Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that can help answer the question.
Query: What was Madonna's first album?
American singer Madonna has released 13 studio albums, three soundtrack albums, five live albums, six compilation albums, and 34 other limited releases. In 1982, Madonna signed a recording contract with Sire Records, a label owned by Warner Bros. Records. The first release under the label was her self-titled debut album, "Madonna" (1983). It peaked at number eight on the "Billboard" 200 and was certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). She followed the debut album with the sophomore release, "Like a Virgin" (1984). The album topped the chart in several countries and was certified diamond by the RIAA. "True Blue" was released as her third studio album in 1986 and sold over 25 million copies worldwide, while becoming her second chart topper in US. In 1987, she released two albums that reached platinum status in the United States: the "Who's That Girl soundtrack" and her first remix compilation, "You Can Dance". Madonna's fourth studio album, "Like a Prayer" (1989), became her third number-one album on the "Billboard" 200, achieving quadruple platinum in US.
In 1983, Madonna met John "Jellybean" Benitez, who worked as a DJ at the Funhouse club in lower Manhattan. Soon after, they started dating each other and worked on Madonna's self-titled debut album, released in 1983. When Benitez started work on his debut EP, "Wotupski!?!", he asked Madonna to write a song for him. Within two days Madonna wrote "Sidewalk Talk", whose idea she had initially thought of using on her debut album. According to Benitez, "Wotupski!?!" was a concept album, "It's a street slang in the Bronx. It means 'what's up, what's new'?" The artist credit of the song was simply Jellybean, with lead vocals credited to Catherine Buchanan. Madonna provided background vocals for the track with Audrey Wheeler and Cindy Mizelle. Benitez produced the track as well as arranged and mixed it. Michael Hutchinson assisted on engineering, recording and mixing the track. Producer Stephen Bray also arranged "Sidewalk Talk" with Benitez. Instrumentation featured in the track included bass guitar by Marcus Miller, synthesizer by Boyd Jarvis, Fred Zarr and Bray, electric guitar by Ira Siegel, percussion by Bashiri Johnson and Trevor Gale, and lastly drum programming by Benitez and Bray.
According to journalist Mary von Aue from "Vice" magazine, "Bedtime Stories" is the "most important" album released by Madonna. For months leading up to its release, the promotion associated cited the record as an apology for the singer's sexually provocative imagery. Critics had also hoped for a return to more innocent form of music. However Madonna instead chose to portray herself as unapologetic for her imagery, as well as talking about scrutiny that female musicians faced. Madonna went opposite to what was being portrayed as the theme of the album in the promotional campaigns, and continued addressing her critics and people who had tried to shame her for being provocative. Von Aue added that "Today, "Bedtime Stories" is not the first album that comes to mind in Madonna's legacy. It is, however, the most relevant to many of the cultural conversations that are still happening. Had she acquiesced to the public's call for apology, it could have set a dangerous standard for how the public can decree an artist's silence, and it would have allowed the categories for female singers to remain in place".
Biographer Mary Cross noted in her book "Madonna: A Biography", how the song paved the way for its music video and became a testament to freedom. Authors Allen Metz and Carol Benson noted in their essays on Madonna, how she decimated "patriarchal, racist and capitalist constructions", by the way she pronounced the word "self" in "Express Yourself". They added that the opening line "Don't go for second best, baby" transformed the song into a postmodernist anthem. Scholar Sheila Whiteley noted in her book "Women and Popular Music: Sexuality, Identity, and Subjectivity", that Madonna's acknowledgement of the pastiche and of being capable of imitating musical style was interesting to her, but given Madonna's ability to manipulate image, the musical exuberance of "Express Yourself" did not appear surprising. Mark Bego, author of "Madonna: Blond Ambition" declared that "the song that most reflected the Madonna everyone had come to know and be shocked by was 'Express Yourself'." O'Brien was impressed with the song, and gave a detailed review:
After a small saxophone interlude, a break-down comes with Madonna singing in a fuller voice, as horns and percussion beats continue. Madonna changes the lyrics at the end to "express himself", and after another repetition of the bridge and the intermediate verse, the chorus comes where she changes the lyrics back to the original title. The song ends with the words "respect yourself" fading out. Set within a simple song structure, "Express Yourself" plays with ambiguity through a subtle control of harmony and the avoidance of diatonic closure. The song appears to be in the key of G major but its actual composition seems to be written in the key of C major. But the first note of the melody, "don't" in B major, implies the G Dorian mode. This is also evident in Madonna's vocal nuance on the words "express yourself", which initially centers on G, before moving down a semitone to E minor, the raised 6th in G Dorian. Per the sheet music published by Alfred Publishing Co. Inc., "Express Yourself" is set in time signature of common time, with a tempo of 120 beats per minute. Madonna's voice range spans from G to C with a chord progression of G–F/G–C–G.
Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) is the fourth studio album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on November 11, 2000 by Nothing and Interscope Records. A rock opera concept album, it is the final installment of a triptych that also included "Antichrist Superstar" (1996), and marked a return to the industrial metal style of the band's earlier work, after the glam rock-influenced production of "Mechanical Animals" (1998). After its release, the band's eponymous vocalist said that the overarching story within the trilogy is presented in reverse chronological order: "Holy Wood", therefore, begins the narrative.
Released in November 1968, "Connie Francis sings Bacharach & David" is the first album by Francis on MGM Records released exclusively in stereo. All previous albums had either been released in both stereo and mono or exclusively in mono. In 1979 Polydor Records released a two-record set of this album together with the "Connie Francis Sings the Songs of Les Reed" album.
The highest-selling albums and EPs in the United States are ranked in the "Billboard" 200, which is published by "Billboard" magazine. The data are compiled by Nielsen Soundscan based on each album's weekly physical and digital sales, as well as on-demand streaming and digital sales of its individual tracks. In 2016, a total of 33 albums claimed the top position of the chart. One of which, English singer Adele's "25" started its peak issue dated December 12, 2015. Canadian hip hop soul artist Drake's fourth studio album, "Views", became the second best-selling overall album with 1.04 million equivalent album units, selling 852,000 copies in its first week of release, and achieving over 245 million streams, more than previous record 115.2 million by Beyoncé's "Lemonade". "Lemonade" is the third overall best-seller, incurring 485,000 copies in its first week (653,000 with additional album-equivalent units).
"Express Yourself" received mainly positive reviews from critics. J. Randy Taraborrelli, author of "" called the song a "funky dance anthem" and reacted positively to its message of a "female call-to-arms in communication and self-respect." Stephen Holden of "The New York Times" observed that Madonna repudiated the philosophy of her previous single "Material Girl" (1985) in "Express Yourself", which he described as "a 30-year-old's view of life unshadowed by rebellion and lingering lapsed Catholic pain." In another article from the same newspaper, Carn James declared it as one of her most exuberant songs. Santiago Fouz-Hernández and Freya Jarman-Ivens, authors of "Madonna's Drowned Worlds", complimented the lyrics of the song, and added that it apparently espouses "gender fluidity as a road to gender equality." In his book "Madonna As Postmodern Myth", journalist Georges Claude Guilbert described "Express Yourself" as a hymn to freedom, "an encouragement for all women and all oppressed minorities to resist, to express their ideas and their strength faced with tyranny."
Taylor Swift's "Reputation" was the best selling album of 2017. Singer Ed Sheeran's "÷" is the second best-selling album with 451,000 album-equivalent units, of which 322,000 were pure album sales. Rapper Kendrick Lamar's fourth studio album, "Damn", went on to become the third best-seller with 603,000 album-equivalent units in its first week of release (353,000 in pure album sales). In the meantime, another Canadian artist Drake's "playlist", "More Life", which broke many streaming records, sustained 505,000 album-equivalent units, of which 226,000 were pure sales. As of September 2017, the album has moved over 1,864,000 album-equivalent units in the United States, of which 352,000 were pure sales.
is an image album for the "Clannad" visual novel, and was first released on December 28, 2004 in Japan by Key Sounds Label bearing the catalog number "KSLA-0015". The album is a follow-up to the earlier released "Sorarado", and contains one disc with four tracks sung by Riya that sample tunes from background music featured in the "Clannad Original Soundtrack". The album is composed, arranged, and produced by Jun Maeda, Magome Togoshi, Manyo, and Takumaru.
On the "WTF with Marc Maron" podcast, on February 24, 2012, she said her next project would be directing her first film, which is about a young woman who abandons religion after surviving a plane crash. In February 2013, she said that the film is called "Paradise" (firstly known as "Lamb of God"). Julianne Hough, Holly Hunter, Octavia Spencer, and Russell Brand are in the cast. Mandate Pictures produced it.
"American Pie" is a song by American singer and songwriter Don McLean. Recorded and released on the "American Pie" album in 1971, the single was the number-one US hit for four weeks in 1972 and also topped the charts in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. In the UK, the single reached number 2, where it stayed for 3 weeks, on its original 1971 release while a reissue in 1991 reached No. 12. The song was listed as the No. 5 song on the RIAA project Songs of the Century. A truncated version of the song was covered by Madonna in 2000 and reached No. 1 in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. McLean's combined version is the fourth longest song to enter the Billboard Hot 100, at the time of release it was the longest, in addition to being the longest song to reach number one.
Produced by Greg Wells, Justin Paul, and Benj Pasek, the album became a global success following the release of the film, topping the charts in several countries including the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and Japan. The album also reached number one on iTunes in over 77 countries. In the United Kingdom, the album was a commercial success and was the best-selling album of 2018. It became only the second album in 30 years to spend 11 consecutive weeks at number 1 and, in its 20th week atop the UK Albums Chart, it became the longest-running soundtrack at number 1 in 50 years. With combined sales of over 1.6 million, it was 2018's best-selling album in the United Kingdom. It was also the best-selling album of 2018 in the United States, with 1,491,000 in pure album sales, but third at 2,499,000 in album equivalent units.
Born in New York City, he began his music career early in his life, honing his skills throughout the 1970s. Monk's destiny was sealed when Art Blakey, gave him his first drum set at the age of 15, and began lessons with Max Roach. After earning a reputation in school as a rabble-rouser (and graduating), the young Monk joined his father's trio and toured with his dad until the elder Monk's retirement in 1975. Monk then launched into the music that had captivated him and his generation, R&B. He first toured with a group called Natural Essence and afterward, along with his sister Barbara, formed his own band. By the dawning of the 1980s, he had formed his eponymous band, which featured him on drums and occasional lead vocals. The group's début album, 1980's "House of Music", featured several hits that placed on the Billboard R&B chart, including "Bon Bon Vie (Gimme the Good Life)", which featured Monk on lead vocals, and "Candidate for Love". The tracks peaked at No. 63 and No. 58 respectively, in the UK Singles Chart. The band went on to release two more albums throughout the early 1980s, though singles released from these albums did not fare as well as those on the début. The band broke up shortly thereafter.
The cover of the album features an image by Viking 1, the first spacecraft to land on Mars; the album's liner notes include additional imagery of the planet's landscape as taken by the spacecraft on July 20, 1976. The text on the cover was done by fantastic artist Roger Dean, best known for his work on album covers for bands such as Yes. The album's title comes from the tour in the film "Total Recall".
The album is Legend's first holiday album, which he announced on October 1, 2018, via social media. His tweet wrote "This winter, get ready for A Legendary Christmas! I have a brand new Christmas album coming out accompanied by #ALegendaryChristmas Tour!". Prior to the album's announcement, Legend had just become the first African-American male to win an EGOT – an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. Legend has previously said of his intention to create a Christmas album, he said "I just made a new Christmas album. I've wanted to do this for a long time." On October 11, 2018, Legend premiered two lead singles from the album, "Bring Me Love" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" simultaneously on VEVO.
Mardi Gras is a Cowboy Mouth EP that was released in coordination with the band's "16th Annual Rock N' Roll Mardi Gras Tour". The album is composed of Mardi Gras themed music and an acoustic version of a song from the band's 2006 album "Voodoo Shoppe".
Retrospective commentary on the album has been highly positive. In November 2010, "Kerrang!" published a tenth-anniversary commemorative issue dedicated to "Holy Wood" titled "Screaming For Vengeance", calling it "Manson's finest hour". In 2014, "Metal Hammer" identified the album as a modern classic, calling it the band's "creative zenith". Manson said in a June 2015 Reddit AMA that he considered the record to be his best work, and, that same month, "NME" referred to it as the band's best album. A 2016 feature in "Houston Press" called "Holy Wood" "the album that really cemented the band as more than just shock-rockers, but true musical mavericks with an intelligent perspective on social issues." "Metal Hammer" referred to the record as "perfect", saying: "Manson has yet to better "Holy Wood" and that's fine—nobody's really bettered it. The flow of the record, the delivery of its concept, the clarity with which it strikes its opponents. A gargantuan artistic feat that will go down in history as Manson's defining statement."
In the wake of this success, Francis returned to Nashville several times to record further singles and albums with Bradley's highly prolific team of musicians and arrangers until her contract with MGM Records ended in 1969. ""Connie Francis sings Folk Song Favorites" was the first of these album projects to be recorded. Another album, ""Connie Francis sings 'Never on Sunday'"", had was recorded two days later on August 10 and 11, 1961 but was released in October 1961, one month prior to the Folk Song album.
On 27 October 2013, it was announced that the writing for the 14th studio album will begin after their 25th anniversary tour and the recording to the album will start in June 2014. On 29 December 2014, it was revealed that "The Plague Within" would be the title for upcoming album. On 26 January 2015, the release date for 2 June 2015 was announced, along with the producer, Jaimie Gomez Arellano and the recording location of Orgone Studios, London. Speaking to Rock Sins, Nick Holmes stated that the new album would have elements of all previous Paradise Lost material including a return to the death/doom of their early output, stating that "there’s some songs that could’ve been written in 1989, a couple of really old school doom/death songs which are gonna surprise a couple of people when they hear it." "The Plague Within" is considered by many traditional fans to be their best and most complete album in many years, as well as being a true return to their signature sound.
Madonna released her eighth studio album, "Music", in September 2000. It featured elements from the electronica-inspired "Ray of Light" era, and like its predecessor, received acclaim from critics. Collaborating with French producer Mirwais Ahmadzaï, Madonna commented: "I love to work with the weirdos that no one knows about—the people who have raw talent and who are making music unlike anyone else out there. "Music" is the future of sound." Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic felt that ""Music" blows by in a kaleidoscopic rush of color, technique, style and substance. It has so many depth and layers that it's easily as self-aware and earnest as "Ray of Light"." The album took the number-one position in more than 20 countries worldwide and sold four million copies in the first ten days. In the U.S., "Music" debuted at the top, and became her first number-one album in eleven years since "Like a Prayer". It produced three singles: the Hot 100 number-one "Music", "Don't Tell Me", and "What It Feels Like for a Girl". The music video of "What It Feels Like for a Girl" depicted Madonna committing acts of crime and vandalism, and was banned by MTV and VH1.
When Madonna had started working on her third studio album, "True Blue" in 1985, she was already in a relationship with actor Sean Penn whom she married by the year-end. It was the first album that the singer acted in the role of a record producer and wanted to add her own "sophistication" to it. Her optimism assimilated in the songs created, including the title track, which she co-wrote and co-produced the song with Stephen Bray. According to Madonna, "True Blue" takes its title from a favorite expression of Penn and to his very pure vision of love. The song and the album was inspired by Madonna's "unabashed valentine" for Penn. In an interview, Bray said, "She [Madonna] was very much in love. It was obvious if she's in love she'll write love songs. If she's not in love she definitely won't be writing love songs." In 2015, Madonna said that "True Blue" is "a song about true love. I didn't know what I was talking about when I wrote it."
The album was re-released in 1985 for the European market and re-packaged as "Madonna: The First Album" with a different artwork created by photographer George Holy. The cover features Madonna in similar style of dress to the original cover but this time with crucifix as her earrings. Madonna's trademark style was catching on as a fashion statement among club kids and fans, with her crucifix accessories becoming the jewelry of the moment. Madonna said that wearing a crucifix is "kind of offbeat and interesting. I mean, everything I do is sort of tongue-in-cheeks. Besides, the crucifixes seem to go with my name." In 2001, Warner Bros. Records released a remastered version of the album with its original artwork and two bonus remix tracks of "Burning Up" and "Lucky Star". Madonna dedicated the album to her father, Tony Ciccone, with whom her relationship had not been good until the release of the album. In an interview with "Time" magazine, Madonna said: "My father had never believed that what I was doing here [in New York] was worthwhile, nor did he believe that I was up to any good. [...] It wasn't until my first album came out and my father started hearing my songs on the radio that he stopped asking the questions."
A former dancer and fixture on the New York club scene, Madonna Louise Ciccone became known to the world simply as Madonna, with the release of her 1983 self-titled debut album "Madonna". Fueled by hit songs like "Holiday", "Borderline" and "Lucky Star", the album was one of the best selling of the year and helped Madonna become one of the most exciting new artists of the 1980s. When she started work on her second album, Madonna felt that her first album had succeeded in introducing her "street-smart dance queen" persona, and she wanted to solidify and build upon that concept. According to her, "My work, my dedication—the stubbornness for getting "Madonna" released—had paid off. Now it was time to solidify my future."