On this day in 1982: Madonna released her debut single ‘Everybody’ on Sire Records. The track failed to enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it did however, appear on the dance charts and the song helped Madonna achieve her first appearance in a dance magazine.
Madonna had recorded a demo of the song with Steve Bray. She urged DJ Mark Kamins, who played at her dance club, to play it. He was impressed by the song and took her to Sire Records, who signed her for a two-song deal. However, after the recording of the two singles was over, Sire executive Michael Rosenblatt was not interested in the other song produced and decided to release only “Everybody”.
By incorporating R&B infused beats in the music and not including her image on the cover artwork, marketing for the song gave the impression that Madonna was a black artist. That impression did not last long as Madonna would later convince Sire executives to shoot a music video for the song. The low-budget video directed by Ed Steinberg showed Madonna and her friends in a club singing and dancing to the song. The video helped to further promote the song and Madonna as an artist.
The 12-inch single of “Everybody” failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. It peaked at number 107 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart on January 22, 1983. However the song moved quickly up the dance charts, and was Madonna’s first single to chart on the Billboard Hot Club/Dance Play Chart peaking at #3. One of the first radio stations to embrace the song was WKTU, which reported it as a new “Playlist Top Add On” in the December 11, 1982 issue of Billboard, reflecting their station’s playlist for the week ending November 30, 1982. Since its release, the single has sold around 250,000 copies. The song helped Madonna achieve her first magazine cover photograph when she appeared in the December 1982 issue of Dance Music Report magazine.
Here’s what was happening on this day back in 1982 on the Billboard Hot 100…here’s the Top 20 from October 6th 1982:
1 2 JACK & DIANE –•– John Cougar (Riva)-11 (1 week at #1) (1)
2 1 ABRACADABRA –•– The Steve Miller Band (Capitol)-19 (1)
3 3 HARD TO SAY I’M SORRY –•– Chicago (Full Moon)-18 (1)
4 4 EYE OF THE TIGER –•– Survivor (Scotti Brothers)-18 (1)
5 5 YOU SHOULD HEAR HOW SHE TALKS ABOUT YOU –•– Melissa Manchester (Arista)-20 (5)
6 6 EYE IN THE SKY –•– The Alan Parsons Project (Arista)-14 (6)
7 7 WHO CAN IT BE NOW –•– Men At Work (Columbia)-13 (7)
8 8 SOMEBODY’S BABY –•– Jackson Browne (Asylum)-10 (8)
9 15 I KEEP FORGETTIN’ (Every Time You’re Near) –•– Michael McDonald (Warner Brothers)-9 (9)
10 9 HURTS SO GOOD –•– John Cougar (Riva)-24 (2)
11 12 YOU CAN DO MAGIC –•– America (Capitol)-10 (11)
12 14 BLUE EYES –•– Elton John (Geffen)-13 (12)
13 39 HEART ATTACK –•– Olivia Newton-John (MCA)-5 (13)
14 21 I RAN (So Far Away) –•– A Flock Of Seagulls (Jive)-13 (14)
15 27 BREAK IT TO ME GENTLY –•– Juice Newton (Capitol)-7 (15)
16 16 THINK I’M IN LOVE –•– Eddie Money (Columbia)-14 (16)
17 17 ONLY TIME WILL TELL –•– Asia (Geffen)-11 (17)
18 18 LET ME TICKLE YOUR FANCY –•– Jermaine Jackson (Motown)-11 (18)
19 19 HOLD ON –•– Santana (Columbia)-8 (19)
20 20 DO YOU WANNA TOUCH ME (Oh Yeah) –•– Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (Boardwalk)-10 (20)
