone and realized that if she was to live and succeed, she would have to do it all herself. That is one reason she became so driven later in life.

As if losing her mother wasn’t bad enough, three years later, her father, Tony, remarried. He married a woman named Joan Gustafson. This was the ultimate betrayal for Madonna. She refused to call her Mother. The two were at odds for most of their lives. Madonna was so angry that she took it out on her father, blaming him for everything that went wrong in her life. Madonna later said she never hated her stepmother; she just refused to accept her into her life. I’m pretty sure that never changed as Madonna grew older. But, for years, there was tension between her and her father.

Her father signed her up for piano lessons when she was a teenager, but Madonna hated the piano. She didn’t want to play an instrument; she wanted to dance and sing. Eventually, she convinced her father to forget the piano and enroll her in dance classes, both tap and jazz. In high school, she met the man who would have a tremendous influence on her future life. His name was Christopher Flynn, and he ran a dance school which was associated with the Rochester School of Ballet. In Madonna, Flynn found a tireless worker who wanted nothing more than to be a dancer. Flynn saw in Madonna a real talent, and he encouraged her to become better and better. Madonna didn’t need any encouragement. She was so self-motivated, she could have become anything she set her mind to, and she wanted to dance.

When Madonna graduated from high school in 1976, she received the Thespian Award for the many plays she had performed in during high school. Madonna says there were so many, she doesn’t remember the exact number. Christopher Flynn had moved on to become a dance professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He wanted Madonna to come work with him there. He arranged for her to take the test for a scholarship to the University, and she passed the test and won the scholarship. She had a four-year, full paid scholarship. Father Tony was very proud, a feeling that would be short-lived.

It was during the time she was in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that the true persona of Madonna emerged. She was no longer Madonna Louise Ciccone. She was now just Madonna.

Madonna enjoyed university life for the most part but after a year and a half, she decided they had taught her as much as they could. She thought she could do better if she went to New York and started dancing professionally. In July of 1978 she gave up her scholarship, and moved to New York City. She was nineteen years old and her father was furious.

New York City

New York can be a cruel city for the young and inexperienced. You can have all the drive and determination you need and still fail in New York. Madonna didn’t strike gold right away. In fact, it took quite a while. During the first year in New York, she was accepted to be a student in the Pearl Lang Dance Studio but didn’t last long. Lang required great discipline from her students, and Madonna was her own person, unwilling to take direction. She was motivated and not afraid to work; she just didn’t like someone else telling her what to do. Thus, Pearl Lang fired her. She next worked with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, but that did not last long, either.

In her first year, she worked at every menial job there was to offer in the big city. She was a cashier, a hatcheck girl, and a waitress. It was during that first year that she was raped. Her father told her to come home, but she wouldn’t do it. He visited her and saw the conditions she was living in: a roach infested apartment in the poorest part of the East Village. He begged her to come back to Michigan with him, but she refused. She stayed in New York, but it took a while for things to improve.

Madonna met a fellow named Norris Burroughs at a party, and the two dated for about three months. The only reason to mention him is that he introduced Madonna to Dan and Ed Gilroy, two brothers who had formed a band called The Breakfast Club. The band still exists today (it’s easy to find their website), but the personnel has changed many times over the years. In the early Eighties, the band was comprised of the Gilroy brothers, who both played guitar, with Angie Smit on bass. Madonna was immediately drawn to Dan Gilroy, and he began to teach her the music business. She learned to