Happy Anniversary: Madonna, “Everybody”

33 years ago today, a certain Material Girl released her debut single on Sire Records, and now “Everybody” knows her name. (Did you see what we did there?)

Even before Madonna was anybody, she walked around New York with the attitude that she was somebody, perhaps hoping that it was only a matter of convincing everyone else. Having written and recorded a handful of songs, she carried around her rough tapes in hopes of being able to catch a break, which is what happened the night she convinced the DJ at Danceteria - a gentleman by the name of Mark Kamins - to play one of those songs: “Everybody.” Its reception was sufficient for him to decide to try and help Madonna get a record deal, and although he struck out on his first try - Chris Blackwell of Island Records declined to sign her - he came up a winner at Sire Records which signed her for a two-song deal.

As it happens, label exec Michael Rosenblatt was underwhelmed by what he heard of “Everybody” and changed it to a one-song deal, and even at that, the artwork for the single pointedly showed no picture of Madonna, providing the label with the opportunity to promote the soulful track to R&B radio. That's right: the woman whose visage was one of the most identifiable images of the '80s wasn't even shown on the cover of her own debut single. Even more surprisingly, the song wasn't a pop hit, but it did hit #3 on the Dance Singles chart, and the video secured a certain amount of airplay, positioning Madonna to begin her breakthrough in earnest when she released “Burning Up” a few months later.