A Letter From the Publisher: May 27, 1985

To report this week's cover story on Rock Phenomenon Madonna, TIME Show Business Correspondent Denise Worrell joined the trash-flash star's concert tour for a week, traveling from Dallas to Houston to Austin to New Orleans. "I was surprised by her face," says Worrell. "It is beautiful and strange, very pure, and free of all indecision and self-doubt." Backstage before a concert, Madonna tried on a white leather vest and a miniskirt layered with fringe. Recalls Worrell: "Twirling before a mirror, fringe flying, she sang out, 'If I ever married a cowboy, this is what I'd wear!' And she would."

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