"Everybody" is the debut single by American singer-songwriter Madonna and was released on October 6, 1982 by Sire Records. It appears on her 1983 debut studio album Madonna and was later remixed and included on the 1987 remix compilation You Can Dance.
Song history
The song is Madonna's very first commercially available single. It originally appeared on a four-track demo tape Madonna used in clubs to make a name of her own and ended up being one of the tracks that got her a record contract with Warner's Sire label. "Everybody" was written by Madonna and produced by New York DJ Mark Kamins.
Before landing a recording contract, Madonna used to go to a disco in New York City called Danceteria. Mark Kamins was one of the club's best DJs at the time and was beginning to produce songs. Madonna brought him some of the demos she had recorded with Stephen Bray and Kamins decided to play them at the club. "Everybody" was one of the demos played and it received a great response from the crowd. Kamins, seeing the song's potential, decided to produce it.
In 1982, Madonna signed a singles deal with Sire Records,[1] a new wave label belonging to Warner Bros. Records. Her first release was "Everybody" on April 24, 1982. The song went on to become a huge dancefloor hit and was heard on some radio stations in the Summer of 1982.[2] The song was commercially released in October 1982, a time when disco was dying out and 80s new wave synth pop was beginning to appear on the music scene. "Everybody" is a simple call to get everyone on the dancefloor: "Everybody, come on, dance and sing. Everybody, get up, do your thing." The song introduced classic Madonna themes like individuality, dancing and singing as forms of self-expression, as well as the optimism that dominated the first five years of her career.
The very rare UK 7" issue with its original sleeve dating from 1982 (watermarked to prevent fraud)
The cover of the single features a colourful collage of the Lower East Side/East Village of New York City drawn by Lou Beach. Since Madonna did not appear on the cover, many believed that she was a black disco singer. In the U.K. the single artwork was radically different from the U.S. The UK 12" and 7" vinyl releases feature plain covers - these were black and white WEA sleeves, some issues have been switched into the yellow and orange 'Sire' sleeves but these were, in fact, never used in the UK. These issues are important to collectors as the versions are all unique, being mixed by UK pop group's Visage's Rusty Egan. The 7" features a unique mix on the A-side and a unique dub on the B. The 12" features a longer unique mix on the A-side, and a longer unique dub on the B-side. The UK releases are very rare and have become must-have items for Madonna record collectors, selling for £200 (7") and £100 (12"). Other rare formats include the French 7" and 12" (different reverse to the US issue) and the Spanish 7" and 12" (rare black and white photo on the reverse) - all worth between £75-£125 (they all feature the standard versions).
Music video
The music video, directed by Ed Steinberg, shows Madonna and a few dancers at Paradise Garage, the New York club where Madonna was a regular and where the song's demo was first played. Her brother Christopher did the choreography for the video and is featured as a dancer along with Madonna's friend Erika Belle.[1] The budget for the video was only $1500. The video, however, did help to clear up any misunderstanding of what Madonna looked like; the covers for the "Everybody" single led many to assume that she was actually black, since she was not pictured.
- Director: Ed Steinberg
- Producer: Ed Steinberg
- Director of Photography: Ed Steinberg
- Editor: John Zieman
- Production Company: RockAmerica Inc.
Chart performance
"Everybody" failed to break into the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. but did peak at number 7 on the Bubbling Under the Hot 100 Chart which keeps track of singles that are close to breaking into the Top 100. The song spent 8 weeks on the Bubbling Under chart. "Everybody" was Madonna's first single to chart on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play Chart, peaking at number 3 and starting her long string of Top 5 hits on the chart. The song remained on the dance charts for 16 weeks. Since its release the single has sold around 250,000 copies. Although it was released in Europe, it failed to break into any of the continent's charts.
Live performances
Madonna has performed "Everybody" firstly during The Virgin Tour and as concert finale on The Girlie Show Tour. She sampled the line, "Dance and sing, get up and do your thing" during the opening bars of "Express Yourself" for the Blond Ambition Tour, and musical elements from the song were incorporated in the version of "Erotica" performed on the Confessions Tour, as an homage to the original set list in which the song was due to be performed after "Erotica". The song however, did appear on the set list of the Hung Up Promo Tour, and was the only song on the set list of that promo tour that did not appear on Confessions.
Charts
| Chart (1982) |
Peak
position |
| U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Chart |
7 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play Chart |
3 |
| Brazil |
8 |
Credits
for You Can Dance:
- Additional production and remix by Bruce Forest and Frank Heller
- Keyboards by David Cole
Official versions
- "Everybody" (Album Version — Original Album Edit) (4:55)
- "Everybody" (Extended Album Version a.k.a. U.S. 12" Version) (5:57)
- "Everybody" (Alternate Remix) (4:15)
- "Everybody" (Italian Edit) (6:08)
- "Everybody" (U.K. 7" Remix Edit) (3:13)
- "Everybody" (U.K. 7" Dub Version) (4:31)
- "Everybody" (U.K. 12" Remix) (6:14)
- "Everybody" (U.K. 12" Dub Version) (6:01)
- "Everybody" (U.S. 7" Edit) (3:58)
- "Everybody" (U.S. 7" Instrumental) (4:15)
- "Everybody" (U.S. 12" Dub Version) (8:58)
- "Everybody" (You Can Dance Full-Length Forest & Heller Remix) (7:07)
- "Everybody" (You Can Dance Single Edit) (4:34)
Included on
References
- ^ "Madonna Makes a $60 Million Deal", New York Times (1992-04-20). Retrieved on 2008-01-12.
- ^ Madonna.com. News Archive Section - April (2007).
|
