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| Madonna Louise Ciccone known as Madonna August 16, 1958 Bay City, Michigan, USA, American singer and songwriter (ph: Peter Cunningham, 1982) |
Artist: "Madonna"
First song: "Everybody"
Genre: Dance-pop
Musicians:
--- Madonna - vocals
--- Butch Jones - synthesizer
--- Reggie Lucas - guitars, drum programming
--- Fred Zarr - synth, electric and acoustic piano
--- Dean Gant - electric and acoustic piano
--- Bobby Malach - tenor saxophone
--- Ed Walsh - synthesizer
--- Gwen Guthrie - background vocals
--- Brenda White - background vocals
--- Chrissy Faith - background vocals
Writer: Madonna
Recorded: Summer 1982
Released: October 6, 1982 - USA
Producer: Mark Kamins
Studio: Blank Tapes Studios, New York City
Label: Sire Records
Distributor: Warner Bros Records Inc.
Format: Vinyl, 12", 45 rpm, A-side. On B-side: "Everybody" (Dub Version), 9:23
Lenght: 5:56
Overview: "Everybody", commercially released as Madonna's first single on October 6, 1982, starts with a heavily synthesized and spoken introduction with Madonna taking a loud intake of breath. "Everybody" incorporated R&B infused beats. For the cover of the single, Sire Records portrayed a hip-hop collage of downtown New York. "Everybody" was also released as track no. 8 (last song) in the debut studio album "Madonna" by Sire Records, July 27, 1983.
In 1982, the 24-year-old Madonna was living in New York and trying to set up her music career. She was joined by her boyfriend from Detroit, Steve Bray, who became the drummer of her band, The Breakfast Club, which generally played hard-rock music. After that, Madonna wrote and developed some songs on her own. She carried rough tapes of three of the songs, namely "Everybody", "Ain't No Big Deal" and "Burning Up". At that time, she frequented the Danceteria nightclub in New York. It was there that Madonna convinced the DJ Mark Kamins to play "Everybody" for the crowd, and the song received a positive reaction. At Sire Records, Madonna was signed for two 12 inch singles by the President, Seymour Stein, who was impressed by her singing, after listening to "Everybody". The 12 inch version of "Everybody" was produced by Mark Kamins at Bob Blank's Blank Tapes Studio in NYC. Kamins was romantically involved with Madonna at that time. He took over the production work from Steve Bray. The new recording ran 5:56 on one side and 9:23 for the dub version on the flipside. Madonna and Kamins had to record the single at their own cost. Because of the ambiguous nature of the record sleeve and the R&B groove of the song, Madonna was widely believed to be a black artist when the single was released. Sire Records marketed the soulful nature of the dance song for the black audience and Madonna was promoted as an African-American artist, thereby fitting the record into a radio playlist where the song might chart. In New York, the song was played on 92 KTU which had an African-American audience.
In 1982, the 24-year-old Madonna was living in New York and trying to set up her music career. She was joined by her boyfriend from Detroit, Steve Bray, who became the drummer of her band, The Breakfast Club, which generally played hard-rock music. After that, Madonna wrote and developed some songs on her own. She carried rough tapes of three of the songs, namely "Everybody", "Ain't No Big Deal" and "Burning Up". At that time, she frequented the Danceteria nightclub in New York. It was there that Madonna convinced the DJ Mark Kamins to play "Everybody" for the crowd, and the song received a positive reaction. At Sire Records, Madonna was signed for two 12 inch singles by the President, Seymour Stein, who was impressed by her singing, after listening to "Everybody". The 12 inch version of "Everybody" was produced by Mark Kamins at Bob Blank's Blank Tapes Studio in NYC. Kamins was romantically involved with Madonna at that time. He took over the production work from Steve Bray. The new recording ran 5:56 on one side and 9:23 for the dub version on the flipside. Madonna and Kamins had to record the single at their own cost. Because of the ambiguous nature of the record sleeve and the R&B groove of the song, Madonna was widely believed to be a black artist when the single was released. Sire Records marketed the soulful nature of the dance song for the black audience and Madonna was promoted as an African-American artist, thereby fitting the record into a radio playlist where the song might chart. In New York, the song was played on 92 KTU which had an African-American audience.
Quote (Madonna): «I went to New York. I had a dream. I wanted to be a big star. I didn't know anybody. I wanted to dance. I wanted to sing. I wanted to do all those things. I wanted to make people happy. I wanted to be famous. I wanted everybody to love me. I wanted to be a star. I worked really hard and my dream came true».
Property: Sire - Warner Bros.
Artist website: http://www.madonna.com
| "Everybody" original audio from the single (1982) |
EVERYBODY [Spoken:] I know you've been waiting, yeah I've been watching you, yeah I know you wanna get up, yeah Come on [Chorus:] Everybody, come on, dance and sing Everybody, get up and do your thing Everybody, come on, dance and sing Everybody, get up and do your thing Let the music take control Find a groove and let yourself go When the room begins to sway You know what I'm trying to say Come on, take a chance Get up and start the dance Let the D.J. shake you Let the music take you [chorus] Let your body take a ride Feel the beat and step inside Music makes the world go 'round You can turn your troubles upside down Gonna have to change your mind Gonna leave your troubles behind Your body gets the notion When your feet can make the motion [chorus, repeat] Dance and sing, get up and do your thing [repeat 4 times] [Spoken:] I know you've been waiting, yeah, yeah I see you sitting there, I've been watching you Across the room, yeah, yeah I've been watching you, I see you sitting there by yourself Yeah, yeah Come on, come on, come on [chorus] Let the music take control Find a groove and let yourself go When the room begins to sway You know what I'm trying to say [chorus, repeat and fade] (Dance and sing, get up and do your thing) [in background] |
"Everybody" lyrics |
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Madonna, first song ever: "Everybody", released on October 6, 1982, in 12" single format, A-side. On B-side, the Dub Version. The cover, depicting a hip hop-style NYC street scene, was designed by the German artist Lou Beach. |
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Madonna, first image on a magazine: Dance Music Report, USA (Nov. 27, 1982). "Everybody" is included in their "Breakouts" featurette. |
| Madonna, first ever live performance of "Everybody" at the Danceteria club in New York (Dec. 16, 1982) |
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Madonna, cover for the eponymous debut studio album 1983, containing "Everybody" as track no. 8, last song (1983) |
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Madonna, cover for the international re-release of the debut album, which was released under the title "Madonna: The First Album" (1985) |
