New exhibit features instruments Madonna used to make her first songs
Instruments that Madonna played during the earliest days of her career are new to the Artist Gallery.
Gift of the Robert J. Ulrich and Diane Sillik Fund
The newest exhibit in MIM’s Artist Gallery illustrates the musical origins of one of the world’s most famous and influential superstars: Madonna.
When Madonna Louise Ciccone moved to New York City in 1978, she intended to become a professional dancer, but she soon found another way to express her creativity when she joined brothers Dan and Ed Gilroy in the band Breakfast Club and learned to play guitar and drums. MIM has acquired several instruments Madonna used during this period, offering guests a glimpse into the earliest days of the legendary pop star’s career.
Madonna poses for a portrait in Brooklyn, New York, in 1983.
Madonna gave some of her first musical performances on the sidewalks of Manhattan. Dressed in white with bandmate Dan Gilroy, she played a Rickenbacker Model 450 electric guitar through a portable battery-powered Pignose amplifier for pedestrians on the street. Both the guitar and the amp are now on display in the Artist Gallery.
As a member of Breakfast Club, Madonna performed at venues such as New York City’s famous CBGB, one of history’s most revered stages for punk, rock, and alternative music. The Slingerland drum set she played has been preserved in its original condition; it is still missing the resonant bass drum head, just as it was when Madonna played it. There is also still a piece of Madonna’s bubble gum stuck to the metal hardware between the rack toms—a detail of the pop star’s punk rock past.
An unassuming but historically significant instrument in the exhibit is the Carlo Robelli-branded acoustic guitar. In 1979, Madonna began her personal songwriting career on this modest instrument, using it to write and record her very first song, “Tell the Truth.” The exhibit features a rare audio clip from the original home recording of this early milestone in Madonna’s career.
On these instruments, Madonna honed the skills she would soon use to establish her boundary-breaking, best-selling reign as an international cultural icon and the “Queen of Pop.”
“These objects—all authentic musical instruments from the earliest days of Madonna’s career—allow the Musical Instrument Museum to share a unique and formative period of her life that is less well-known than her subsequent international superstardom,” says senior curator Rich Walter. “MIM’s exhibit illustrates the true launchpad for one of the most successful musical artists in history.”
Madonna used this Carlo Robelli-branded guitar to write and record her very first song, “Tell the Truth.”
Gift of the Robert J. Ulrich and Diane Sillik Fund
