Slash (musician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Slash
Slash performing with The Nightwatchman in 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Saul Hudson
Born	July 23, 1965 (age 44) Stoke-on-Trent, England
Origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Hard rock, blues-rock, heavy metal[1]
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Guitar, backing vocals, bass,banjo
Years active	1983–present
Labels	UZI Suicide, Geffen, Koch, RCA
Website	www.slashonline.com
Notable instruments
Gibson Les Paul B.C. Rich Mockingbird

Saul Hudson (born 23 July 1965), better known by his stage name Slash, is an English musician of biracial descent. Originally from Stoke-on-Trent, he moved to Los Angeles, California as a child, where he began his career in the music industry. Slash is arguably best-known as the former lead guitarist of hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he performed and recorded between 1985 and 1996. He later formed the eponymous Slash's Snakepit and co-founded Velvet Revolver with his former bandmates Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum. His debut solo album, Slash & Friends, is due to be released in 2010. In August 2009, Time Magazine named him #2 on its list of the 10 Best Electric Guitar Players of All-Time.^[2]

Contents  [hide] 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Early career 2.2 Guns N' Roses and mainstream success 2.3 Side projects and session work 2.4 Velvet Revolver and the future 2.5 Television appearances 3 Personal life 3.1 Feud with Axl Rose 4 Equipment 4.1 Guitars 4.2 Amplifiers 4.3 Signature equipment 5 Discography 5.1 Solo 5.2 With Guns N' Roses 5.3 With Slash's Snakepit 5.4 With Velvet Revolver 6 Awards and accolades 7 References 8 External links

Early life

His mother, Ola Hudson, was born in Tenessee of African-American descent. She worked as a costume designer for David Bowie among many other actors and musicians, and his father, Anthony Hudson, was an artist who created album covers for musicians such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.^[3]

Slash was raised in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, until the age of 11, when his parents relocated the family to Los Angeles, California. His parents separated and he lived primarily with his mother. He was given the nickname "Slash" by family friend Seymour Cassel because he was "always in a hurry, zipping around from one thing to another".^[4][5]

As a young boy, Slash was influenced by a musical school teacher:

Tangerine from Led Zeppelin III was the very first song I mastered. I had a teacher at school who had a Les Paul and he was always playing Cream and Zeppelin licks and whatever. And when I heard him do that I said "That's what I want to do".^[6]

After deciding to form a band with friend Steven Adler, Slash decided to pick up the bass guitar as Adler had declared himself lead guitarist. Slash stopped in at Fairfax Music School and told the receptionist he wanted to play the bass, and at that time met his teacher Robert Wolin. Wolin told him that in order to learn he would need a bass of his own. Slash went home and asked his grandmother and was given a worn-out, single stringed flamenco guitar. After hearing Wolin play "Brown Sugar" by ear, Slash realized that the guitar was his calling. He subsequently dropped out of high school to focus on music. In a Rolling Stonemagazine article, he remarked:

My big awakening happened when I was fourteen. I'd been trying to get into this older girl's pants for a while, and she finally let me come over to her house. We hung out, smoked some pot and listened to Aerosmith's Rocks. It hit me like a fucking ton of bricks. I sat there listening to it over and over, and totally blew off this girl. I remember riding my bike back to my grandma's house knowing that my life had changed. Now I identified with something.^[7]

Career

Early career

In 1983, Slash formed the band Road Crew, a Motörhead tribute band (named for the Motörhead song We Are The Road Crew) with childhood friend Steven Adler. He placed an advertisement in a newspaper for abassist, and received a response from Duff McKagan.

When Road Crew disbanded, Slash joined a local band known as Black Sheep. Headed by Willie Bass, the band shared an agent with another new group known as Hollywood Rose. In 1984, both bands opened for Christian metal band Stryper. After the show, Slash and lead singer Axl Rose were introduced to one another by a friend. The two quickly became friends, and several months later, Slash and Steven Adler were invited to join with Axl Rose, Duff McKagan and Izzy Stradlin as the band, Guns N' Roses.

Guns N' Roses and mainstream success

Main article: Guns N' Roses

Guns N' Roses toured bars and opened for larger acts throughout 1985 and 1986. It was during this period that they wrote most of their classic material, including "Welcome to the Jungle", "Sweet Child o' Mine", and "Paradise City". During this time, they were scouted by several major record labels, and signed with Geffen and they were tagged the "Most Dangerous Band In The World". In 1988, Slash remarked:

For some strange reason, Guns N' Roses is like the catalyst for controversy, even before we had any kind of record deal.^[8]

With 28 million copies sold (18 million just in the United States), Appetite for Destruction is the best-selling debut album of all time worldwide and in the US^[9][10]. By 1988, Guns N' Roses scored its first #1 hit with "Sweet Child o' Mine," a song spearheaded by Slash's riff and guitar solo.

In 1988, Guns N' Roses released G N' R Lies. Though this album only had eight tracks (four of which had already been released), it sold over 5 million copies. In 1991, after a four-year hiatus, the band released Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II.

That year, Guns N' Roses embarked on the 28-month Use Your Illusion tour. Upon completion of the tour, Slash was naturalized, becoming an American citizen.

In the mid-'90s, Slash wrote several songs for what would have become Guns N' Roses' follow-up album to Use Your Illusion I and II. Rose rejected the material, leading Slash to form Slash's Snakepit, a side-project that saw support from Matt Sorum, Gilby Clarke, Dizzy Reed, Mike Inez, and Eric Dover. The band recorded Slash's material and released It's Five O'Clock Somewhere in 1995. Critically, the album was praised for ignoring the conventions of grunge and alternative music. It also fared well on the charts, eventually selling over 1.2 million copies in the United States with little promotion from Geffen Records.

Side projects and session work

After his departure from Guns N' Roses, Slash focused on his side-project, The Snakepit, playing a few tour dates before disbanding the group in 1998. Over the next decade, Slash became an in-demand session musician, recording music with the likes of Alice Cooper, Sammy Hagar, Insane Clown Posse, Ronnie Wood, Bad Company, Cheap Trick, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder.

In 1990, Slash was contacted by Michael Jackson to work on his upcoming album, Dangerous. Slash played guitar on two hit singles, "Black or White" and "Give In to Me"; he also appeared in the music video of the latter. On several occasions, Slash appeared onstage with Jackson, performing "Black or White" during the Dangerous World Tour. Slash and Jackson appeared together at the MTV Video Music Awards of 1992 and1995.^[11] Slash played guitar on "D.S.", a controversial song from the HIStory album of 1995 and "Morphine" from the 1997 remix album Blood on the Dance Floor.^[12][13] In 2001, Slash joined Jackson on stage at theMichael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special playing guitar while Jackson performed his songs, "Black or White" and "Beat It". Slash also plays the guitar solo for the Michael Jackson song "Privacy", of the Invinciblealbum, right after Michael screams: "Slash!", Michael also does this right before Slash's solo on D.S.

In 1995, Quentin Tarantino asked Slash to contribute some songs to the soundtrack of his adaptation of the film Jackie Brown. Several Snakepit compositions can be heard throughout the film. In 1996, Slash collaborated with Marta Sánchez to record the flamenco-inspired song, "Obsession-Confession" for the Curdled soundtrack. The song was received well by Smooth Jazz radio stations. Later that year, Slash also played live with Alice Cooper at Sammy Hagar's club Cabo Wabo in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The show was recorded and released the following year as A Fistful of Alice.

In 1997, Slash (alongside the late Ol' Dirty Bastard and hit alternative rock band Fishbone) appeared on BLACKstreet's rock remix version of their hit single "Fix". In 2003, he participated in the Yardbirds' comeback record Birdland, released on the Favored Nations label. He played lead guitar in the track "Over, Under, Sideways, Down". In early 2003, Slash also made an appearance at a rally to protest the coming War in Iraqcalled "Peace on the Beach", performing the song "Imagine" by John Lennon. Ed Kowalczyk provided vocals during this performance.

In 2000, he chose to regroup Slash's Snakepit to release his second solo effort, titled Ain't Life Grand. The album did well on the charts, reaching platinum status. To promote it further, Slash embarked on an extensive world tour with AC/DC in the summer of 2000.

In 2002, he reunited with Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum for a benefit/tribute concert for Randy Castillo. Realizing they still had the chemistry of their days in Guns N' Roses, they decided to form a new band together. The band that featured Slash, McKagan, and Sorum also featured former Buckcherry members Keith Nelson and Josh Todd. Later Duff put out a statement that Josh and Keith didn't quite fit with the band, and they added Dave Kushner as rhythm guitar and, after a long search, Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland. In 2006, Slash performed a guest spot on keyboardist Derek Sherinian's solo album Blood of the Snake covering the 1970 Mungo Jerry hit single "In the Summertime", also featuring Billy Idol on vocals. A video was also made featuring Slash, Billy, and Derek for this song.

Velvet Revolver and the future

Slash with Velvet Revolver in 2004

Velvet Revolver began as "The Project", a venture by Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum to find a new lead singer. On rhythm guitar, they initially worked with Izzy Stradlin, and they were offered to open for The Rolling Stones but Slash, Duff and Matt wanted to have a lead singer; after this Izzy became less involved. They would find their second guitarist in the form of Dave Kushner, who had previously played with McKagan in "Loaded" prior to this project. For many months, the four of them listened to demo tapes of potential lead singers, a monotonous process (documented by VH1). After many months, Slash and the others were almost ready to give up. However, Stone Temple Pilots had recently imploded, allowing lead singer Scott Weiland to volunteer to record a song with the band. Realizing there was chemistry between each member, Weiland officially joined the band in 2003.^{[citation needed]}

Velvet Revolver played several concerts in the summer of that year and released their first single, "Set Me Free" as part of the soundtrack for The Hulk. In June 2004, they released their first studio album, Contraband. A 19-month long tour ensued, as the album went double platinum and re-established Slash as a mainstream performer. After the tour concluded, he and his bandmates took a lengthy break before beginning work on their second album. In July 2007, Velvet Revolver released the critically acclaimed Libertad, a follow-up to their multi-platinum debut. Following their second studio album, Velvet Revolver also began a second tour. On March 20, 2008 Weiland announced to their audience that it would be Velvet Revolver's final tour. Matt Sorum posted a message on his website the next day discussing the band's situation and said, "You could tell who was unhappy last night" and "some people in this business don't realize how great of a life they have".^[14] Weiland shot back by telling Blabbermouth.net, "Well, first of all, the state of my family affairs is really none of his business, since he is too immature to have a real relationship, let alone children. So don't attempt to stand in a man's shoes when you haven't walked his path." On April 1, 2008 Weiland officially split from Velvet Revolver.

On May 31, 2006, Slash was joined by Rob Zombie on vocals, another former Guns N' Roses axeman Gilby Clarke on rhythm guitar, Scott Ian of Anthrax on bass, Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee on drums, and surprise guest Ace Frehley of Kiss for a rendition of God of Thunder. The occasion was a one-time supergroup tribute to Kiss for the VH1 Rock Honors Award Show.

Cover for the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock with Slash in the middle and two other playable characters in the game, Judy Nails (left) and Lars Ümlaüt (right).

Slash is a playable character in the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, and his likeness appears on the game cover. Slash did motion capture with RedOctane to record his movements for the game. Beating Slash in a one-on-one competition (playing an original composition he recorded solely for the game), unlocks him as a playable character. Beating him in this challenge leads to the player and Slash playing the master track of "Welcome to the Jungle" as an encore song.^[15][16]

In 2007, Slash performed with Paulina Rubio on the hit Latin single "Nada Puede Cambiarme". On March 12, 2007. Slash and Velvet Revolver paid tribute to Van Halen by inducting the band into the Rock N' Roll hall of fame. The band also played two covers.

Slash appears on the cover of Guitar World for their July 2007 issue, the "20 year salute to Appetite for Destruction", entitled "The Cat In The Hat Is Back". It pictures Slash holding his guitar with a snake crawling up the neck.

Slash made numerous contributions to The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star by Nikki Sixx, published September 18, 2007.^[17] He also played guitar with them at Crüe Fest.

An autobiography titled simply Slash was published on October 30, 2007.^[18] It was co-written with Anthony Bozza. Slash will also be appearing in the HBO book and Documentary The Black List Vol. 1, he can be seen in a portrait on the cover of the book. It was announced by Kerrang! Magazine that Slash was going to appear on Ace Frehley's next solo album.^[19]

Slash planned to record a solo album after the third Velvet Revolver album, but after the departure of singer Scott Weiland and time-consuming searches for a new singer for the band, he decided to record a solo album first. On September 30, 2008, he began recording demos for the upcoming album. Slash was quoted saying that the work alone in the studio on the solo album was "cathartic", and that he really enjoyed working alone in the studio. He also said he plans to bring a different singer for each song on the album, and that he has a list of guests to appear on the album, and most of them are already committed, though he refused to tell who are those guests. Rumored singers for the project include Slash's close friends Lenny Kravitz,Sebastian Bach, Alice Cooper and Vince Neil as well as his past Guns N' Roses pals, Izzy Stradlin and Duff McKagan.^[20]

According to Slash's wife during an interview with Rockerrazzi.com, both Ozzy Osbourne and Fergie will make appearances on Slash's upcoming solo album, saying, "It's going to be Slash and friends, with everyone from Ozzy [Osbourne] to Fergie."^[21] Other musicians set to appear on the release include Josh Freese, Chris Chaney, Travis Barker, M. Shadows and Jason Bonham.^[22] In 2009, he played the guitar parts on the film score of The Wrestler, composed by Clint Mansell.

On June 30, 2009, Slash performed his first solo show, at the Quart Festival in Norway. His band was comprised of John 5 (Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson) and Franky Perez (Scars On Broadway) on guitars, Chris Chaney (Jane's Addiction) on bass, Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin, Foreigner) on drums and Teddy Andreadis on keyboards. Special guests included Ozzy Osbourne, Fergie and Ron Wood.^[23]

Television appearances

Slash appeared as a recurring caricature of himself in Robert Evans' animated television series Kid Notorious which aired in 2003 on Comedy Central. As in real life, Slash is Evans' close friend and next-door neighbor.^[24] He appeared as the guest mentor for rock n roll week of American Idol (Season 8) on May 5, 2009.^[25]. He has also had spots on the Drew Carey Show and South Park

Personal life

In 1990, a heavy metal video called "Hard N' Heavy" was released containing music, concert footage and interviews. The video included Slash and McKagan appearing with the band Great White at a "Children of the Night" Benefit concert in LA for abused homeless children, the performance helped raise money for housing to aid the underprivileged.^[26] He also performed at an anti-Iraq War festival in 2003.^{[citation needed]}

Slash is married to Perla Ferrar, with whom he has two sons, London Emilio and Cash Anthony.^[27] The family lives in Los Angeles.

Feud with Axl Rose

In 2007, Slash admitted to going to Rose's home with the intention to settle a long-standing legal dispute and make peace with his former band mate. Slash elaborated on the incident in his autobiography, claiming that what actually occurred was that he simply went to Rose's house while intoxicated and left a note asking Rose to contact him to settle a pending lawsuit. He also added that he had not actually spoken to Rose in person since leaving Guns N' Roses in 1996.^[28] Slash further stated that incident's publicity created a rift in Velvet Revolver; as his bandmates were unsure of what Slash had actually done and Slash had confronted Weiland over his scathing reply to Rose, feeling that Weiland did not have the "right" to criticize Rose, not actually knowing him.^[29] In March 2009, Slash responded to an interview in which Rose referred to him as "a cancer", saying that "it doesn't really affect me at all. The fact that he has anything to say at all it's like 'Whatever, dude'."^[30]

m Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Metallica
Metallica at the O2 arena in 2008. From left to right: Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield and Robert Trujillo.
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Heavy metal, thrash metal, hard rock, speed metal
Years active	Since 1981
Labels	Warner Bros., Elektra, Vertigo,Megaforce, Sony (Japan)
Associated acts	Megadeth, Echobrain, Spastik Children, Leather Charm, Exodus
Website	www.metallica.com
Members
James Hetfield Lars Ulrich Kirk Hammett Robert Trujillo
Former members
Ron McGovney Dave Mustaine Cliff Burton Jason Newsted

Metallica /məˈtælɨkə/ is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1981. Founded when drummer Lars Ulrich posted an advertisement in a local newspaper, Metallica's line-up has primarily consisted of Ulrich, rhythm guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, while going through a number of bassists. Currently, the spot is held by Robert Trujillo.

Metallica's early releases included fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship that placed them as one of the "big four" of the thrash metal subgenre alongside Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax during the genre's development into a popular style.^[1] The band earned a growing fan base in the underground musiccommunity and critical acclaim, with the 1986 release Master of Puppets described as one of the most influential and "heavy" thrash metal albums. The band achieved substantial commercial success with Metallica (1991), which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. With this release the band expanded its musical direction resulting in an album that appealed to a more mainstream audience.

In 2000, Metallica was among several artists who filed a lawsuit against Napster for sharing the band's copyright-protected material for free without the band members' consent.^[2] A settlement was reached, and Napster became a pay-to-use service. Despite reaching number one on the Billboard 200, the release of St. Anger alienated many fans with the exclusion of guitar solos and the "steel-sounding" snare drum. A film titled Some Kind of Monster documented the recording process of St. Anger.

Metallica has released nine studio albums, two live albums, two EPs, twenty-four music videos, and forty-five singles. The band has won nine Grammy Awards, and has had five consecutive albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200, making Metallica the only band, other than the Dave Matthews Band, to do so.^[3] The band's 1991 album, Metallica, has sold over 15 million copies in the United States, and 22 million copies worldwide, which makes it the 25th-highest-selling album in the country.^[4] The band has sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide as of the release of their latest album, Death Magnetic. As of September 2008, Metallica is the fourth highest-selling music artist since the SoundScan era began tracking sales on May 25, 1991, selling a total of 51,136,000 albums in the United States alone.^[5]

Early years (1981–1983)History

Metallica was formed in Los Angeles, California, in early 1981 when drummer Lars Ulrich placed an advertisement in a Los Angeles newspaper—The Recycler—which read "Drummer looking for other metal musicians to jam with Tygers of Pan Tang, Diamond Head and Iron Maiden."^[6] Guitarists James Hetfield and Hugh Tanner of Leather Charm answered the advertisement. Although he had not formed a band, Ulrich asked Metal Blade Records founder Brian Slagel if he could record a song for the label's upcoming compilation Metal Massacre. Slagel accepted, and Ulrich recruited Hetfield to sing and play rhythm guitar.^[6]

Ulrich talked to his friend Ron Quintana, who was brainstorming names for a fanzine. Quintana had proposed the names Metal Mania and Metallica. Ulrich used Metallica for the name of his band. A second advertisement was placed in The Recycler for a position as lead guitarist. Dave Mustaine answered, and, after seeing his expensive guitar equipment, Ulrich and Hetfield recruited him. In early 1982, Metallica recorded its first original song "Hit the Lights" for the Metal Massacre I compilation. Hetfield played bass on the song and Lloyd Grant was credited with a guitar solo.^[6] Released on June 14, 1982, early pressings ofMetal Massacre I listed the band incorrectly as "Mettallica". Although angered by the error, Metallica managed to create enough "buzz" with the song and the band played its first live show on March 14, 1982, atRadio City in Anaheim, California with newly recruited bassist Ron McGovney.^[7] Metallica recorded its first demo, Power Metal, a name inspired by Quintana's early business cards in early 1982. In the fall of 1982, Ulrich and Hetfield attended a show at the nightclub Whisky a Go Go which featured bassist Cliff Burton in a band called Trauma. The two were "blown away" by Burton's use of a wah-wah pedal and asked him to join Metallica. Hetfield and Mustaine wanted McGovney out as they thought that he "didn't contribute anything, he just followed."^[8] Although Burton initially declined the offer, by the end of the year he accepted on the condition the band move to El Cerrito in the San Francisco Bay Area. Metallica's first live performance with Burton was at the nightclub The Stone in March 1983, and the first recording to feature Burton was the 1983 Megaforce demo.^[8]

Metallica was ready to record its debut album, but when Metal Blade was unable to cover the additional cost, the band began looking for other options. Concert promoter Johnny "Z" Zazula, who had heard the 1982No Life 'til Leather demo, offered to broker a record deal with Metallica and New York City-based record labels. After receiving no interest from various record labels, Zazula borrowed the money to cover the record's recording budget and signed Metallica to his own label, Megaforce Records.^[9] Band members decided to kick Mustaine out of the band due to drug and alcohol abuse, and violent behavior.^[10] Exodus guitarist Kirk Hammett flew in to replace Mustaine the same afternoon. Metallica's first show with Hammett was on April 16, 1983, at the nightclub The Showplace in Dover, New Jersey.^[8]

Mustaine, who went on to found Megadeth, has expressed his dislike for Hammett in interviews. He said Hammett "stole my job."^[11] Mustaine was "pissed off" because he believes Hammett became popular by playing the guitar leads that Mustaine wrote.^[12] In a 1985 interview with Metal Forces, Mustaine slammed Hammett saying, "it's real funny how Kirk Hammett ripped off every lead break I'd played on that No Life 'til Leather tape and got voted No. 1 guitarist in your magazine."^[13] On Megadeth's 1985 debut album Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!, Mustaine included the song "Mechanix", which Metallica renamed as "The Four Horsemen" on Kill 'Em All. Mustaine said he did this to "straighten Metallica up", as Metallica referred to Mustaine as a drunk and said he could not play guitar.^[13]

Kill 'Em All and Ride the Lightning (1983–1984)

In 1983, Metallica traveled to Rochester, New York to record its first album, Metal up Your Ass, with production duties handled by Paul Curcio. Due to conflicts with the band's record label and the distributors' refusal to release an album with that name, it was renamed Kill 'Em All. Released on Megaforce Records in the United States and Music for Nations in Europe, the album peaked on the Billboard 200 at number 120,^[14] and although the album was not initially a financial success, it earned Metallica a growing fan base in the underground metal scene. The band embarked on the Kill 'Em All For One tour with Raven to support the release.^[15] In February 1984, Metallica supported Venom on the Seven Dates of Hell tour, where they performed in front of 7,000 people at the Aardschok Festival in Zwolle, Netherlands.^[16]

Metallica recorded its second studio album, Ride the Lightning, at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark. Released in August 1984, the album peaked at number 100 on the Billboard 200.^[14] A French printing press mistakenly printed green covers for the album, which are now considered collectors' items. Other songs on the album include "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "Fade to Black", "Creeping Death" (which tells the biblical story of the Hebrews' exodus from slavery in Egypt, focusing on the various plagues that were visited on the Egyptians), and the instrumental "The Call of Ktulu". Mustaine received a writing credit for "Ride the Lightning" and "The Call of Ktulu".^[16]

Master of Puppets (1984–1986)

Damage Inc. Tour 1986

Elektra Records A&R director Michael Alago, and co-founder of Q-Prime Management Cliff Burnstein, attended a September 1984 Metallica concert. Impressed with what they saw, they signed Metallica to Elektra Records and made the band a client of Q-Prime Management.^[17] Metallica's burgeoning success was such that the band's British label Music for Nations issued a limited edition Creeping Death EP, which sold 40,000 copies as an import in the U.S. Two of the three songs on the record (cover versions of Diamond Head's "Am I Evil?", and Blitzkrieg's "Blitzkrieg") appeared on the 1989 Elektra reissue of Kill 'Em All.^[18] Metallica embarked on its first major European tour with Tank to an average crowd of 1,300. Returning to the U.S. marked a tour co-headlining with W.A.S.P. and Armored Saint supporting. Metallica played its largest show at the Monsters of Rock festival on August 17, 1985, with Bon Jovi and Ratt at Donington Park in England, playing in front of 70,000 people. A show in Oakland, California, at the Day on the Green festival saw the band play in front of a crowd of 60,000.^[17]

Metallica's third studio album, Master of Puppets was recorded at Sweet Silence Studios and was released in March 1986. The album peaked at number 29 on the Billboard 200, and spent 72 weeks on the chart.^[19]The album was the band's first to be certified gold on November 4, 1986, and was certified six times platinum in 2003.^[4] Steve Huey of Allmusic considered the album "the band's greatest achievement".^[20] Following the release of the album, Metallica supported Ozzy Osbourne for a United States tour.^[17] Hetfield broke his wrist skateboarding down a hill and continued the tour performing vocals, with guitar technician John Marshall playing rhythm guitar.^[21]

Burton's death and Garage Days Re-Revisited (1986–1987)

A memorial for Burton in Ljungby, Sweden

On September 27, 1986, during the European leg of Metallica's Damage Inc. tour, members drew cards to see which bunk of the tour bus they would sleep in. Burton won and chose to sleep in Hammett's bunk. Around dawn near Dörarp, Sweden, the bus driver lost control and skidded, which caused the bus to flip several times. Ulrich, Hammett, and Hetfield sustained no serious injuries; however, bassist Burton was pinned under the bus and was killed. Hetfield recalls, "I saw the bus lying right on him. I saw his legs sticking out. I freaked. The bus driver, I recall, was trying to yank the blanket out from under him to use for other people. I just went, 'Don't fucking do that!' I already wanted to kill the guy."^[21] Burton's death left Metallica's future in doubt. The three remaining members decided that Burton would want them to carry on, and with the Burton family's blessings, the band sought a replacement.^[22]

Roughly 40 people tried out for auditions including Hammett's childhood friend Les Claypool of Primus, Troy Gregory of Prong, and Jason Newsted, formerly of Flotsam and Jetsam. Newsted learned Metallica's entire setlist, and after the audition Metallica invited him to Tommy's Joynt in San Francisco. Hetfield, Ulrich, and Hammett decided that Newsted was the one to replace Burton, and Newsted's first live performance with Metallica was at the Country Club in Reseda, California. The members took it on themselves to "initiate" Newsted by tricking him into eating a ball of wasabi.^[22]

In March 1987, Hetfield broke his wrist a second time skateboarding. Guitar technician Marshall returned playing rhythm guitar, but the injury forced the band to cancel a Saturday Night Live appearance. Metallica finished its tour in the early months of 1987, and in August 1987 an all-covers EP titled The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited was released. The EP was recorded in an effort to utilize the band's newly constructed recording studio, test out the talents of Newsted, and to relieve grief and stress following the death of Burton. A video titled Cliff 'Em All was released in 1987 commemorating Burton's three years in Metallica. Footage included bass solos, home videos, and pictures.^[23]

…And Justice for All (1988–1990)

…And Justice for All, the group's first studio album since Burton's death, was released in 1988. The album was a commercial success, peaking at number six on the Billboard 200, the band's first album to enter the top 10.^[14] The album was certified platinum nine weeks after its release.^[24] Newsted's bass was purposely turned down on the album as a part of the continuous "hazing" he received, and his musical ideas were ignored (However, he did receive a writing credit on track one, "Blackened").^[25] There were complaints with the production; namely, Steve Huey of Allmusic noted Ulrich's drums were clicking more than thudding, and the guitars "buzz thinly".^[26] The Damaged Justice tour followed to promote the album.^[27]

In 1989, Metallica received its first Grammy Award nomination for …And Justice for All, in the new Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrument category. Metallica was the favorite to win; however, the award was given to Jethro Tull for the album Crest of a Knave.^[28] The result generated controversy among fans and the press, as Metallica was standing off-stage waiting to receive the award after performing the song "One". Jethro Tull had been advised by its manager not to attend the ceremony as he was expecting Metallica to win.^[28] The award was named in Entertainment Weekly's "Grammy's 10 Biggest Upsets".^[29]

Following the release of …And Justice for All, Metallica released its debut music video for the song "One". The band performed the song in an abandoned warehouse, and footage was remixed with the film, Johnny Got His Gun. Rather than organize an ongoing licensing deal, Metallica purchased the rights to the film. The remixed video was submitted to MTV, with the alternate performance-only version held back in the event that MTV banned the remix version. MTV accepted the remix version, and the video was viewers' first exposure to Metallica. It was voted number 38 in 1999 when MTV aired its "Top 100 Videos of All Time" countdown,^[30] and was featured in the network's 25th Anniversary edition of ADD Video, which showcased the most popular videos on MTV in the last 25 years.^[31]

"Metallica" (1990–1993)

In October 1990, Metallica entered One on One studio in North Hollywood to record its next album. Bob Rock, who had worked with the bands The Cult, Bon Jovi, and Mötley Crüe, was hired as producer. Metallica(also known as "The Black Album") was remixed three times, cost $1 million, and ended three marriages.^[32] Although the release was stalled until 1991, Metallica debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with shipments exceeding 650,000 units in its first week.^[33] The album was responsible for bringing Metallica to the attention of the mainstream and has been certified 15 times platinum in the United States, which makes it the 25th highest-selling album in the country.^[34] The making of Metallica and the following tour was documented in A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica. Dubbed the Wherever We May Roam Tour, it lasted 14 months and included dates in the United States, Japan, and the UK.^[32]

On August 8, 1992, during the co-headlining GNR-Metallica Stadium Tour with Guns N' Roses, Hetfield suffered second and third degree burns to his arms, face, hands, and legs. There was confusion with the newpyrotechnics setup, which resulted with Hetfield walking into a 12-foot (3.7 m) flame during "Fade to Black". Newsted recalls Hetfield's skin was "bubbling like on The Toxic Avenger".^[35] Guitar technician John Marshall, who had previously filled in on rhythm guitar and was now playing in Metal Church, replaced Hetfield for the remainder of the tour as Hetfield was unable to play guitar, although he was able to sing. The band's first box set was released in November 1993 called Live Shit: Binge & Purge. The collection contained three live CDs, three home videos, and a book filled with riders and letters.^[35]

Load, ReLoad, Garage Inc., and S&M (1994–1999)

After almost three years of touring to support Metallica, including a headlining performance at Woodstock '94, Metallica returned to the studio to write and record its sixth studio album. The band took a break in the summer of 1995 and played three outdoor shows which included headlining Donington Park in the United Kingdom, supported by Slayer, Skid Row, Slash's Snakepit, Therapy?, and Corrosion of Conformity. The short tour was titled Escape From The Studio '95. The band spent roughly one year writing and recording new songs, resulting in the release of Load in 1996, which entered the Billboard 200 and ARIA Charts at number one, marking the band's second number one.^[14] The cover of Load was created by Andres Serrano, and was called Blood and Semen III. Serrano pressed a mixture of his own semen and bovine blood between sheets of plexiglass.^[36] The release marked a change in musical direction for the band and a new look with band members receiving haircuts. Metallica headlined the alternative rock festival Lollapalooza in the summer of 1996.^[25][37]

During early production of the album, the band had produced enough material for a double album. It was decided that half of the songs were to be released, and the band would continue to work on the remaining songs and release them the following year. This resulted in the follow-up album, ReLoad. The cover was created by Serrano, this time using a mixture of blood and urine.^[36] ReLoad peaked at number one on theBillboard 200, and number two on the Top Canadian Album chart.^[14] Hetfield noted in the 2004 documentary film Some Kind of Monster that the songs on these albums were initially thought by the band to be of average quality, and were "polished and reworked" until judged to be releasable.^[38] To promote ReLoad, Metallica performed on NBC's Saturday Night Live in December 1997, performing "Fuel" and "The Memory Remains" with Marianne Faithfull.^[39]

In 1998, Metallica compiled a double album of cover songs titled Garage Inc.. The first disc contained newly recorded covers by bands such as Diamond Head, Killing Joke, The Misfits, Thin Lizzy, Mercyful Fate, and Black Sabbath. The second disc featured the original The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited, which had become a scarce collectors' item. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number two.^[39][40]

On April 21 and April 22, 1999, Metallica recorded two performances with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Kamen. Kamen, who had previously worked with producer Rock on "Nothing Else Matters", approached the band in 1991 with the idea of pairing Metallica's music with a symphony orchestra. Kamen and his staff of over 100 composed additional orchestral material for Metallica songs. Metallica wrote two new Kamen-scored songs for the event, "No Leaf Clover" and "-Human". The audio recording and concert footage were released in 1999 as the album and concert film S&M. It entered theBillboard 200 at number two, and the Australian ARIA charts and Top Internet Albums chart at number one.^[14]

Napster controversy (2000–2001)

In 2000, Metallica discovered that a demo of its song "I Disappear", which was supposed to be released in combination with the Mission: Impossible II soundtrack, was receiving radio airplay. Tracing the source of the leak, the band found the file on the Napster peer-to-peer file-sharing network, and also found that the band's entire catalogue was freely available.^[41] Legal action was initiated against Napster with Metallica filing a lawsuit at the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, alleging that Napster violated three areas of the law: copyright infringement, unlawful use of digital audio interface device, and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.^[25][42]

Ulrich led the case against Napster

Though the lawsuit named three universities for copyright infringement, the University of Southern California, Yale University, and Indiana University, no individuals were named. Yale and Indiana complied and blocked the service from its campuses, and Metallica withdrew the universities' inclusion in the lawsuit.^[43] Southern California, however, had a meeting with students to figure out what was going to happen with Napster. School administrators wanted it banned as its usage accounted for 40% of the bandwidth not being used for educational purposes.^[44]

Metallica hired online consulting firm NetPD to monitor the Napster service for a weekend. A list of 335,435 Napster users who were believed to be sharing Metallica's music was compiled, and the 60,000 page document was delivered to Napster's office as Metallica requested the users be banned from the service.^[45] The users were banned, and rap artistDr. Dre joined the lawsuit against Napster, which resulted in an additional 230,142 Napster users banned.^[46]

Ulrich provided a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding copyright infringement on July 11, 2000.^[41] Federal Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ordered the site place a filteron the program in 72 hours or be shut down.^[47] A settlement was reached between Metallica and Napster when German media conglomerate Bertelsmann AG BMG showed interest to purchase the rights to Napster for $94 million. Under the terms of settlement, Napster agreed to block users who shared music by artists who do not want their music shared.^[48] However, on June 3, 2002 Napster filed for Chapter 11 protection under U.S. bankruptcy laws. On September 3, 2002, an American bankruptcy judge blocked the sale to Bertelsmann and forced Napster to liquidate its assets according to Chapter 7 of the U.S. bankruptcy laws.^[49]

At the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, Ulrich appeared in a skit with host Marlon Wayans that blasted the idea of using Napster to share music. Marlon played a college student sitting in his dorm room listening to Metallica's "I Disappear". Ulrich walked in and asked for an explanation. On receiving Wayans' excuse that using Napster was just "sharing", Lars retorted that Marlon's idea of sharing was "borrowing things that were not yours without asking." He called in the Metallica road crew, who proceeded to confiscate all of Wayans' belongings, leaving him almost nude in an empty room. Napster creator Shawn Fanning responded later in the ceremony by presenting an award wearing a Metallica shirt, saying, "I borrowed this shirt from a friend. Maybe, if I like it, I'll buy one of my own."^[50]

Newsted's departure and St. Anger (2001–2005)

As plans were being made to enter the recording studio, Newsted left the band on January 17, 2001. His statement revealed his departure was based on "private and personal reasons, and the physical damage I have done to myself over the years while playing the music that I love."^[51] During a Playboy interview with Metallica, Newsted revealed intentions he wanted to release an album with his side project, Echobrain. Hetfield was against the idea and said, "When someone does a side project, it takes away from the strength of Metallica" and a side project is "like cheating on your wife in a way".^[25] Newsted countered his statement by saying Hetfield recorded vocals for a song in the film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, and appears on two Corrosion of Conformity albums. Hetfield replied, "My name isn't on those records. And I'm not out trying to sell them", and pondered questions such as, "Where would it end? Does he start touring with it? Does he sell shirts? Is it his band?"^[25]

Robert Trujillo was announced as Metallica's new bassist on February 24, 2003

In April 2001, filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky began following Metallica to document the recording process of the next studio album. Over two years, more than 1,000 hours of footage was recorded. On July 19, 2001, before preparations to enter the recording studio, Hetfield entered rehab due to "alcoholism and other addictions". All recording plans were put on hiatus and the band's future was in doubt.^[52] However, when Hetfield returned on December 4, 2001, the band returned to the recording studio and Hetfield was required to work four hours a day, noon to 4 PM, and spend the rest of his time with his family. The footage recorded by Berlinger and Sinofsky was compiled into the documentary, Some Kind of Monster, which premiered at the Sundance film festival. In the documentary, Newsted described his former bandmates' decision to hire a therapist to help solve their problems which they could have solved on their own as "really fucking lame and weak".^[38]

Metallica held auditions for Newsted's permanent replacement in early 2003, after St Anger 's completion, for which Bob Rock recorded bass. Bassists that auditioned includedPepper Keenan, Jeordie White, Scott Reeder, Eric Avery, Danny Lohner, and Chris Wyse. Following three months of auditions, Robert Trujillo, formerly of Suicidal Tendencies andOzzy Osbourne's band, was chosen as the new bassist.^[38] As Metallica moved on, Newsted joined Canadian thrash metal band Voivod in 2002, and was Trujillo's replacement in Osbourne's band during the 2003 Ozzfest tour, which included Voivod as part of the touring bill.^[53]

In June 2003, Metallica's eighth studio album, St. Anger, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and drew mixed reaction from critics.^[54] Ulrich's "steely" sounding snare drum, and the absence of guitar solos received particular criticism.^[54] Kevin Forest Moreau of Shakingthrough.net commented that "the guitars stumble in a monotone of mid-level, processed rattle; the drums don't propel as much as struggle to disguise an all-too-turgid pace; and the rage is both unfocused and leavened with too much narcissistic navel-gazing",^[55] and Brent DiCrescenzo of Pitchfork Media described it as "an utter mess".^[56] However, Blender magazine called it the "grimiest and grimmest of the band's Bob Rock productions", and New York Magazine called it "utterly raw and rocking".^[54] The title track, "St. Anger", won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2004, and was used as the official theme song for WWE's SummerSlam 2003.^[57]

Before the band's set at the 2004 Download Festival in England, Ulrich was rushed to hospital with a mysterious illness, and was unable to perform.^[58] Hetfield searched for volunteers at the last minute to replace Ulrich. Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo, and Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison volunteered. Lombardo performed the songs "Battery" and "The Four Horsemen", Ulrich's drum technician Flemming Larsen performed "Fade to Black", with Jordison performing the remainder of the set.^[58] Having toured for two years in support of St. Anger on the Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003 and the Madly in Anger with the World tour, with multi-platinum rockers Godsmack in support, Metallica took a break from performing and spent most of 2005 with friends and family. However, for two shows on November 13, 2005, and November 15, 2005, Metallica opened for The Rolling Stones at AT&T Park in San Francisco.^[59]

Death Magnetic (2006 onward)

Hammett performing live in 2007

In December 2006, Metallica released a DVD containing all the music videos from 1989 to 2004. The DVD, titled The Videos 1989–2004, sold 28,000 copies in its first week, and entered the Billboard Top Videos chart at number three.^[60] Metallica recorded a cover of Ennio Morricone's "The Ecstasy of Gold" for a tribute album titled We All Love Ennio Morricone, released in February 2007. The cover received a Grammy nomination at the 50th Grammy Awards for the category "Best Rock Instrumental Performance".^[61] A recording of "The Ecstasy of Gold" has been played as the introduction for Metallica performances since the 1980s. However, this new version features the band itself performing the piece, giving a new guitar-based interpretation to the music.^[62]

In 2006, Metallica announced on its official website that after 15 years, long-time producer Bob Rock was stepping down and would not be producing Metallica's next studio album. Metallica chose to work with producer Rick Rubin, who has produced albums for the bands Danzig, Slayer, Slipknot and System of a Down.^[63] Metallica set the release date for the album Death Magnetic as September 12, 2008, and they filmed a music video for the first single "The Day That Never Comes".

On September 2, 2008, a French record store began selling copies of Death Magnetic nearly two weeks ahead of its scheduled worldwide release date,^[64] which resulted in the album being made available on peer-to-peer clients. This prompted the band's United Kingdom distributor, Vertigo Records, to officially release the album two days ahead of schedule, on September 10, 2008. It is currently unconfirmed whether Metallica or Warner Bros. will be taking any action against the retailer, though drummer Lars Ulrich has made such responses to the leak as, "…We're ten days from release. I mean, from here, we're golden. If this thing leaks all over the world today or tomorrow, happy days. Happy days. Trust me,"^[65] and, "By 2008 standards, that's a victory. If you'd told me six months ago that our record wouldn't leak until 10 days out, I would have signed up for that."^[66]

Death Magnetic debuted at number one in several countries to make it top the Australian, Canadian, Mexican^{[citation needed]} and European album chart. Selling 490,000 units in the United States to debut at number one, Metallica became the first band to have five consecutive studio albums debut at number one in the history of the Billboard 200.^[67] After a week of its release, Death Magnetic remained at number one on theBillboard 200, the European album chart, and became the fastest selling album in Australia for 2008.^[68]

Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield performing in London in 2008

Death Magnetic stayed at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart for three consecutive weeks. Metallica became the only artist, aside from Jack Johnson with the release of the album Sleep Through the Static, to remain on the Billboard 200 for three consecutive weeks at number one in 2008. Death Magnetic had also remained at number one on Billboard's Hard Rock, Modern Rock/Alternative and Rock album charts for five consecutive weeks. Internationally, the album peaked at number one in 32 countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.^[69]

Death Magnetic is a return by Metallica to their mid-eighties heavy/thrash metal roots.^[70][71] It is more similar to Master of Puppets and ...And Justice for All rather than their more recent albums.

Since this album's success, MTV Europe nominated Metallica in two categories (Rock Out and Headliner) of their Music Awards edition and also MTV Latin America invited them to perform in their Music Awards edition.^[72] Metallica performed "The Day That Never Comes." On October 21, 2008, Metallica started their World Magnetic Tour.

In November 2008, Metallica came to the end of their record deal with Warner Bros., and the band is now considering their options for the future and, according to Ulrich, one of their options is to release their next album through the internet.^[73] Recently, James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett were added to "Chop Shop's" list of "Top 100 Most Complete Guitar Players of All Time" at number fourteen and twenty-six, respectively.^[74]

On January 14, 2009, it was announced that Metallica would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4, 2009,^[75] and that former bassist Jason Newsted (who left the band in 2001), would perform with the band at the ceremony.^[76] Initially, it was announced that the matter had been discussed, and that current bassist Robert Trujillo had agreed not to play, as he "wanted to see the Black Album band".^[77]However, during the band's set of "Master of Puppets" and "Enter Sandman", both Trujillo and Newsted were on stage.^[78] Ray Burton, the father of late bassist Cliff Burton accepted the honor on his behalf. Metallica also invited Dave Mustaine to take part in the induction ceremony, but he declined, citing his touring commitments in Europe.^[79]

On May 27, 2009, it was announced on Metallica's website that a new live DVD will be filmed at the Mexico City, Mexico and Nimes, France shows.^[80] The Nimes concert will be released as Francais Pour Une Nuiton October 19, 2009. ^[81]

In a June 2009 interview with Italy's Rock TV, Ulrich stated that Metallica plans to continue touring through August 2010. He also stated that there are currently no plans for a tenth album, but is sure that they are going to do one with Rick Rubin again.^[82]

Style and lyrical themes

"Damage Inc." (1986) "Damage Inc." (Master of Puppets), demonstrating Metallica's fast tempo, and aggressive musicianship featured in early releases "Sad but True" (1991) "Sad but True" (Metallica) Robert Palmer of Rolling Stone believed the band abandoned fast tempos to expand its music and expressiverange in 1991 "Purify" (2003) "Purify" (St. Anger), demonstrating Metallica's new musical approach with no guitar solos, a "raw unpolished" sound, and Ulrich'ssnare drum

Problems listening to these files? See media help.

Influenced by early heavy metal and hard rock bands such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin and New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands such asVenom, Motörhead, Diamond Head, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden, early Metallica releases contained fast tempos, harmonized leads, and nine-minute instrumentals. Steve Huey of Allmusic said that Ride the Lightning featured "extended, progressive epics; tight, concise groove-rockers".^[83] Huey felt Metallica expanded its compositional technique and range of expression to take on a more aggressive approach in following releases, and lyrics dealt with more personal and socially conscious issues.^[83] Lyrical themes explored on Master of Puppets included religious and military leaders, rage, insanity, monsters, and drugs.^[84]

In 1991, with new producer Bob Rock, Huey felt Metallica simplified and streamlined its music for a more commercial approach to appeal to the mainstream audience.^[85] The band abandoned its aggressive, fast tempos to expand its music and expressive range, said Robert Palmer of Rolling Stone.^[86] The change in direction proved commercially successful as Metallica was the band's first album to peak at number one on the Billboard 200. Metallica noticed changes to the rock scene created by the grunge movement of the early 1990s. In what has been described as "an almost alternative [rock]" approach, the band focused on non-metal influences and changed musical direction.^[87] Moving away from lyrical themes dealing with drugs and monsters, Metallica's new lyrical approach focused on anger, loss, and retribution. Some fans and critics were not pleased with this change, which included haircuts, the cover of Load, and headlining the alternative rock concertLollapalooza.^[37] David Fricke of Rolling Stone described the move as "goodbye to the moldy stricture and dead-end Puritanism of no-frills thrash" and called Load the heaviest record of 1996.^[37] With the release of ReLoad in 1997, the band displayed more blues and early hard rock influences, incorporating more rhythm andharmony in song structures.^[87]

St. Anger marked another large change in the band's sound. Bored with guitar solos, Ulrich chose to omit them from the album, leaving a "raw and unpolished sound".^[54] The band used drop C tuning, and Ulrich's snare drum received particular criticism. New York Magazine's Ethan Brown noted it "reverberates with a thwong". Lyrics on the album dealt with Hetfield's stint in rehab, including references to the devil, anti-drug themes, claustrophobia, impending doom, and religioushypocrisy.^[88][89] At the advice of producer Rick Rubin, for their ninth studio album, Death Magnetic, the band returned to E tuning and guitar solos, and adapted Middle Eastern influences.^[90]

Legacy and influence

Metallica has become one of the most influential heavy metal bands, and is credited as one of the "big four" of thrash metal, along with Slayer, Anthrax, and Megadeth.^[1] The band has sold more than 90 million records worldwide,^[91] including 57 million in the United States, which makes Metallica the most commercially successful thrash metal band.^[3] The writers of The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll felt Metallica gave heavy metal "a much-needed charge".^[92] Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Greg Prato of Allmusic said Metallica, "expanded the limits of thrash, using speed and volume not for their own sake, but to enhance their intricately structured compositions", calling the band "easily the best, most influential heavy metal band of the '80s, responsible for bringing the music back to Earth."^[85]

Jonathan Davis of Korn respects Metallica as his favorite band and comments, "I love that they've done things their own way and they've persevered over the years and they're still relevant to this day. I think they're one of the greatest bands ever."^[93] Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin said Metallica has been the biggest influence on the band stating, "they really changed my life when I was 16 years old - I’d never heard anything that heavy."^[94] Vocalist and guitarist Robb Flynn of Machine Head said that when creating the band's 2007 album, The Blackening, "What we mean is an album that has the power, influence and epic grandeur of that album [Master of Puppets] – and the staying power - a timeless record like that".^[95] Trivium guitarists Corey Beaulieu and Matt Heafy said that when they heard Metallica they wanted to start playing guitar.^[96][97] M Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold stated touring with Metallica was the band's career highlight, and said "Selling tons of records and playing huge shows will never compare to meeting your idols [Metallica]."^[98] God Forbid guitarists Doc and Dallas Coyle grew up with Metallica as an inspiration, and the band's bassist John Outcalt admires Burton as a "rocker".^[99] Ill Niño drummer Dave Chavarri finds early Metallica releases as "heavy, raw, rebellious. It said, 'fuck you'",^[100] and Adema drummer Kris Kohls says the band is influenced by Metallica.^[101]

Kerrang! released a tribute album with the April 8, 2006, edition of the magazine, titled Master of Puppets: Remastered, which celebrated the 20-year anniversary of Master of Puppets. The album featured cover versions of Metallica songs by the bands Machine Head, Bullet for My Valentine, Chimaira, Mastodon, Mendeed, and Trivium, all who are influenced by Metallica. Over 15 Metallica tribute albums have been released. On September 10, 2006, Metallica guest starred on The Simpsons' eighteenth season premiere "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer",^[102] and Hammett's and Hetfield's voices were used in three episodes of the animated television series Metalocalypse.^[103]

Finnish cello metal band Apocalyptica released a tribute album, Plays Metallica by Four Cellos, which featured eight Metallica songs recorded with cellos. A parody band named Beatallica plays music using a combination of The Beatles and Metallica songs. Beatallica faced legal troubles when the Sony Corporation, who own The Beatles' catalogue, ordered a cease-and-desist claiming "substantial and irreparable injury"—ordering the group to pay damages. A fan of Beatallica, Ulrich asked Metallica lawyer Peter Paterno to help settle the legal case.^[104]

Metallica was ranked by MTV as the third "Greatest Heavy Metal Band in History",^[93] was listed fifth on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock,^[105] and was number one on VH1's 20 Greatest Metal Bandslist.^[106] Master of Puppets was ranked number 167 on Rolling Stone's "500 Great Albums of all time", and Metallica was number 252.^[107] Master of Puppets was named in Q Magazine's "50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time",^[108] ranked number one on IGN's "Top 25 Metal Albums",^[109] and number one on the Metal-rules.com "Top 100 Heavy Metal Albums" list.^[110] The song "Enter Sandman" was ranked number 399 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".^[111]

On March 7, 1999, Metallica was inducted into the San Francisco Walk of Fame. The mayor of San Francisco, Willie Brown, proclaimed the day "Official Metallica Day".^[112] Metallica was awarded the MTV Iconaward in 2003, and a concert was held paying tribute to the band with artists performing Metallica songs. Performances included Sum 41 with a medley of "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "Enter Sandman", and "Master of Puppets". Staind covered "Nothing Else Matters", Avril Lavigne played "Fuel", hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg performed "Sad But True", Korn played "One", and Limp Bizkit performed a rendition of "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)".^[113]

The popular Guitar Hero series added many of Metallica's songs into their games. The first instance was Guitar Hero III when "One" was a track in the game. In the sequel, Guitar Hero: World Tour, the song "Trapped Under Ice" was used. Eventually in 2009, Metallica collaborated to make Guitar Hero: Metallica, in which several of Metallica's songs were included. Harmonix's Rock Band series included "Enter Sandman," with "Ride the Lightning," "Blackened," and "...And Justice For All" released as downloadable songs. Later in the sequel game, Rock Band 2, Metallica's song "Battery" was used.

Awards

Grammy Awards:^[57]

• 1990: Best Metal Performance – "One"
• 1991: Best Metal Performance – "Stone Cold Crazy"
• 1992: Best Metal Performance – Metallica
• 1999: Best Metal Performance – "Better than You"
• 2000: Best Hard Rock Performance – "Whiskey in the Jar"
• 2001: Best Rock Instrumental Performance – "The Call of Ktulu" with Michael Kamen and the San Francisco Symphony
• 2004: Best Metal Performance – "St. Anger"
• 2009: Best Metal Performance – "My Apocalypse"
• 2009: Best Recording Package - Death Magnetic

MTV Video Music Awards:

• 1992: Best Metal Video – "Enter Sandman"
• 1996: Best Metal Video – "Until It Sleeps"

American Music Awards:

• 1996: Favorite Artist: Heavy Metal/Hard Rock: Metallica – Load
• 1996: Favorite Metal/Hard Rock Song – "Until It Sleeps"

Billboard Music Awards:

• 1997: Billboard Rock and Roll Artist of the Year – Metallica (RIAA Diamond Award)
• 1999: Catalogue Artist of the Year – Metallica
• 1999: Catalogue Album of the Year – Metallica

Kerrang! Awards:

• 2003: Hall of Fame – Metallica

Band members

Scorpions
Background information
Origin	Hanover, Germany
Genres	Heavy metal, hard rock
Years active	1971 - present
Labels	Rhino, RCA, Mercury, EMI, Atlantic,WEA, BMG
Website	Official website
Members
Klaus Meine Matthias Jabs Rudolf Schenker James Kottak Paweł Mąciwoda
Former members
See: List of former members

The Scorpions are a heavy metal^[1][2][3][4]/hard rock^[5][6][7] band from Hanover, Germany, probably best known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and their singles "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel, "Still Loving You", and "Wind of Change". The band has sold over 75 million albums worldwide^[8]and were ranked #46 on VH1's Greatest Artists of Hard Rock program.^[9]

Formation and early history (1965-1973)History

Rudolf Schenker, the band's rhythm guitarist launched the band in 1965. At first, the band had beat influences and Schenker himself did the vocals. Things began to come together in 1969 when Schenker's younger brother Michael and vocalist Klaus Meine joined the band. In 1972, the group recorded and released their debut albumLonesome Crow, with Lothar Heimberg on bass and Wolfgang Dziony on drums. During the Lonesome Crow tour, the Scorpions opened for upcoming British band UFO. Near the end of the tour, the members of UFO offered guitarist Michael Schenker the lead guitar job; an offer which he soon accepted. Uli Roth, a friend of the Schenker brothers, was then called in temporarily to finish off the tour.

The departure of Michael Schenker led to the breakup of the band. In 1973, Uli Roth, who had helped the Scorpions complete the Lonesome Crow tour, was offered the role as lead guitarist, but turned the band down, preferring instead to remain in the band Dawn Road. Schenker eventually decided that he wanted to work with Roth, but did not want to resurrect the last Scorpions lineup. He attended some of Dawn Road's rehearsals and ultimately decided to join the band, which consisted of Roth, Francis Buchholz (bass), Achim Kirschning (keyboards) and Jürgen Rosenthal (drums). Roth and Buchholz persuaded Rudolf Schenker to invite Klaus Meine to join, which he soon did. While there were more members of Dawn Road than Scorpions in the band, they decided to use the Scorpions name because it was well-known in the German hard rock scene and an album had been released under that name.^[10]

Rise to fame (1974-1978)

In 1974 the new line-up of Scorpions released Fly to the Rainbow. The album proved to be more successful than Lonesome Crow and songs such as "Speedy's Coming" and the title track began to establish the band's sound. Achim Kirschning decided to leave after the recordings. Soon after, Jürgen Rosenthal had to leave as he was being drafted into the army. Later, in 1976, he would join a German progressive rock band called Eloy and record three albums with them. He was replaced by a Belgian drummer, Rudy Lenners.

In 1975 the band hit their stride with the release of In Trance, which marked the beginning of Scorpions' long collaboration with German producer Dieter Dierks. The album was a huge step forward for Scorpions and firmly established their hard rock formula, while at the same time garnering a substantial fan base, both at home and abroad. Cuts such as "Dark Lady", "Robot Man" and the title track are still considered classics by fans today.

In 1976, Scorpions released Virgin Killer. The album's cover featured a nude prepubescent girl covered with broken glass. The cover art was designed by Stefan Bohle who was the product manager for RCA Records^[11], their label at the time. The cover brought the band considerable criticism and was pulled or replaced in several countries. Despite the controversy, the album itself garnered significant praise for its music from critics and fans alike.

The following year, Rudy Lenners resigned due to health reasons and was replaced by Herman Rarebell.

For the follow-up Taken by Force, RCA Records made a determined effort to promote the album in stores and on the radio. The album's single, "Steamrock Fever", was added to some of RCA's radio promotional records. Roth was not happy with the commercial direction the band was taking. Although he performed on the band's Japan tour, he departed to form his own band, Electric Sun prior to the release of the resultant double live album Tokyo Tapes. Tokyo Tapes was released in the US and Europe six months after its Japanese release. By that time in mid 1978, after auditioning around 140 guitarists, Scorpions recruited new guitarist Matthias Jabs.

Commercial success (1979-1990)

Following the addition of Jabs, Scorpions left RCA for Mercury Records to record their next album. Just weeks after being evicted from UFO for his alcohol abuse, Michael Schenker also returned to the group for a short period during the recordings for the album. This gave the band three guitarists (though Schenker's contribution to the final release was limited to only three songs). The result was Lovedrive, an album which some critics consider to be the pinnacle of their career.^[12] Containing such fan favorites as "Loving You Sunday Morning", "Always Somewhere", "Holiday" and the instrumental "Coast to Coast", the 'Scorpions formula' of hard rock songs mixed with melodic ballads was firmly cemented. The album's provocative artwork was named "Best album sleeve of 1979" by Playboy magazine though it was ultimately changed for American release. Lovedrive peaked at #55 on the US charts proving that Scorpions were gathering an international following. After the completion and release of the album, the band decided to retain Michael in the band, thus forcing Jabs to leave. However after a few weeks of the tour, Michael, still coping with alcoholism, missed a number of gigs and at one point collapsed on stage and Jabs was brought back to fill in for him on those occasions when he could not perform. In April, 1979, during their tour in France, Jabs was brought in permanently to replace Michael.

The Scorpions' logo

In 1980, the band released Animal Magnetism, again with a provocative cover, this time showing a girl kneeling in front of a man. Animal Magnetism contained classics such as "The Zoo" and "Make It Real". Soon after the album's release, Meine began experiencing throat problems. He required surgery on his vocal cords and doubts were raised about whether he would ever sing again.

Meanwhile, the band began working on their next album, Blackout in 1981. Don Dokken was brought in to provide guide and backing vocals while Meine recovered.^[13] Meine eventually healed completely and was able to finish the album. Blackout was released in 1982 and quickly became the band's best selling to date, eventually going platinum. Meine's voice showed no signs of weakness and critical response to the album was good. Blackout spawned three hit singles: "Dynamite," "Blackout" and "No One Like You".

It was not until 1984 and the release of Love at First Sting that the band finally cemented their status as rock superstars. Propelled by the single "Rock You Like a Hurricane",Love at First Sting climbed the charts and went double platinum in the USA a few months after its release. However, Scorpions did manage to stir up controversy once again with their provocative album cover. This time it was a man kissing a woman while at the same time planting a tattoo on her naked thigh, mimicking a gag from the satire movieThis Is Spinal Tap that was released the same year. Some stores refused to sell the album. MTV gave the album's videos "Rock You Like a Hurricane", "Bad Boys Running Wild", "Big City Nights", and the power ballad "Still Loving You" significant airtime, greatly contributing to the album's success. The channel even supplied Scorpions with the nickname "The Ambassadors of Rock". The band toured extensively behind Love at First Sting and decided to record and release their second live album, World Wide Live in 1985. Recorded over a year-long world tour and released at the height of their popularity, the album was another success for the band, peaking at #14 in the charts in the US and at #18 in the UK.

After their extensive world tours, the band finally returned to the studio to record Savage Amusement. Released in 1988, four years after their previous studio album, Savage Amusement represented a more polished pop sound similar to the style Def Leppard had found success with. The album sold well, but was considered somewhat of a critical disappointment. However, British heavy rock magazine Kerrang! did award the album five K's out of five.

On the Savage Amusement tour in 1988, Scorpions became only the second Western group to play in the Soviet Union (the first being Uriah Heep in December, 1987), with a performance in Leningrad. The following year the band returned to perform at the Moscow Music Peace Festival. As a result, Scorpions developed a strong Russian fan base and still return regularly to perform throughout the area.^[14]

Wishing to distance themselves from the Savage Amusement style, the band separated from their long-time producer and "Sixth Scorpion," Dieter Dierks, replacing him with Keith Olsen when they returned to the studio in 1990. Crazy World was released that same year and displayed a less polished sound. The album was a hit, propelled in large part by the massive success of the ballad "Wind of Change". The song muses on the socio-political changes that were occurring in Eastern Europe and in other parts of the world at the end of the Cold War. On July 21, 1990 they joined many other guests for Roger Waters' massive performanceof The Wall in Berlin. Scorpions performed both versions of "In the Flesh" from The Wall. After the Crazy World tour Francis Buchholz, the band's long-serving bassist, left the group.

Later days (1993-present)

In 1993, Scorpions released Face the Heat. Bass was handled by Ralph Rieckermann. For the recording process, Scorpions brought in producer Bruce Fairbairn. The album's sound was more metal than melodic and divided the band's fan base somewhat. Many "headbangers" responded positively to the album while many longtime fans were put off. Neither the hard rock single "Alien Nation" nor the ballad "Under The Same Sun" came close to matching the success of "Wind of Change". Face the Heat was a moderate success.

In 1995, a new live album, Live Bites, was produced. The disc documented live performances from their Savage Amusement Tour in 1988, all the way through the Face the Heat Tour in 1994. While the album had a much cleaner sound in comparison to their best-selling live album, World Wide Live, it was not as successful.

Prior to recording their 13th studio album, 1996s Pure Instinct, drummer Herman Rarebell left the band to set up a recording label. Curt Cress took charge of the drumsticks for the album before Kentucky-born James Kottak took over permanently. Many feel Pure Instinct is a response to the complaints levied against Face the Heat. The album had many ballads. Still, the album's singles "Wild Child" and the soothing ballad "You and I" both enjoyed moderate success.

1999 saw the release of Eye II Eye and a significant change in the band's style, mixing in elements of pop and techno. While the album was slickly produced, fans were unsure what to make of the band, responding negatively to almost everything from pop-soul backup singers to the electronic drums present on several songs. The video to the album's first European single, "To Be No. 1," featured a Monica Lewinsky look-alike which did little to improve its popularity.

The following year, Scorpions had a fairly successful collaboration with the Berlin Philharmonic that resulted in a 10-song album named Moment of Glory. The album went a long way toward rebuilding the band's reputation after the harsh criticism of Eye II Eye. However, critics accused them of following on the coattails of Metallica's similar collaboration (S&M) with the San Francisco Symphony which had been released the previous year, even though the orchestra had first approached Scorpions with the idea in 1995.

Scorpions in 2007

In 2001, Scorpions released Acoustica, a live unplugged album featuring acoustic reworkings of the band's biggest hits, plus new tracks. While appreciated by fans, the lack of a new studio album was frustrating to some, and Acoustica did little to return the band to the spotlight.

In 2004, the band released Unbreakable, an album that was hailed by critics as a long-awaited return to form. The album was the heaviest the band had released since Face the Heat, and fans responded well to tracks such as "New Generation", "Love 'em or Leave 'em" and "Deep and Dark". Whether a result of poor promotion by the band's label or the long time between studio releases, Unbreakable received little airplay and did not chart. Scorpions toured extensively behind the album and played as 'Special Guests' withJudas Priest during the 2005 British tour - these were the Scorpions first dates in the UK since 1999.

In early 2006, Scorpions released the DVD 1 Night in Vienna that included 14 live tracks and a complete rockumentary. In LA, the band spent about four months in the studio with producers James Michael and Desmond Child working on their new concept album titled Humanity: Hour I, which was released in late May 2007.^[15] Followed by the "Humanity World Tour".

In 2007, the band saw two of their signature tracks featured in the popular video game series, "Guitar Hero." "No One Like You" was featured on the "Rocks the '80s" version of the game while "Rock You Like A Hurricane" was released on "Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock."

On May 14, 2007, Scorpions released Humanity - Hour I in Europe. Humanity - Hour I became available in the U.S. on August 28 on New Door Records, entering the Billboard charts at number #63.

In a September 2007 podcast interview, Meine said the new album wasn't so much a "concept album" as it was a collection of songs with a common theme. "We didn't want to make another record with songs about boys chasing girls. I mean, come on, give me a break," Meine said.^[16]

When asked if the band plans to release a Humanity - Hour II, Meine replied:

On December 20, 2007, Scorpions played at a concert for the elite of Russia’s security forces in the Kremlin. The concert celebrated the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Cheka - predecessor of the KGB. Members of the audience included President Vladimir Putin.

On February 21, 2009, Scorpions received Germany's ECHO Honorary Award for lifetime achievement at Berlin's O2 World.^[18]

Band members

Current members

• Klaus Meine - lead vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion, tambourine, backing vocals (1970-present)
• Matthias Jabs - lead & rhythm guitars (1978-present)
• Rudolf Schenker - rhythm & lead guitars, backing vocals, lead vocals on "They Need A Million", "Drifting Sun" (1965-present)
• Paweł Mąciwoda - bass, backing vocals (2003-present)
• James Kottak - drums, percussion, backing vocals (1996-present)

Former members

• Lothar Heimberg - bass, backing vocals (1965-1973)
• Wolfgang Dziony - drums, percussion (1965-1973)
• Michael Schenker - lead & rhythm guitars (1970-1973, 1979)
• Ulrich Roth - lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Drifting Sun", "Fly to the Rainbow", "Dark Lady", "Sun in My Hand", "Hell Cat", "Polar Nights" (1973-1978)
• Francis Buchholz - bass, backing vocals (1973-1983, 1984-1992, 1994)
• Achim Kirschning - keyboards (1973-1974)
• Jürgen Rosenthal - drums, percussion (1973-1975)
• Rudy Lenners - drums, percussion (1975-1977)
• Herman Rarebell - drums, percussion (1977-1983, 1984-1995)
• Ralph Rieckermann - bass (1993-2000, 2000-2003)
• Curt Cress - drums, percussion (1996)
• Ken Taylor - bass (2000)
• Barry Sparks - bass (2004)
• Ingo Powitzer - bass (2004)

Manager

• Stewart Young (1995-Present)

Madonna
Madonna at the premiere of I Am Because We Are in 2008
Background information
Birth name	Madonna Louise Ciccone
Also known as	Madonna Ciccone, Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone
Born	August 16, 1958 (age 51) Bay City, Michigan, United States
Genres	Pop, rock, dance, electronic
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, dancer,[1]record producer, film producer, film director, fashion designer, author, actress, entrepreneur
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, percussion
Years active	1979–present
Labels	Sire (1982–1995) Maverick (1992–2004) Warner Bros. (1982–2008) Live Nation Artists (2008-)
Associated acts	Breakfast Club, Emmy
Website	www.madonna.com

Madonna (born Madonna Louise Ciccone on August 16, 1958) is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, and raised inRochester Hills, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance. After performing as a member of the pop musical groups Breakfast Cluband Emmy, she released her self-titled debut album Madonna in 1983 on Sire Records.

A series of hit singles from her studio albums Like a Virgin (1984) and True Blue (1986) gained her global recognition, establishing her as a pop icon for pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on MTV. Her recognition was augmented by the filmDesperately Seeking Susan (1985) which widely became seen as a Madonna vehicle, despite her not playing the lead. Expanding on the use of religious imagery with Like a Prayer (1989), Madonna received positive critical reception for her diverse musical productions, while at the same time receiving criticism from religious conservatives and the Vatican. In 1992, Madonna founded the Maverick corporation, a joint venture between herself and Time Warner. The same year, she expanded the use of sexually explicit material in her work, beginning the release of the studio album Erotica, followed by the publishing of the coffee table book Sex, and starring in the erotic thrillerBody of Evidence, all of which received negative responses from conservatives and liberals alike.

In 1996, Madonna played the starring role in the film Evita, for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. Madonna's seventh studio album Ray of Light (1998) became one of her most critically acclaimed, recognized for its lyrical depth. During the 2000s, Madonna released five studio albums, all of which reached top position on the Billboard 200. Departing from Warner Bros. Records, Madonna signed an unprecedented $120 million dollar contract with Live Nationin 2008.^[2]

Madonna is ranked by the Recording Industry Association of America as the best-selling female rock artist of the 20th century and the second top-selling female artist in the U.S., with 63 million RIAA-certified albums; she has sold over 200 million albums worldwide.^[3][4][5] In 2007, Guinness World Records listed her as the world's most successful female recording artist of all time, and she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2008).^[6][7] Considered to be one of the most influential women incontemporary music, Madonna has been known for continually reinventing both her music and image and for retaining a standard of autonomy within the recording industry; she is recognized as an influence among numerous music artists.

1958–1981: Early life and beginningsBiography

Madonna was born in Bay City, Michigan at 7:05 AM on August 16, 1958, to Madonna Louise (née Fortin), who was of French Canadian descent, and Silvio Ciccone, who was a first-generation Italian AmericanChrysler/General Motors design engineer, originating from Pacentro, Abruzzo, Italy.^[8][9] Madonna is the third of six children; her siblings are Martin, Anthony, Paula, Christopher, and Melanie.^[10]

Madonna was raised in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Avon Township (now Rochester Hills). Her mother died of breast cancer at age 30 on December 1, 1963. Then her father married the family's housekeeper, Joan Gustafson, and they had two children; Jennifer and Mario Ciccone. Madonna commented on her father's second marriage: "I didn't accept my stepmother when I was growing up ... In retrospect, I think I was really hard on her."^[11] She attended St. Frederick's and St. Andrew's Elementary Schools (the latter is now known as Holy Family Regional School), and after that West Middle School. There she became known for her high GPA - and for her "unusual" behavior, particularly a kind of an underwear fetish: Madonna performed cartwheels and handstands in the hallways between classes, dangled by her knees from the monkey bars during recess, and thought nothing of tugging her skirt up over her desk during class so that all the boys could see her briefs.

Later, she went to Rochester Adams High School, becoming a straight-A student and a member of the cheerleading squad. Madonna received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan after graduating from high school.^[12] She wanted to take ballet lessons and convinced her father to allow her to partake the classes.^[13] Her ballet teacher persuaded her to pursue a career in dance, so she left the college at the end of 1977 and relocated to New York City.^[14] Madonna had little money at that time and hence lived in squalor, working as a waitress in Dunkin' Donuts and with modern dance troupes.^[15] Of her move to New York, Madonna said, "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."^[16] While performing as a dancer for the French disco artist Patrick Hernandez on his 1979 world tour,^[17] Madonna became romantically involved with the musician Dan Gilroy, with whom she later formed her first rock band, the Breakfast Club, in New York.^[18][19] She sang and played drums and guitar for the band and lived in a converted synagogue in Corona, Queens.^[20] However, she departed from them and formed another band called Emmy in 1980, with drummer and former boyfriend Stephen Bray.^[21] She and Bray wrote and produced dance songs that brought her to local attention in the New York dance clubs. DJ and record producer Mark Kamins was impressed by her demo recordings, so he brought her to the attention of Sire Records founder Seymour Stein.^[22]

1982–85: Madonna, Like a Virgin and marriage to Sean Penn

Madonna signed a singles deal with Sire Records, a label belonging to Warner Bros. Records.^[23] Her first release was "Everybody" on April 24, 1982.^[24] Her debut album, Madonna was primarily produced by Reggie Lucas. At the same time, she became involved with artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, living with him for a time in his loft, and visiting Los Angeles over December 82-January 83.^[25] She left the artist soon after, over his drug use and late hours, and took up with musician John "Jellybean" Benitez, while developing the album.^[22]

Slowly Madonna's look and manner of dress, performances and music videos, became influential among young girls and women. Largely created by stylist and jewelry designer Maripol, Madonna's style of dress; defined by lace tops, skirts over capri pants, fishnet stockings, jewelry bearing the Christian cross, multiple bracelets, and bleached hair, became a female fashion trend in the 1980s.^[26] Her follow up album, Like a Virgin (1984), became her first number one album on the Billboard 200.^[27] Its commercial performance was buoyed by the success of its title track, "Like a Virgin," which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks.^[17] The album sold approximately twelve million copies worldwide, eight of them in the United States alone.^[28] She performed the song at the first MTV Video Music Awards, wearing her then-trademark "Boy Toy" belt.^[29] The performance is considered as one of the iconic moments in the history of MTV,^[29] as is the album Like a Virgin which, the National Association of Recording Merchandisers andRock and Roll Hall of Fame listed as one of the Definitive 200 Albums of All Time.^[30][31]

The next year, Madonna entered mainstream films beginning with a brief appearance as a club singer in the film Vision Quest. Its soundtrack contained her second US number-one single "Crazy for You".^[32] She also appeared in the comedy Desperately Seeking Susan, a film which introduced the song "Into the Groove," her first number-one single in the United Kingdom.^[33] Although not the lead actress for the film, her profile was such that the movie widely became seen (and marketed) as a Madonna vehicle^[34]. The film received a nomination for a César Award for Best Foreign Film, and The New York Times film critic Vincent Canby named the film as one of the 10 best films of 1985.^[35], with the lead Rosanna Arquette receiving a supporting actress BAFTA for her role. While filming the music video for "Material Girl" Madonna started dating actor Sean Penn and married him on her twenty-seventh birthday that year.^[36]

Madonna embarked on her first concert tour in North America titled The Virgin Tour, with the Beastie Boys as opening acts.^[37] In July 1985, Penthouse and Playboy magazines published a number of nude photos of Madonna taken in New York in 1978. Madonna posed for the photographs as she was in need of money.^[38] But because she had signed the appropriate release forms, she could not take legal action to block them.^[38] The publication caused media uproar. However, she remained defiant and unapologetic upon publication of the photos for which she was paid as little as $25 a session. The photographs were ultimately sold for up to $100,000.^[38] She referenced this incident at the outdoor Live Aid charity concert. She stated that she would not take her jacket off because "they[media] might hold it against me ten years from now."^[39]

1986–1991: True Blue, Like a Prayer and the Blond Ambition Tour

Madonna in the AIDS benefit project during the "Blond Ambition World Tour" - September 12, 1990.

Madonna released her third album, True Blue, in 1986, prompting Rolling Stone to comment that "it sounds as if it comes from the heart."^[40] The album included the ballad "Live to Tell", which she wrote for the film At Close Range, starring her then-husband Sean Penn. The album spawned three number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 charts: "Live to Tell", "Papa Don't Preach" and "Open Your Heart", as well as other top-five singles "True Blue" and "La Isla Bonita".^[32] In the same year, Madonna starred in the film Shanghai Surprise(which was panned by critics) and made her theatrical debut in a production of David Rabe's Goose and Tom-Tom, both co-starring Sean Penn.^[41] In 1987, Madonna starred in Who's That Girl, and contributed four songs to its soundtrack; including the title track and the United States number-two single, "Causing a Commotion".^[32] The same year, she embarked on the Who's That Girl World Tour. The tour was complimented for Madonna's innovative dresses.^[42] Later that year, she released a remix album of past hits, You Can Dance. In 1988, city officials in the town of Pacentro began to construct a 13-foot (4 m) statue of Madonna in a bustier.^[43] The statue commemorated the fact that her ancestors had lived in Pacentro.^[44] Madonna's marriage to Sean Penn also ended. After filing and withdrawing divorce papers in December 1987, they separated on New Year's Eve 1988 and divorced in January 1989.^[45] Of her marriage to Penn, Madonna said, "I was completely obsessed with my career and not ready to be generous in any shape or form."^[36]

By early 1989, Madonna had signed an endorsement deal with soft drink manufacturer Pepsi. She debuted her new song, "Like a Prayer" in a Pepsi commercial and also made a music video for it. The video featured many Catholic symbols such as stigmata and burning crosses. It suggested an interracial relationship between Madonna's character and a black priest, hence it was condemned by the Vatican.^[29] Since the commercial and music video were nearly identical, Pepsi was unable to convince the public that their commercial was not inappropriate. They revoked the commercial and cancelled their sponsorship contract with Madonna. However, she was allowed to retain her fee for the contract.^[46] Madonna's fourth studio album, Like a Prayer was released the same year. It was co-written and co-produced by Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray.^[47] Rolling Stone hailed it as "...as close to art as pop music gets".^[48] Like a Prayer peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart and sold seven million copies worldwide, with four million copies sold in the United States alone.^[49] The album produced three top five singles namely the title track (her seventh number-one single on the Hot 100), "Express Yourself" and "Cherish".^[32] By the end of the 1980s, Madonna had become the most successful female artist of the decade with three number-one albums and seven number-one singles; surpassed only by Michael Jackson.^[50]

In 1990, Madonna starred as "Breathless" Mahoney in the film adaptation of the comic book series Dick Tracy. The movie starred Warren Beatty in the title role.^[51] To accompany the release of the film, she issued the album I'm Breathless, which included songs inspired by the film's 1930s setting. It also featured her eighth US number-one single, "Vogue",^[52] and "Sooner or Later", a song that earned Stephen Sondheim anAcademy Award for Best Original Song in 1991.^[53] While shooting for the film, Madonna began a relationship with Beatty.^[54] He appeared on the album-cover of I'm Breathless and in her documentary Truth or Dare. Their relationship ended in the fall of 1990.^[55] Madonna began her Blond Ambition World Tour in April 1990. Featuring religious and sexual themes, the tour drew controversy for her performance of "Like a Virgin" during which two male dancers caressed her body before she simulated masturbation.^[42] The Pope again encouraged Catholics not to attend.^[56] A private association of Catholics, called Famiglia Domani, also boycotted the tour for featuring eroticism.^[57] In response, Madonna said, "I am Italian American and proud of it" and that the Church "completely frowns on sex ... except for procreation."^[58] She later won her firstGrammy Award in 1992 in the Best Long Form Music Video category for the lasrdisc relase of the tour.

The Immaculate Collection, Madonna's first greatest-hits compilation album, was released in November 1990. It included two new songs called "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me".^[59] "Rescue Me" became the highest-debuting single by a female artist in Billboard chart history at that time, entering at number fifteen and peaking at number nine.^[17] "Justify My Love" became a Madonna's ninth US number-one single. Its music video featured scenes of sadomasochism, bondage,^[60] same-sex kissing and brief nudity.^[61] It was deemed too sexually explicit for MTV and was banned from the station.^[60] At the end of the year, Madonna decided to leave the controversial Jennifer Lynch film Boxing Helena.^[62][63] From late 1990 to early 1991, Madonna dated Tony Ward,^[64] a model and porn star who starred in her music videos for "Cherish" and "Justify My Love". She also had an eight-month relationship with rapper Vanilla Ice.^[64] Her first documentary film, Truth or Dare (known as In Bed with Madonna outside North America) was released in mid-1991. The documentary chronicled her Blond Ambition World Tour, as well giving glimpses of her personal life.^[65] The following year, she appeared in the baseball film A League of Their Own in the role of Italian-American Mae Mordabito. She recorded the film's theme song, "This Used to Be My Playground" which became her tenth Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit.^[66]

1992–1996: Maverick, release of Sex, Erotica, Bedtime Stories and Evita

Madonna at the Madrid premiere of Evita - November 20, 1996.

In 1992, Madonna founded her own entertainment company, Maverick, consisting of a record company (Maverick Records), a film production company (Maverick Films), and also music publishing, television, merchandising and book-publishing divisions. The deal was a joint venture with Time Warner as part of $60 million worth of recordings and businesses. The deal gave her a twenty percent royalty, equal at the time to Michael Jackson's.^[24] The first release from the venture was Madonna's first publication Sex, a book consisting of sexually provocative and explicit images photographed by Steven Meisel. It caused strong reactions from the media and the general public, but nevertheless sold 1,500,000 copies, at $50 each, in a matter of days.^[67][68] At the same time she released her fifth studio album Erotica. It peaked at number two in the United States.^[68][69] Its title track peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.^[32] Erotica also produced five further singles namely "Deeper and Deeper," "Bad Girl," "Fever," "Rain" and "Bye Bye Baby."^[70]

Her provocative imagery continued with the erotic thrillers Body of Evidence and Dangerous Game. The first film contained scenes of S&M and bondage hence was poorly received by critics.^[71][72] Dangerous Game was released straight-to-video in North America but received some good reviews for Madonna's performance. The New York Times described that "She submits impressively to the emotions raging furiously around her."^[73] Madonna embarked on The Girlie Show World Tour at the end of 1993. It featured her dressed as a whip-cracking dominatrix, surrounded by topless dancers.^[74] The show faced negative reaction in Puerto Rico when she rubbed its flag between her legs on stage. Orthodox Jewsprotested against her first ever show in Israel.^[42] That year, she also appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. After Letterman introduced her on his show as "one of the biggest stars in the world, and in the past 10 years she has sold over 80 million albums..and slept with some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry^[75]," Madonna subsequently repeatedly used four-letter words and asked Letterman to smell a pair of her underwear she handed him.^[76] The release of Truth or Dare, Sex book, Erotica, Body of Evidence and the appearance on Letterman - all of them made critics question Madonna as a sexual renegade. She faced strong negative publicity with critics and fans commenting that "she had gone too far" and that her career was to be over.^[77]

Madonna tried to tone down this provocative image by releasing the single "I'll Remember", which she recorded for Alek Keshishian's film With Honors.^[78] She made a tame appearance with Letterman at an awards show, as well as appearing on the Jay Leno show. However, the public still did not accept her. It was then that she realized her music career needed some dramatic changes in order to sustain herself in the long run. With her sixth studio album Bedtime Stories Madonna tried to soften her image and reconnect with the general public once more.^[79] The album produced four singles— "Secret", "Take a Bow" which spent seven weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100,^[66] "Bedtime Story" and "Human Nature".^[80] At the same time she became romantically involved with fitness trainer Carlos Leon.^[81] Continuing to tone down her image, Madonna released Something to Remember, a collection of her ballads, in May 1995. It featured her cover of the Marvin Gaye song "I Want You" and the top ten hit song "You'll See".^[82][32] The following year saw the release of Madonna’s most critically successful film, Evita.^[83] She portrayed the main part of Eva Perón, a role first played by Elaine Paige in the West End.^[84] Thesoundtrack album contained three of her singles including "You Must Love Me", a song that earned Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1997 and "Don't Cry For Me Argentina". Madonna won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for the role.^[85] On October 14, 1996, Madonna gave birth to her and Carlos Leon's daughter, Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon.^[86]

1997–2002: Ray of Light, Music, second marriage and Drowned World Tour

Madonna with her then husband Guy Ritchie at the premiere of his film Revolver - September 11, 2005.

After Lourdes' birth Madonna became involved in Eastern mysticism and Kabbalah. Her seventh studio album Ray of Light reflected this change in her perception and image.^[87]The album debuted at number two in the United States.^[80] Allmusic called it her "most adventurous record."^[88] The album produced two US top five singles: "Frozen", which reached number two and "Ray of Light", which reached five.^[32] It also won three Grammy Awards the same year.^[89] The title track "Ray of Light" won a Grammy for "Best Short Form Music Video", Best Video at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards and was used by Microsoft in its advertising campaign to introduce Windows XP.^[90][91] The first single "Frozen" was adjudicated to be a plagiarism of Belgian songwriter Salvatore Acquaviva's 1993 song "Ma Vie Fout L'camp", and hence the album was banned in Belgium.^[92] Ray of Light has been ranked number 363 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.^[93] Beside the album, Madonna was signed to play a violin teacher in the film Music of the Heart but left the project, citing "creative differences" with director Wes Craven.^[94] Madonna followed the success of Ray of Light with the single "Beautiful Stranger", recorded for the 1999 film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me's soundtrack. It reached number nineteen on the Billboard Hot 100.^[32]

Madonna starred in the movie The Next Best Thing in 2000. She contributed two songs to the film's soundtrack, "Time Stood Still" and the international hit "American Pie", a cover version of the 1970s Don McLean single.^[95] Madonna's eighth studio album, Music, was released in 2000 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.^[96] It produced three singles; "Music", which became Madonna's twelfth number one US single as well as "Don't Tell Me" and "What It Feels Like for a Girl".^[97] The latter's music video depicted Madonna committing murders and accidents with cars and was banned by MTV and VH1 from airing.^[98] The same year Madonna became involved in a relationship with Guy Ritchie, whom she had met in 1999 through mutual friends Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler. On August 11, 2000, she gave birth to their son, Rocco.^[99] Later that year, Madonna and Ritchie married in Scotland.^[100]

Her fifth concert tour titled the Drowned World Tour, her first since 1993, started in May 2001.^[42] The tour visited cities in North America and Europe. It became one of the highest grossing concert tours of the year^[101] and grossed $75 million from 47 sold-out shows.^[102] She also released her second greatest hits collection titled GHV2 to coincide with the home video release of the tour. The album debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200.^[103] Madonna also starred in the film Swept Away directed by her husband Guy Ritchie. It was released in 2002. The film was a commercial and critical failure and released straight-to-video in the United Kingdom.^[104] Later that year, she released the title song "Die Another Day" to the twentieth James Bond film, in which she had a cameo role. The song reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated both for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and a Golden Raspberry for Worst Song.^{[32][105][106]}

2003–06: American Life, Confessions on a Dance Floor and adoption case

Madonna performing at theLive 8 benefit concert - July 2, 2005.

Madonna collaborated with fashion photographer Steven Klein in 2003 on an exhibition installation named X-STaTIC Pro=CeSS. It included photography from a photoshoot in W Magazine and seven video segments. The installation ran from March to May, in New York's Deitch Projects gallery. It then traveled the world in an edited form.^[107] Madonna released her ninth studio album called American Life. It was themed on the American society and received mixed reviews.^[108] The title song peaked at number thirty-seven on theBillboard Hot 100.^[32] Having sold four million copies,^[109] American Life became the lowest selling album of her career.^[110] Later that year, Madonna performed the song "Hollywood" with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. Madonna kissed Spears and Aguilera during the performance, resulting in a tabloid frenzy.^[111][112] That fall, Madonna provided guest vocals on Spears' single "Me Against the Music".^[113] During the Christmas season of 2003, Madonna released Remixed & Revisited, a remix EP that included rock versions of songs from American Life, and "Your Honesty", a previously unreleased track from the Bedtime Stories recording sessions.^[114]Madonna also signed a contract with Callaway Arts & Entertainment for five books, and published the first one titled The English Roses. The story was about four English schoolgirls and their envy and jealousy of each other. After its release, The English Roses peaked at the top of New York Times Best Seller list.^[115]

The next year in March, Madonna and Maverick sued Warner Music Group and its former parent company, Time Warner, claiming that mismanagement of resources and poor bookkeeping had cost the company millions of dollars. In return, Warner filed a countersuit, alleging that Maverick had lost tens of millions of dollars on its own.^[116][117] The dispute was resolved when the Maverick shares owned by Madonna and Ronnie Dashev were purchased. The company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music but Madonna was still signed to Warner under a separate recording contract.^[116] Later that year, Madonna embarked on the Re-Invention World Tour in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It became the highest-grossing tour of 2004, earning $125 million.^[118] She made a documentary about the tour named I'm Going to Tell You a Secret.^[119] That same year, Rolling Stoneranked her number thirty-six on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".^[120] During the 2004 presidential election, Madonna endorsed Wesley Clark's Democratic nomination.^[121]

She participated in the televised concert "Tsunami Aid" and performed a cover version of the John Lennon song "Imagine". The concert, which took place on January 2005, raised money for the tsunami victims in Asia.^[122] The same year, Madonna performed at the Live 8 benefit concert in London in July, supporting the aims of Britain's Make Poverty History campaign and the Global Call for Action Against Poverty.^[123] Her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor was released in November and has sold more than eight million copies.^[124] The album debuted at number one in all major music markets and won the Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album. Following the mixed reviews of her previous studio album, Confessions received positive reviews with critics claiming it as a return to commercial prominence for her.^[125]However, Israeli rabbis condemned the song "Isaac" from the album because they believed it was a tribute to Rabbi Isaac Luria and claimed that Jewish law forbid commercializing a rabbi's name. Madonna claimed that she had named it after an Israeli singer and said, "The album isn't even out, so how could Jewish scholars in Israel know what my song is about?"^[126] The first single from the album, "Hung Up" went on to reach number-one in a record breaking forty-five countries.^[127] "Sorry", the second single became Madonna's twelfth number one in the United Kingdom.^[128][129]

By mid-2006, fashion clothing line H&M had signed Madonna to become their worldwide model.^[130] The next year, the clothing line M by Madonna was launched internationally.^[131] Madonna's Confessions Tourbegan in May 2006. It had a global audience of 1.2 million people, with reported gross sales of $260.1 million.^[132] The use of religious symbols such as the crucifix and Crown of Thorns in the performance of "Live to Tell" caused the Russian Orthodox Church and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia to urge all their members to boycott her concert.^[133] The Vatican as well as bishops from Düsseldorf protested against the concert.^[134][135] Madonna responded that, "My performance is neither anti-Christian, sacrilegious or blasphemous. Rather, it is my plea to the audience to encourage mankind to help one another and to see the world as a unified whole."^[136]

While on the tour, Madonna traveled to Malawi to help and fund an orphanage as part of the Raising Malawi initiative.^[137] On October 10, 2006, she filed adoption papers for a boy named David Banda Mwale from the orphanage. He was renamed David Banda Mwale Ciccone Ritchie.^[138][139] The adoption raised strong public reaction because Malawian law requires would-be parents to reside in Malawi for one year before adopting.^[140] The effort was highly publicized and culminated in legal disputes.^[141] Madonna refuted the allegations on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She said that there are no written adoption laws in Malawi that regulate foreign adoption and that Banda had been suffering from pneumonia after surviving malaria and tuberculosis when she met him.^[142][143] Singer and humanitarian activist, Bono, defended her by saying, "Madonna should be applauded for helping to take a child out of the worst poverty imaginable."^[144] Some said that Banda's biological father Yohane did not understand what adoption meant and had assumed that the arrangement was fostering. He said, "These so-called human rights activists are harassing me every day, threatening me that I am not aware of what I am doing." He also said, "They want me to support their court case, a thing I cannot do for I know what I agreed with Madonna and her husband."^[145] The adoption was finalized on May 28, 2008.^[146]

2007–present: Live Nation, Hard Candy and the Sticky & Sweet Tour

Madonna and director Nathan Rissman at the premiere of I Am Because We Are in 2008 Tribeca Film Festival

In May 2007, Madonna released the download-only song "Hey You", in anticipation of the Live Earth series of concerts. The song was made available for free for its first week. She also performed it at the London Live Earth concert in July 2007.^[147] Madonna announced her departure from Warner Bros. Records and a new $120 million, ten year contract with Live Nation in October. She became the founding recording artist for the new music division, Live Nation Artists.^[148] Same year, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fameannounced Madonna as one of the five inductees of 2008.^[149] The ceremony took place on March 10, 2008.^[150] Madonna produced and wrote I Am Because We Are, a documentary on the problems faced by Malawians. The documentary was directed by her former gardener Nathan Rissman. The Guardian praised I Am Because We Are, saying that she "came, saw and conquered the world's biggest film festival."^[151][152] She also directed her first film titled Filth and Wisdom. It received mixed reviews from the British press. The Times said she had "done herself proud" while The Daily Telegraph described the film as "not an entirely unpromising first effort [but] Madonna would do well to hang on to her day job."^[153][154]

Madonna released her eleventh studio album, Hard Candy, in April 2008. It was lauded by Rolling Stone as an "impressive taste of her upcoming tour."^[155] The album debuted at number one in 37 countries worldwide, including Billboard 200 with over 280,000 copies sold.^[156][157] The album received mostly positive reviews worldwide,^[158] though some critics panned it as "an attempt to harness the urban market".^[159] Its lead single "4 Minutes" reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100.^[32] The single scored Madonna her thirty-seventh Billboard Hot 100 top ten hit, thus surpassing Elvis Presley as the artist with the most top-ten hits.^[160] In the United Kingdom, she retained her record for the most number one singles for a female artist, this being her thirteenth.^[161] To further promote the album, Madonna embarked on the Sticky & Sweet Tour, which was her first major venture with Live Nation. It became the highest-grossing tour ever by a solo artist with gross of $US280 million, surpassing the title previous held by her Confessions Tour.^[162][163] The tour was extended to the next year, adding new European dates and places where Madonna did not visit previously, finally wrapping it up with two final Tel Aviv dates.^[164]

Life with My Sister Madonna, a controversial book by Madonna's brother, Christopher Ciccone, was released on July. The book debuted at number two on the New York Times Best Seller List.^[165] It was not authorized by Madonna and led to a rift between them.^[166] Madonna filed for divorce from husband Guy Ritchie in October 2008.^[167] After being granted a preliminary decree of divorce,^[168] the separation became final in December.^[169] On March 2, 2009, Madonna was honored with the Japan Gold International Artist of the Year award at the Recording Industry Association of Japan Gold Disc Awards for her album Hard Candy.^[170] Madonna decided to adopt again from Malawi. The country's High Court initially approved the adoption of Chifundo "Mercy" James.^[171] However the adoption was rejected with court registrar Ken Manda stating the reason being was that Madonna was not a resident of Malawi.^[172] This ruling was overturned by the country's highest court. On June 12, 2009, the Supreme Court of Malawi granted Madonna the rights to adopt Mercy James.^[173]

In September 2009, Madonna released Celebration, her third greatest hits album, and closing release with Warner Bros. Records. It contained the new songs "Celebration" and "Revolver", plus 34 hits spanning her career.^[174] The album became Madonna's eleventh number-one album in the UK Albums Chart, tying her with Elvis Presley as the solo act with most number-one albums in the British chart history.^[175] In June,Forbes Magazine named her as the third-most-powerful celebrity of the year.^[176] Madonna appeared at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards on September 13, 2009, to pay tribute to Michael Jackson with a speech.^[177]

Musical style and influences

Creación de los aves, by artistRemedios Varo. Her paintings influenced Madonna, who incorporated the un-real images from the paintings into the music video of her song "Bedtime Story".

As an artist, Madonna's music has been the subject of much scrutiny among critics. Author Robert M. Grant comments in his book Contemporary Strategy Analysis (2005), wrote that what has brought her success is "[c]ertainly not outstanding natural talent. As a vocalist, musician, dancer, songwriter, or actress, Madonna's talents seem modest."^[178] He asserts Madonna's success lies in relying on the talents of others and that her personal relationships have served as cornerstones to the numerous reinventions in the longevity of her career.^[178] Conversely, Rolling Stone magazine has named Madonna "an exemplary songwriter with a gift for hooks and indelible lyrics, and a better studio singer than her live spectacles attest."^[179] She has been called "the perfect vocalist for lighter-than-air songs", despite not being a "heavyweight talent."^[180]

In 1985, Madonna commented that the first song to ever make a strong impression on her was "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra and that it summed up her "take-charge attitude."^[181] As a young woman, she attempted to broaden her taste in literature, art, and music, and during this time became interested in classical music. She noted that her favorite style was baroque, and loved Mozart and Chopin because she liked their "feminine quality".^[182] In 1999, Madonna identified musical influences that impacted her such as Karen Carpenter, The Supremes and Led Zeppelin, and dancers like Martha Graham and Rudolf Nureyev.^[183] In a 2006 interview with The Observer, Madonna cited her current musical interests, which included Detroit natives The Raconteurs and The White Stripes, as well as New York band The Jett Set.^[184]

Madonna's Catholic background and relationship with her parents were reflected in the album Like a Prayer.^[185][186] It is also an evocation of the impact religion had on her career.^[187] Her video for the title track contains Catholic symbolism, such as the stigmata. During The Virgin Tour, she wore a rosary and also prayed with it in the music video for "La Isla Bonita".^[188] She also referred to her Italian heritage in her work. The video for "Like a Virgin", features Venetian settings.^[189] The "Open Your Heart" video sees her boss scolding her in Italian. In Ciao, Italia! - Live from Italy, the video release of her Who's That Girl Tour, she dedicates the song "Papa Don't Preach" to the Pope ("Papa" is the Italian word for "Pope".)^[190]

During her childhood, Madonna was inspired by actors, later saying, "I loved Carole Lombard and Judy Holliday and Marilyn Monroe. They were all incredibly funny...and I saw myself in them...my girlishness, my knowingness and my innocence".^[181] Her "Material Girl" music video recreated Monroe's "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" from the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and she later studied the screwball comedies of the 1930s, particularly those of Lombard, in preparation for her film Who's That Girl. The video for "Express Yourself" (1989) was inspired by Fritz Lang's silent film Metropolis (1927). The video for "Vogue" recreated the style of Hollywood glamour photographers, in particular Horst P. Horst, and imitated the poses of Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard and Rita Hayworth, while the lyrics referenced many of the stars who had inspired her,^[191] including Bette Davis, described by Madonna as an idol, along with Louise Brooks and Dita Parlo.^[192]

Inflences also came to her from the art world, most notably through the works of artist Frida Kahlo.^[193] Her 1995 music video to "Bedtime Story" featured images inspired by the paintings of Kahlo and Remedios Varo.^[194] Her 2003 video to "Hollywood" was a homage to the work of photographer Guy Bourdin although it sparked a lawsuit by Bourdin's son, due to the unauthorised use of his father's work.^[195] Other new-age artists like Andy Warhol was the inspiration behing the music videos for "Erotica" and "Deeper and Deeper". Warhol's usage of S&M imagery in his underground films were reflected in these videos. Madonna even imitated Warhol's one-time muse Edie Sedgwick in "Deeper and Deeper".^[196]

Madonna became a follower of the Kabbalah school of Jewish mysticism in 1994 after the release of her album Bedtime Stories. She has spoken about the influence of the religion on her and donated millions of dollars for schools based on the religion, around New York and London.^[197][198] In 2004, she changed her name to Esther, which in Hebrew means "star".^[197] However, her immersion in Kabbalah caused a furor and she faced opposition from Rabbis who saw Madonna's joining the religion as sacrilegious and a case of celebrity dilettanism. Madonna defended her Kabbalah studies by stating it "would be less controversial if I joined the Nazi Party" and that the Kabbalah is "not hurting anybody."^[199] The religion went on to influence Madonna's music, especially albums like Ray of Light and Music. It made an appearance in her 2004 Re-Invention World Tour where at one point of the show, Madonna and her dancers wore t-shirts that read "Kabbalists Do It Better."^[197]

Music videos and live performance

Madonna performing at theConfessions Tour in 2006.

In The Madonna Companion, biographer Andrew Metz noted that more than any other recent pop artist, Madonna had used MTV and music videos to establish her popularity and enhance her recorded work.^[200] According to him, many of her songs have the imagery of the music video in strong context while referring to the music. The media and public reaction towards her most-discussed songs like "Papa Don't Preach", "Like a Prayer" or "Justify My Love", had to do with the music videos created to promote the song and their impact, rather than the song in itself.^[200] Her initial music videos reflected her American and Hispanic mixed street style and a flamboyant glamour. Essentially a dancer, Madonna expressed this imagery through her music videos.^[200] With her first real music videos for songs like "Burning Up", "Borderline" and "Lucky Star", Madonna transmitted her avant-garde downtown New York fashion sense to the American audience.^[201] She continued with the imagery and incorporation of Hispanic culture and Catholic symbolism with the music videos from the True Blue era.^[202] Author Douglas Kellner noted, "such 'multiculturalism' and her culturally transgressive moves turned out to be highly successful moves that endeared her to large and varied youth audiences".^[203] Madonna's Spanish look in the videos became popular and appeared in the fashion trends at that time in the form of boleros and layered skirts accessorizing with rosary beads and crucifix like the video.^[204][205]

Academics noted that with her videos, Madonna was subtly reversing the usual role of male as the dominant sex and destabilizing the usual power relationship between the "voyeuristic male gaze and object".^[206] This symbolism and imagery was probably the most prevalent in the music video for "Like a Prayer". The video included an African American church choir, Madonna "turning on" a statue of a black saint and singing in front of burning crosses. This mix of the sacred and the profane upset the Vatican and resulted in the Pepsi commercial withdrawal.^[207] From being in boy-toy girlish roles of her earliest videos to the sexual persona in videos for "Justify My Love" and "Express Yourself", Madonna represented herself as someone who is unfazed by the cultures and the struggles she has endured. Devoid of this, she portrayed herself to be dancing off-screen to the music at the end of the video.^[208] Her re-invention has continued in her most recent videos like "Ray of Light", which was lauded with the video of the year award at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards.^[209]

Madonna's emergence occurred during the advent of MTV, and "with its almost exclusively lip-synced videos, ushered in an era in which average music fans might happily spend hours a day, every day, watching singers just mouth the words."^[210] The symbiotic relationship between music video and lip-syncing led to a desire for the spectacle and imagery of music video to be transferred to live stage shows. Chris Nelson ofThe New York Times reported: "Artists like Madonna and Janet Jackson set new standards for showmanship, with concerts that included not only elaborate costumes and precision-timed pyrotechnics but also highly athletic dancing. These effects came at the expense of live singing."^[210] Thor Christensen of the Dallas Morning News commented that while Madonna earned a reputation for lip-syncing during her 1990 Blonde Ambition tour, since then she has reorganized her performances by "stay[ing] mostly still during her toughest singing parts and [leaves] the dance routines to her backup troupe ... [r]ather than try to croon and dance up a storm at the same time."^[211]

Legacy

Madonna performing at her highest grossing Sticky & Sweet Tour in 2008.

According to Rolling Stone, Madonna "remains one of the greatest pop acts of all time".^[212] She is also "the world's highest earning female singer on earth".^[213] Madonna's 2008 Sticky & Sweet Tour became the highest grossing concert tour by a solo artist.^[214] Madonna is ranked as the most successful solo artist (second artist overall behindThe Beatles) on "Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists,^[215] where, in 2008 she has surpassed Elvis Presley as the artist with most top ten hits in the history of Billboard Hot 100.^[216] She is also the most successful female in the British chart history with most number-one albums and number-one singles by female solo artist in the United Kingdom.^[175][217] In 2007, Madonna was listed by VH1 as eighth in the Greatest Women of Rock & Roll.^[218] On March 10, 2008, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[219]

Madonna's use of at times shocking sexual imagery has both benefitted her career and had an impact on public discourse on sexuality and feminism.^[220] The Times has commented that, "Madonna, whether you like or not, started a revolution amongst women in music. She made the female body seem more like a machine with cravings, rather than a Barbie doll. Her attitudes and opinions on sex, nudity, style and sexuality forced the public to take up and notice."^[221] Rodger Streitmatter reported in his book Sex Sells! (2004) that "from the moment Madonna burst onto the nation's radar screen in the mid-1980s, she did everything in her power to shock the public, and her efforts paid off".^[222] He further commented, "[t]he reigning Queen of Pop thrived on the criticism, and continued, throughout the decade, to reiterate the most fundamental of her issues by consistently celebrating women's sexual power."^[222] Shmuel Boteach, author of Hating women: America's hostile campaign against the fairer sex (2005) comments Madonna has been largely responsible for erasing the line between music and pornography. He states: "Before Madonna, it was possible for women more famous for their voices than their cleavage to emerge as music superstars. But in the post-Madonna universe, even highly original performers such as Janet Jackson now feel the pressure to expose their bodies on national television to sell albums."^[223] Part of the recent academic sub-discipline of Madonna Studies has been taken up with the iconography of minority groups such as gay and lesbian people, which she uses in videos such as those for "Vogue", "Like a Prayer", "La Isla Bonita" and "Borderline".^[224] The book Sex depicts her in sexual situations with men and women, and she has been credited with educating people about bisexuality.^[225] At the time there was even speculation about her relationships with other women, includingNaomi Campbell and Sandra Bernhard.

Her openly sexualised persona has influenced many younger performers. Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women: Global Women's Issues and Knowledge (2000) stated, "Madonna may have preached control, but she created an illusion of sexual availability that many female pop artists felt compelled to emulate".^[226] Writer-author Santiago Fouz-Hernández, in his book Madonna's Drowned Worlds has commented that female pop performers such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, Kylie Minogue and Pink^[227] were like Madonna's daughters in the sense that they grew up listening to her and admiring, while deciding to emulate her style. Among all of them, Madonna's influence was most notable in Spears, who was called her protégé.^[221] Spears has commented on their similarity: "I think we have the same drive. When we want something, we get it."^[221] Madonna's influence on the Spice Girls came with her reinterpretation of feminism as a power in her music videos. The Spice Girls' slogan of "girl power" is noted to have been derived from this portrayal of female independence.^[221] Beyoncé Knowles of Destiny's Child was influenced by her sense of control over her music.^[221] She has also been credited with the introduction of Europeanelectronic dance music into the mainstream of American pop culture, and bringing European producers like Stuart Price and Mirwais Ahmadzai into the spotlight.^[227]

Madonna has also received acclaim as a role model for businesswomen in her industry, "achieving the kind of financial control that women had long fought for within the industry" generating over $1.2 billion dollars in sales within the first decade of her career.^[226] Offered by Warner Music the usual perk of a vanity label (similar deals had been arranged for artists such as Mariah Carey and others), within a few years Maverick Records had - unusually for such labels - become a large commercial success due to her efforts.^[228] Writing in The Times in 2009, music journalist Robert Sandall reported that in a 1992 interview with Madonna it had been clear that being "a cultural big hitter" was more important than pop music, a career she described as "an accident". He also noted the contrast between her anything-goes sexual public persona, and a secretive and "paranoid" attitude towards her own finances (for example, firing her own brother as interior designer when he charged her for a light-fitting, estranging him in the process.)^[229]. An analysis of Madonna's business acumen by academics at the London Business School presents her as a "dynamic entrepreneur" worth copying, identifying her vision of success, her understanding of the music industry, her ability to recognise her performance limits (and thus bring in help), her "sheer hard work" and her ability to change as key to why she has been a striking commercial success.^[230] However her ability to overcome her own musical limits has been sharply criticised by songwriter Joni Mitchell, who in widely reported comments stated that "[Madonna] has knocked the importance of talent out of the arena. She's made a lot of money and become the biggest star in the world by hiring the right people." These comments were part of a sustained attack on the contemporary music industry as a whole, with Mitchell threatening to quit recording altogether.^[231] Reporter Michael McWilliams comments: "The gripes about Madonna -- she's cold, greedy, talentless -- conceal both bigotry and the essence of her art, which is among the warmest, the most humane, the most profoundly satisfying in all pop culture."^[232]

Throughout her career Madonna, like David Bowie, has repeatedly reinvented herself through a series of visual and musical personas, as well as expanding her career to become a film and stage actor. Fouz Hernandes argues that this reinvention is one of her key cultural achievements.^[220] He argues she has achieved this by constantly working with upcoming talented producers and previous unknown artists, while remaining at the center of media attention. In doing so she has provided an example of how to maintain one's career in the entertainment industry.^[227]

In 2006 a new water bear species (Latin: Tardigrada), Echiniscus madonnae,^[233] was named after Madonna. The paper with the description of E. madonnae was published in the international journal of animal taxonomy Zootaxa in March 2006 (Vol. 1154, pages: 1–36). The authors' justification for the name of the new species was: "We take great pleasure in dedicating this species to one of the most significant artists of our times, Madonna Louise Veronica Ritchie." The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) number of the species is 711164.^[234]