THE MADONNA CHRONICLES PART ONE:  1983-1984
 
In honor of Madonna's new album HARD CANDY being released in late April, I am going to do a series of blog entries detailing my long and wonderful journey with Madonna.  Hope you enjoy and come along for the ride with me!!!

Madonna and I have been together since 1983. I remember the moment quite vividly. I was spending the night at my grandma Supkoski's house. My cousin Kevin lived with my grandma. He was about ten years older than me. We ordered pizzas. We played board games. We watched MTV. Kevin was one of the greatest influences on my early life.

When I was a kid I didn't play sports or buy toys. I bought books and records. By 1983 I already had about thirty records. Blondie. Pat Benetar. Fleetwood Mac. Pretenders. And I was in such wonderment of the new artists coming out my collection was growing rapidly. Thompson Twins. Eurythmics. Culture Club.

I remember Madonna's "Borderline" the first time I saw it. I liked it. It was a cool song. A few months later the "Lucky Star" video was released. Didn't like it as much as "Borderline", but it was okay. I remember my mom was going grocery shopping one day. I asked if she would stop by the record store and buy me Madonna's "Borderline" on 45rpm. She came home with "Lucky Star" by accident. And so began twenty five years of collecting. Who knew those two pop songs that caught my ear would be the beginning of a long, emotional, and fulfilling relationship?

I remember sitting in my third grade class. Jennifer Alessi came into the classroom and was talking about the new Madonna song. "She says the word VIRGIN in it!" None of us knew what 'virgin' meant. Jennifer told us. We were all eight years old and shocked.

I thought "Like A Virgin" must be a new single off the first Madonna album. My cousin David (from the other side of the family) had her debut album on LP. When I went to Grandma Gloff's I remember sitting in David's junk room and reading through the entire lyric sheet of the first Madonna album. The word "virgin" wasn't to be found. I figured my friend made a mistake. She must have meant "Physical Attraction" -- those lyrics seemed a bit saucy.

Turns out there WAS in fact a new Madonna song called "Like A Virgin". Eventually all us kids heard it… and fell in love with it. I decided it was time to graduate Madonna to the "artists I officially collected" --- which meant she was graduating from 45s to Lps in my collection. I bought the "Like A Virgin" album. I remember sitting in my bedroom. Nine years old. The needle hit the wax. Upon the very first listening I thought opening track "Material Girl" was amazing. I knew that song was going to be a hit. I knew "Dress You Up" was going to be a hit. It is cool to look back and see that at nine years old I had an ear back then for a good pop hit.

"Like A Virgin" went on very heavy rotation. I adored that album. I remember sitting on my dresser as a kid and listening to it over and over and over on my Fischer Price record player. I remember loving everything about the first two albums...from the black and white of the first cover to the sepia tone of the second.  I loved every track.  I remember being confused when "Into The Groove" and "Crazy For You" and "Gambler" all showed up on MTV around the same time. All these soundtrack songs that eventually would become pop culture classics (except for "Gambler" -- a lost gem.)

I had a jacket I used to wear to school all the time. It was a cheap knock off of the Desperately Seeking Susan jacket. Naturally the kids thought I was queer, but it didn't matter. Being a Madonna fan in 1984 meant being fearless and full of confidence. Just like our girl. But in 1984...who could have imagined what was in store next…

COMING NEXT:  THE TRUE BLUE/WHO'S THAT GIRL ERA
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO:  LEAVE A COMMENT ABOUT YOUR MADONNA MEMORIES 1983-1984 :)