¹ Christopher Flynn died of AIDS at the age of sixty on October 27, 1990, in Los Angeles. In a statement, Madonna said, “I really loved him. He was my mentor, my father, my imaginative lover, my brother, everything, because he understood me.”

² Lewicki’s film, A Certain Sacrifice, was actually filmed in parts, the first in October 1979, the second in November 1981. A twenty-four-second outtake of A Certain Sacrifice features Madonna singing the song “Let the Sunshine In” from the musical Hair. A short audio clip of this performance has, for years, been circulating on CD in the collectors’ bootleg market. Also, the film itself contains an ensemble chant, “Raymond Hall Must Die.” “Sunshine” and “Raymond Hall” are considered by Madonna historians to be two of her earliest recorded vocal performances.

³ It was at about this time that Madonna recorded bizarre backing vocals for Otto von Wernherr, including “Cosmic Club,” “We Are the Gods” and “Wild Dancing.” These songs would be released in 1986 on independent labels. That same year, to capitalize on Madonna’s fame, Otto would record an answer video to “Papa Don’t Preach,” entitled “Madonna Don’t Preach.”

⁴ Some material recorded during this time has surfaced on a bootleg release, Emmy and the Emmys Live, First Time Out of Manhattan, including live (and punk-rock-sounding) performances of “Bells Ringing,” “Love for Tender,” “Are You Ready for It,” “Nobody’s Fool” and “Love Express.” Alternate versions of other Emmy songs have also appeared on various bootleg collections over the years. On November 30, 1980, Emmy recorded four songs at the Music Building in New York for a demo tape — “(I Like) Love For Tender,” “Drowning,” “Bells Ringing” and “No Time,” all hard-edged rock and roll.

⁵ Years later, during a costume change for a photo session, the crucifix slipped off Madonna’s neck and down her jeans while she was zipping up. “You see that?” she said with a squeal. “Even God wants to get into my pants!”

⁶ At the time of writing, Camille Barbone was still in the entertainment business, involved in recording and management.

⁷ Sire Records was formed in 1966 by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottherer. After a decade, the label became a part of Warner Music Group — and Stein helped shape popular music in the 1980s and 1990s, not only with Madonna but also with the Ramones, Talking Heads, the Pretenders, Depeche Mode, k.d. lang, Erasure, the Cult, the Replacements, Ice-T and Barenaked Ladies. Today, Stein is still president and CEO of Sire Records and also president of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

⁸ “Penthouse did something really nasty,” Madonna would complain, years later. “They sent copies of the magazine to Sean.”

⁹ John Kennedy, Jr., and his wife of nearly five years, Carolyn Bessette (along with her sister, Lauren), were killed when the private plane he was piloting plummeted into the Atlantic Ocean in the summer of 1999. John, Carolyn and Lauren were all buried at sea on July 22, 1999.

¹⁰ Madonna’s nickname for Beatty was “Pussy Man” because, as she explained to the Advocate, “When I say pussy, you know what I mean. He’s a wimp. I enjoy expressing myself, and if I think someone’s being a pussy, I say it.”

¹¹ When this was written Madonna had four homes: the Spanish-style home she bought from Diane Keaton in the summer of 2000, into which she had just moved; a Central Park West apartment; a waterfront mansion in Miami; and a home in Chelsea in London. When in London, she and Guy Ritchie live in a rented house in Notting Hill Gate. However, Madonna’s Los Feliz home was sold recently to television actress Jenna Elfman, and her homes in Miami and London are up for sale.