Hard to believe we were nearly halfway through the 80s before the woman who arguably owned the decade from a pop stardom standpoint even began her rise.
But once her climb started, Madonna only got bigger and better with each new album.
After years spent both studying dance and honing her vocal chops in the New York club scene, she released her self-titled debut in 1983 to little fanfare. But that inauspicious beginning was the last time in her life that Madonna could be considered an unknown commodity.
She conquered her beloved dance club scene first with the singles “Burning Up” and “Holiday,” the latter crossing over to become her first pop hit. But that debut album was only beginning to crank out hit songs.
The third and fourth singles from the set became her first two top 10s on the pop chart. And both are classics. But I have a little personal rule of one song per artist on these lists, and that sometimes means making hard choices.
And while the upbeat and uber-catchy “Lucky Star” was the biggest hit from her first album, peaking at #4, it was its predecessor that makes my list.
Madonna’s first top 10 hit is still uptempo, but it also gives a little glimpse at the heft she could bring to the poppier proceedings of the music world, even on songs she didn’t personally pen, as she pleads with her lover to stop making things so difficult by being unreliable.
She certainly struck a chord as the song has inspired a wide range of cover versions by artists as varied as The Flaming Lips, The Manic Street Preachers, Counting Crows, Jody Watley and Kelly Clarkson.
Madonna gets pushed to the “Borderline” at #57.