The icon dropped her first single 35 years ago today
Its hard to imagine music without Madonna.
It seems like shes always been there, changing the game and reinventing herself.
Since then, shes never looked back.
Madonna/YouTube
Bonus points for being the memorable finale in her legendary Blond Ambition World Tour.
Even a bit of silly goofiness during that get stupid bridge with Pharrell cant deny the insistent bounce.
Vowing to dress her man up in some head-to-toe loving, she makes this throbbing come-on impossible to resist.
One of the most un-Madonna-sounding Madonna songs, its maybe the most elegant thing shes ever done.
It goes from stripped-down earnestness to churched-up gloriousness.
Dont Tell Me (2000)Madonna as cowgirl?
As if any more proof of her powers of reinvention were needed, thisMusicsingle delivered it.
And while he brought some hip-hop swagger to Secret, Madonna is the one who revealed her soul.
(She would break the record previously held by Elvis Presley with 2008s 4 Minutes.)
Built around a hypnotic sample from ABBAs Gimme!
(A Man After Midnight), it gets you caught up in a disco rapture.
Papa Dont Preach (1986)Dealing with teen pregnancy, this No.
And she would repeat that kind of party hyping throughout her career.
Creating a mystical forest of sonic enchantment sweeping strings and all Frozen possesses an almost operatic grandeur.
It never fails to give you chills.
The single itself is 80s synth-pop perfection.
No doubt, she has rarely sounded more open-hearted than she does here.
1 hit from theVision Questsoundtrack was a career highlight.
Case in point: Into the Groove, which was featured in her filmDesperately Seeking Susan.
Music (2000)Madonnas music had been making all kinds of people come together throughout her career.
But this, her last No.
The weird, vaguely eerie electro-pop produced by Mirwais makes this one of her most eccentric hits ever.
But whether you are the bourgeoisie or the rebel, the message is universal.
Vogue (1990)This No.
1 smash may not be the very best of Madonnas singles, but it could be the most iconic.
But this pumping house track from theDick TracysoundtrackIm Breathless inspires everybody to be something better than they are today.
All you have to do is strike a pose theres nothing to it.
It captures the spiritual glow of Kabbalah Madonna, who gives us a little piece of heaven.
But that chart position doesnt do the song justice.
Its the prototype for everything from Into the Groove to Living for Love.
While it may feel relatively innocent compared to Justify My Love and Erotica, Madonnas first No.
No one had to act like a virgin anymore.
The whole thing takes you there again and again.
