MADONNA INVENTED THE ’80S.
An arguable assertion? Perhaps. But Madonna, more than any other artist of the MTV era, perfected its defining unification of sound, vision, hype, pop and personality.
After disco was declared dead, Madonna’s 1983 self-titled debut album made the world dance again. Blending ’70s club music with synth pop and R&B, the album spun off hit after hit—“Borderline,” “Holiday,” “Lucky Star”—and went on to sell 10 million copies worldwide. A blockbuster, Madonna barely teased what was to come.
At MTV’s first Music Video Awards on Sept. 14, 1984, Madonna insisted on performing a then-unreleased song, “Like a Virgin.” And she wanted to perform it wearing a white wedding gown and veil, a bustier, garters and a “BOY TOY” belt buckle. The only thing people remember about the…
