"Everybody" is a song written and recorded by American singer Madonna and produced by DJ Mark Kamins. In 1982, the singer was living with her former Michigan boyfriend Stephen Bray in New York, and since dance music was in style, they created a demo with four dance tracks, one of which was "Everybody". Madonna, who was not signed to any record label at the time, pitched the tape on her own: she would go to local nightclubs and try to convince the DJs there to play it. She met and befriended DJ Mark Kamins at Danceteria nightclub, who played "Everybody" to a positive reception from the crowd. Afterwards, Kamins took the tape to Sire Records, where Seymour Stein, the label's president, signed Madonna for two twelve-inch singles.
Recorded in three days at the Bob Blank’s Blank Tape Recording Studios, "Everybody" was officially released as Madonna's debut single on October 6, 1982. It was then added to the singer's 1983 self-titled album. A post-disco dance song with R&B elements, its lyrics invite the listener to dance and lose their inhibitions. Music critics reacted positively towards the song, singling out its sound. In retrospective reviews, it is now considered one of Madonna's best songs. It was the singer's first entry on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play Chart, where it peaked at number three.
By incorporating R&B elements in its music and not including Madonna's image on the cover artwork, marketing for the song gave the impression that she was a black artist. That misconception was cleared with the song's music video, which was directed by Ed Steinberg; it shows the singer and two backup dancers performing at New York's Paradise Garage. The clip helped to further promote the song and Madonna in the dance scene. After a number of live performances throughout late 1982 and early 1983, "Everybody" was included on two of the singer's concert tours: Virgin (1985) and The Girlie Show (1993).
Background
In 1979, Madonna was trying to establish her music career in New York City. She was the drummer of a band called Breakfast Club, which was headed by the Gilroy brothers, Dan and Ed. The following year, after a dispute with Dan, Madonna left the band. She then formed a new band called Emmy, with her former Michigan boyfriend Stephen Bray. In 1981, after attending one of Emmy's gigs at Max's Kansas City, Adam Alter and Camille Barbone from Gotham Records signed a contract with Madonna. However, the association was short-lived and dissolved the following year due to creative differences between the label and singer: Gotham was interested in rock and roll whereas Madonna wanted to pursue disco.
By 1982, the singer was living with Bray in an unused rehearsal studio. After coming to the realization that "funky dance records were in style on the radio and dance floor", they created a demo tape with four dance tracks, including Everybody", "Burning Up", and "Ain't No Big Deal". With no record label to back her up, Madonna began pitching the tape on her own, visiting local nightclubs trying to get DJs to play it. She managed to get Mark Kamins, the resident DJ at Danceteria nightclub, to play "Everybody", which was met with a positive reception from the crowd. Kamins promised Madonna he would help her get a record deal on the condition that he would get to produce it. As he was also an A&R scout for Island Records, Kamins took the tape to his boss Chris Blackwell, but he wasn't impressed nor interested in signing Madonna.
Kamins then approached Sire Records president Seymour Stein, who at the time was at Lenox Hill Hospital recovering from a heart surgery. Stein had his secretary send the tape to the hospital so he could listen to it; "I liked the hook, I liked Madonna's voice, I liked the feel [...] I liked it all and played it again", the executive recalled. He signed the singer on for two twelve-inch singles; she would get $15,000 for each one, but would also have to pay for all recording costs. Sire A&E executive Michael Rosenblatt, who oversaw the entire process, wanted to release a double-sided single with "Ain't No Big Deal" as A-side and "Everybody" as B-side. "Ain't No Big Deal", however, "did not come out well", so Roseneblatt decided to put "Everybody" on both sides of the record: One version lasted 5:56, while the other was a dub form with a duration of 9:23. Since he had recorded the demo, Bray argued that he should be the producer for the single, but Stein decided to appoint Kamins, "for the sheer interest of seeing where it would go". Kamins, however, wasn't interested in producing, wanting to focus on A&R instead; he approached musician Kashif to see if he was interested in working on the song, but he turned down the offer.