FEATURE:
Celebrating a Remarkable Debut Single
Madonna’s Everybody at Forty
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I have looked at this before…
IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna in a Lower East Side apartment, New York City, 1982/PHOTO CREDIT: Richard Corman
but, as Madonna’s debut single Everybody, was released on 6th October, 1982, I wanted to mark forty years of a hugely important song. For many, this was their introduction to the Queen of Pop. Taken from Madonna’s eponymous album of 1983, Everybody is a one of the great debut singles. Written by Madonna and produced by Mark Kamins, I love the fact that Madonna had this songwriting talent right from the start of her career! She would develop her lyrical voice and musical visions but, on her debut single, we hear that promise and potential. An infectious and fun song that fitted nicely on her accomplished and underrated debut album, Everybody’s fortieth, I am sure, will be marked by Madonna herself. Whilst the song would have been heard and played before 6th October, the official release as a single as an important event. In 2020, Australian Rolling Stone ranked Everybody as the forty-third best debut singles of all time:
“The obvious standout from a four-song demo that the extremely ambitious young singer was shopping around in 1982, “Everybody” caught the ear of a DJ friend, who slipped into his sets at New York’s famed Danceteria. She’d quickly go on to bigger things, and sharper material, but the song patterned the ebullient electro-pop sound of her early classic hits, eventually landing in the Top Five of the Billboard dance charts after Sire Records put it out as her debut single. As Sire founder and President Seymour Stein later recalled, “I would’ve gone down to the bank and withdrawn my own money to sign her if I had too.” J.D.”.
With its quite basic and budget-friendly video, I wonder whether anyone had an inkling of who Madonna would become and how she would grow as an artist! A phenomenal talent who would soon go on to become one of the biggest Pop artists of her generation, her debut should be studied and enjoyed. I am going to round off in a minute. Even though not all critics are fans appreciated it, Everybody is definitely one of Madonna’s most interesting and catchy songs I feel:
“Author Rikky Rooksby, in his book The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, noted that the song closed the Madonna album on a flat note. He called the music artificial, repetitive and uninspired. Don Shewey from Rolling Stone commented that "At first, it ["Everybody"] doesn't sound like much at all. Then you notice its one distinguishing feature, a girlish hiccup that the singer uses over and over until it's irritating as hell. Finally, you get hooked, and you start looking forward to that silly little catch in her voice." Author J. Randy Taraborrelli in his biography on Madonna commented that the song was a rhythmic call to party.
Author Santiago Fouz-Hernández in his book Madonna's Drowned Worlds, complimented the chorus of the song, saying that "Everybody" and "Music" are the two Madonna singles which define her artistic credo – that music has the power to overcome divisions of race, gender, and sexuality. Matthew Lindsay of The Quietus praised the song, calling it "spectacular" and "hard to resist." Lindsay added "with its breathy spoken word passages and invitation to dance, Madonna's debut single was a template that would be revisited throughout her career." In 2012 Louis Virtel of The Backlot listed "Everybody" at number two on his list of "100 Greatest Madonna Songs," commenting that the song is an example of Madonna's undeniable talents. Virtel goes on to say through the song Madonna shows she is "a commander, the Baryshnikov of pop chutzpah, and a rightful disco empress." In 2006, Slant Magazine ranked as the 18th greatest dance song of all time”.
Some debut singles are forgettable or are the start of a pretty short career. In the case of Everybody, it launched Madonna into people’s lives. She would soon grow as a talent and become a huge artist. Her 1983 debut is one of the best albums of the 1980s. Everybody reached three on the US Dance Club Songs (Billboard) chart. It is a simple and universal song that implores people to come together and dance. Future Madonna singles like Music and Into the Groove would use dance or music metaphors and images as a call for togetherness and passion. The lyrics and pictures Madonna paints definitely takes you inside the song: “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 to dance/Let the DJ shake you/Let the music take you”. On 6th October, Madonna fans around the world will mark forty years of an amazing debut. Burning Up was the next single from Madonna. That was released on 9th March, 1983. Everybody, to me, is certainty part of music history. The fact that the single sleeve does not include Madonna caused confusion. Some believed that she was a Black artist (also due to the R&B sound of the song) when the single was released. An artist that would become the face of the ‘80s, there is a sense of mystery when you look at the Everybody sleeve. Listening now, there is no mistaking this is a Madonna song! Even though Madonna would release stronger and more popular singles, the incredible and hugely impressive Everybody is…
A spectacular start.