Songful Style: “Who’s That Girl?”

Well, let’s get the weather report over. After what we like to call False Fall here in Indiana, we are now back in the mid to high 80s (26.7-29.4C). At least, the nights are delightfully cool. It’s that time of year when you struggle to dress if you’re out and about for the entire day. It continues to be very dry. I saw one news report that said we were having a moderate drought. Tell that to my front yard which looks like a field of straw and not the pretty ones Van Gogh painted!  Anyway, welcome to the last Monday in September and another edition of Songful Style! Suzy and Shelbee decided to riff (see what I did there) on Style Imitating Art only with music! Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge, Suzy of Suzy Turner, and I make up the bloggers in this group. You can find all of us on our blogs and Instagram.  Our ensembles (pun intended) may be inspired by the lyrics of a song, the artwork of the album cover, maybe the MTV video, or even a memory the song evokes. Shelbee chose this month’s song. Last time, I selected “Time Waited” by My Morning Jacket. Oh, and there’s a link party, too!

The artist…

Madonna Louise Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan on August 16, 1958, but you may know her as the Queen of Pop (I did not know that).  I will admit she makes me feel like a true underachiever as she is just a year younger than I am!  I remember watching her during her half-time show during the Super Bowl in February 2012 right here in Indianapolis!  Something else I didn’t know was Madonna was a professional dancer before becoming a singer.  Her parents were of Italian and French-Canadian descent.  Her mother’s name was also Madonna so she was known as Little Nonnie.  Her mother, unfortunately, passed away in 1963.  After her father’s marriage to the housekeeper, the Ciccone family included nine children.  Madonna was number three of the nine.  I am going to skip a lot simply because there is so much information on Madonna.  I’m just going to hit the interesting points. 

A little more…

Madonna was known for being a little unconventional.  She would cartwheel down the hallways of her school.  But, she also studied and had a good GPA. Madonna attended Rochester Adams High Schook, was a straight A student, and was a cheerleader! She says of that time, “…lonely girl who was searching for something. I wasn’t rebellious in a certain way. I cared about being good at something. I didn’t shave under my arms and I didn’t wear make-up like normal girls do. But I studied and I got good grades… I wanted to be somebody.”  Her father enrolled her in classical piano lessons though she switched to ballet.  Her ballet teacher, Christopher Flynn, convinced her to become a professional dancer.  In January 1976, the University of Michigan awarded her a dance scholarship.  She studied over the summer at the American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina.

Still more…

In 1978, Madonna moved to New York City, saying, “It was the first time I’d ever taken a plane, the first time I’d ever gotten a taxi cab.  I came here with $35 in my pocket.  It was the bravest thing I’d ever done.”  After finding an apartment in the East Village, Madonna worked as a hatcheck girl for the Russian Tea Room, an elevator operator at Terrace on the Park, and with modern dance troupes.  She also took classes at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and performed with the Pearl Lang Dance Theater.  And, then studied dance under the amazing Martha Graham!  Can you even imagine?  After that, she began dancing as backup for established artists.

Even more…

Like most artists, Madonna floundered around for a bit, dancing here and singing there.  Eventually, she landed a three single (not album) deal with Sire Records which was a subsidiary of Warner Brothers.  These things were happening in the very early 80s, and I was too busy being a mom to have noticed her until…1983 when “Holiday” was released.  I remember watching her on MTV back in the good old days when they actually played music videos!  That same album, Madonna, yielded two more hits, “Borderline” and “Lucky Star,” both of which I remember watching.  And, that brings us to Madonna as a fashion icon.  Now, if you’re a little naïve like me, you have probably been thinking Madonna came up with those signature lace tops, skirts over capris, fishnets, loads of bracelets, a crucifix or two and the bleached hair.  It was actually the work of Maripol, a stylist and jewelry designer.   Over the years, Madonna and her style would alternatively shock and inspire the public.  And, then there was the music video for “Material Girl” where she basically recreated Marilyn Monroe’s iconic “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” dance number from “How to Marry a Millionaire.”  I remember when she became “Madge” as Guy Ritchie’s wife.  She dressed the role of an English countrywoman.  I think, like many women, Madonna’s style evolved as she did.  Of course, you add in her public persona, and there’s an even bigger evolution. 

A skosh more…

Madonna would go on to record several studio albums, go on countless (well, of course, you could count them) tours, and set several records.  One of those is that she is the best-selling female recording artist of all time.  She is also the first female performer to make $1 billion from her concerts.  According to the US Billboard Hot 100, she is the most successful solo artist in its history.  She has 44 number one singles in all global music markets.  She has seven Grammy Awards, two Gold Globe Awards, 20 MTV Video Music Awards, 17 Japan Gold Disc Awards, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the very first year she was eligible.  Over four decades (1980s-2010s), Forbes ranked her the world’s highest paid female musician 11 times.  Billboard named her Artist of the Decade (1980s), the Greatest Dance Artist of All Time, and the Greatest Music Video Artist of All Time.  Rolling Stone has also listed her among their greatest artists and greatest songwriters ever.  That’s a whole lot of awards!

And, even more…

Of course, Madonna is not without controversy.  There are her overly sexual concerts as well as a rather steamy interview with David Letterman.  Her performance of “Like a Virgin” at the 1984 MTV Music Video Awards show, she rolled around the stage in a wedding dress (scanty at that) and white gloves.  You know what all the cool girls were wearing the next day!   In an ironic twist of fate and mirroring what happened to one of her icons (Marilyn Monroe), nude photos of Madonna done when she was down and out were published by Playboy and Penthouse.  Like Marilyn, Madonna did not apologize for these photos.  In 1992, she published a “coffee table” book titled Sex.  While many decried its very graphic material, it sold over 1.5 million copies at $50 a pop!  She also kissed both Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards.  I dunno…I think most of what she did she did in order to create publicity.  Any kind of publicity is good for someone trying to make a living in the entertainment industry.  I could go on and on about her controversial doings.  The last one I’m going to mention is her adoption of children from Malawi.  Many were upset when she didn’t actually meet the criteria to adopt a child.  This happened more than once.  Now, obviously, Madonna and I aren’t good friends, but I’d like to think she actually adopted these children because she wanted to give them a better life and not because she wanted the publicity. 

Acting…

One of the things at which Madonna failed almost all the time was acting.  Some people said it was because her life was just one big act, and she didn’t really know how to “act” when it came to actual acting (if that makes sense).  She did, however, campaign to win the part of Evita Peron in the movie, Evita.  She said, “This is the role I was born to play. I put everything of me into this because it was much more than a role in a movie. It was exhilarating and intimidating at the same time. And I am prouder of Evita than anything else I have done.”  Madonna won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. 

Business…

In April 1992, Madonna founded Maverick, her own entertainment company.  This consisted of a record company, a film production company, and associated music publishing, television broadcasting, book publishing, and merchandising divisions.  She wasn’t alone in this founding, though.  Time Warner paid her an advance of $60 million and gave her 20% royalties from the music proceedings.  The only other star making that was Michael Jackson!  Maverick became one of the most successful artist-run labels in history.  Madonna also signed with Callaway Arts & Entertainment to author five children’s books.  I actually had one of them, Mr. Peabody’s Apples.  It taught the perfect lesson about gossip and how it could destroy lives.  The first book, The English Roses, was about the envy and jealousy between four English schoolgirls.  It became the fastest-selling children’s book of all time.  She donated the proceeds to a children’s charity.  She founded Raising Malawi, a non-profit organization helping Malawi’s orphans (numbering in the millions) through health and education programs.  Madonna also partially funded an orphanage in Malawi.  By 2013, Raising Malawi had built ten schools which educated 4,000 children.  She performed at the Hope for Haiti Now:  A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief concert.  In 2014, Madonna also donated funds to Detroit’s bankruptcy. 

Finally…

Madonna concluded “The Celebration Tour” in May 2024.  This was a tour intended to celebrate over 40 years in the music business.  Her final concert was held in Rio de Janeiro with attendance of over 1.5 million people and was held on Copacabana Beach.  I have a sneaky suspicion this will not be her last tour!  If you want to read more, just google her!  The Wikipedia entry is pretty extensive!

The song…

What it means…

As I was trying to find information about the song, the only thing that really stood out was that it’s very similar to “La Isla Bonita.” Madonna, apparently, went through a bit of a love affair with Latin music. I think the song, at its core, is about a girl who is very attractive, either physically or emotionally. You need to be careful, or you’ll lose your heart to her.

The video…

Interesting covers…

Well, this is a different place to record a song! It looks like the utility room of a basement. Wonder how I know that? It looks so much like the unfinished parts of the basement in our last house. It’s obvious this was during Covid as there is so much social distancing and wearing of masks. Does anyone else feel like that was just yesterday and yet eons ago? Anyway, I’m not super impressed with the vocalist. She’s reading the song from her phone, for goodness sake!

I kinda get the feeling this was open mic night at some bar! But, the young woman does a pretty good job. At first, I wondered if she wasn’t singing karaoke, but I’ve never done that so I’m not sure.

This is nothing like Madonna, yet I kinda like it. There’s an originality to her voice…she’s not trying to be Madonna. She’s just singing one of her songs.

And, once again, Leo, my Norwegian heavy metal guy, hasn’t done a cover. I would love to have heard what he’d do with this song.

My interpretation…

I think I may have veered more toward “Like a Virgin” with this interpretation. I now know one of the holes in my wardrobe…I need some fishnet hose! I decided to work with what I had and try to come up with something that somewhat resembled Madonna’s combined looks in the official video. At one point, she’s wearing a little tulle skirt, so pink tulle skirt came out. Then, I am pretty sure I saw some sequins. The sequin bomber jacket works for that. She’s wearing dark colors in the beginning so I pulled out this black tank which has the phases of the moon on it. Once upon a time, I had some black leather gloves that would have worked well, but who knows where they are now. I’m pretty sure I got rid of them when we sold the Harley. This is not my best interpretation by far. But, I think it’s the essence of Madonna in her early days.

The Lewk!

Again, I think my accessories are more “Like a Virgin” than “Who’s That Girl,” but I’m going with them! I pulled out all kinds of pearls, including a multi-strand necklace from Stella & Dot as well as two different pearl ones from Talbots. The earrings are also from Talbots. I think I have worn all of these in other iterations of Songful Style. And, although it looks like she’s mostly wearing little ballet flats or stilettos, I think these studded Rodeha boots by L’Artiste work well pulling out the studs from her jacket, hat, and gloves. I’m still arguing with myself about whether or not I need the teal ones. So far, I’m winning, and I have not bought them. Or, does that mean I’m losing, and I have not bought them? In either event, I have not bought a pair of teal boots!

Wrap it up, Marsha!

I don’t usually skip over so much information.  But, trust me on this one!  There is a lot written about Madonna…mainly about her records, her personal life, etc.  I was more a fan of her early work.  Then, I kinda lost interest when she became so controversial.  I just wasn’t interested, I guess.  Wondering about those lovely brown spots on my face?  I had a laser treatment last week for sun damage.  I’ve been using a mineral sunscreen, but my face got tanned this summer.  And, of course, the old sun damage is there, too.  Hopefully, it will be gone by the end of the week.  Would you believe it took Nigel about three days to even notice it?  So, can we talk? Are you a big Madonna fan?  Did you shell out $50 for her coffee table book?  What is your favorite song? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as quickly as I can.

Thank you!

Thank you so very much for reading today’s post. I hope you enjoyed it. I also very much appreciate those of you who comment, email and/or subscribe. It’s what keeps me going! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.

Affiliate links, discount codes, and such:

Just a reminder that Marsha in the Middle may use an affiliate link. Those links are usually italicized. If you click or make a purchase from an italicized link I provide, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.  My April Cornell code, MARSHA15, now works, but it’s good for only one use. You can get $15 off $100. I’d wait and use it during a really good sale! Use Marsha12 for 12% off any order of $65 or more at Buykud. I have also become a Halftee Partner. Use the code, MARSHA2098, for 20% off any purchase. I am also an affiliate with Clara Sunwoo. You can use my code, MARSHA10, for 10% off your entire order. Use MARSHA15 at Katia Designs for 15% off your order. In case you didn’t know, bloggers must disclose the use of affiliate links. That’s why I include this in each post.

Where you can find me:

Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style,  Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, Suzy Turner, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World and A Fresh Cup of Coffee. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, Style Splash and Elegantly Dressed and Stylish as well as the Senior Salon Pit Stop (Esme’s Salon) and Slices of Life. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda, Lisa, and Sue. I also host Final Fridays on the last Friday of the month as well as 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!

And, now, it’s your turn!

Please link up your favorite posts, DIY, baking, gardening, fashion…you name it…as long as it’s family friendly! Link up with me, visit a couple of others, and leave a comment or two! No worries if you don’t have a blog, just look around! You may find a new blog just waiting for you!

First Name

Last Name

List choice Marsha’s Blog

Email address:

Leave this field empty if you’re human: