A Night of Shocking Revelations and Unforgettable Performances

The year 1994 was full of musical highs. It’s almost like it took the first four years of the ’90s for some genres to shake off the previous decade’s trends and fully form themselves. The Notorious B.I.G. dropped his debut album that year, as did Nas and OutKast, with all three LPs considered instant classics.

Green Day also released Dookie in 1994, their first project on a major label, and Stone Temple Pilots painted the world Purple with their exquisite sophomore LP.

Beloved TV shows like Friends, My So-Called Life, and New York Undercover debuted in ’94 as well. Plus, in the late night hours of March 31 of that year, viewers were treated to a now-classic episode of the Late Show with David Letterman with guests Madonna and Counting Crows.

Madonna And Letterman’s Highly Contentious Interview

It was clear in the first few seconds of the interview that Madonna was in rebel mode, and she wanted to cause havoc. The Material Girl was highly bothered at being the butt of Letterman’s nightly monologue jokes, and it was time for payback. The first verbal jab came in the way of an F-bomb, the first of many she’d spew.

Yes, the show was taped, and the swearing was muted, but it was clear that Letterman was bothered by it, which seemed to fuel Madonna’s plan to cause trouble even more. She even gave the former late night host a pair of her underwear and made a salacious request that seemed to embarrass him, something that was a rarity for the quick-witted TV star.

They also made fun of each other’s hair during the exchange, which teetered between banter and making flat out insults. Then Madonna, who puffed on a cigar in the interview, told Letterman that he lost his edge after becoming wealthy.

The episode has and will go down as one of Letterman’s most entertaining, which also has to do with the Counting Crows performing a song from their debut album, August and Everything After, released the previous year.

The Band’s Masterful Performance Of “Round Here”

The Counting Crows had two major TV performances that helped sell over 7 million copies of August and Everything After in the U.S. One of them took place on January 15, 1994, on SNL, and the other on the Late Show with David Letterman nearly three months after.

Even though the band already performed the superbly written “Round Here” on SNL, lead singer Adam Duritz truly leaned into the song during his Letterman performance by making it more of a spoken-word piece.

He took time to enunciate the lyrics by slowing them down, while using dramatic hand gestures and body movements to fully paint the picture of a woman named Maria wanting to meet a boy that resembled Elvis.

At the end of the performance, Duritz wrapped his arms around himself, appearing to feel vulnerable and he used his arms like a security blanket. It was clear that he left everything on the floor of New York’s Ed Sullivan Theater after the performance.

So, between that and Madonna seeming to get the best of Letterman during their exchange, the March 31, 1994 Late Show episode has proven to be one of the most memorable.