Everybody Everybody (song)

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"Everybody Everybody"
The cover is vertically split in two disproportionate sides; the left side is turquoise-colored with the artist name in capitalized white font; the white side contains a woman standing with her hands on her hips while wearing a black leather jacket. The song title is placed underneath the woman's hips
German maxi single cover
Single by Black Box
from the album Dreamland
B-side"Dreamland"
Released1990
Recorded1989
Genre
Length5:20
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
  • Daniele Davoli
  • Mirko Limoni
  • Valerio Semplici
Producer(s)Groove Groove Melody
Black Box singles chronology
"I Don't Know Anybody Else"
(1989) 		"Everybody Everybody"
(1990) 		"Fantasy"
(1990)
Music video
"Everybody Everybody" on YouTube

"Everybody Everybody" is a song by the Italian house group Black Box, with uncredited vocals by American singer Martha Wash, from their debut studio album, Dreamland (1990). Wash was replaced by French model Katrin Quinol as the credited vocalist who made several appearances with Black Box, which led Wash to file a lawsuit against the group. The song was written by Daniele Davoli, Mirko Limoni, and Valerico Semplici, while produced by Groove Groove Melody. It was released by RCA Records as the third single from the album. The house and eurodisco song consists of an organ, horns and strings, and contains a sample of Larry Blackmon's vocals.

"Everybody Everybody" received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised the production and vocals. The song peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100, number 10 on the New Zealand Singles Chart, and at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart. An accompanying music video was released in 1990, which depicts Katrin Quinol lip synching the song in a unitard.

Background and controversy[]

In 1989, Martha Wash was approached by Black Box, then known as Groove Groove Melody, to record demos for other musicians in exchange for a flat fee payment.[1] Wash recorded vocals for the songs in a five-day period, which were kept in six of nine songs from the group's debut studio album Dreamland (1990). However, she was not credited on the album's liner notes as French fashion model Katrin Quinol was brought in to phonetically learn the songs on Dreamland for seven months despite not knowing the English language, and made several appearances as part of the group. Black Box's record label RCA Records continuously stated that Quinol was the lead vocalist of each song.[2]

On 21 November 1990, several consumer class action lawsuits were issued in the Los Angeles Federal District Court relating to Milli Vanilli and Black Box. RCA Records initially believed that the vocals in Black Box's music belonged to Quinol, who was seen in the group's promotional material.[3] Wash sued the Black Box members in September 1990 for false advertising[4] and uncredited vocals,[5] but was settled out-of-court in December 1990.[6] Wash eventually signed an eight-year contract with the record label to record eight individual albums,[7] in addition to a financed national tour.[6]

Composition and critical reception[]

"Everybody Everybody" is a house,[8] and eurodisco[9] song, which contains a "house-inspired rhythmic base",[10] and a "roller rink"-styled organ.[2] It uses horns and strings to create a "disco-era influence", which Billboard staff compared to the atmosphere of Studio 54.[11] According to the song's sheet music that was published on Musicnotes.com, it is set in the time signature of 4
4 common time, with a tempo of 118 beats per minute, while composed in the key of F minor. Wash's voice on the track ranges from the low note of A♭3 to the high note of F5, while the song is constructed in verse–chorus form.[12] A sample of Cameo lead singer Larry Blackmon's vocals is periodically used throughout the song,[13] where an "ow" is heard in the lyrics.[2][13] Wash performs a gospel-influenced belt,[14] as Marisa Fox of Entertainment Weekly described her vocals as "grand-diva"-styled over the song's "roaring sound".[15]

Billboard writer Bill Coleman described "Everybody Everybody" as "thoroughly contagious" and stated that the vocals and lyrics are "uplifting".[10] Writing for The Network Forty, Yvette Ziraldo opined that the production is "infectious",[16] while Chris Heath of Smash Hits declared it as "almost brilliant".[17] Ernest Hardy of Cashbox complimented the song's "raw vocal" alongside the production's "relentless groove", but noted the similar sound with Black Box's previous singles "Ride on Time" and "I Don't Know Anybody Else".[18] Blender placed "Everybody Everybody" at number 335 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born and described it as "criminally buoyant" for "drunk wedding guests" to dance to,[9] while Pitchfork ranked the song on the Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s at number 171, with writer David Raposa stating that the Cameo sample distinguished it from other "pop-house bandwagoners".[13]

Commercial performance and music video[]

In June 1990, "Everybody Everybody" appeared in dance clubs, with its popularity resulting in airplay on urban contemporary and contemporary hit radio stations.[2] In the United States, the song peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated 20 October 1990, where it remained for 19 weeks.[19] It also topped the Dance Club Songs chart issued 21 July 1990, and charted for 10 weeks.[20] On the 3 June 1990, issue of the UK Singles Chart, "Everybody Everybody" peaked at number 16 and charted for six weeks.[21] The song bowed at number 35 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart,[22] and reached number 11 on the New Zealand Singles Chart.[23]

An accompanying music video for "Everybody Everybody" was released in 1990,[24] which depicts Quinol squatting while wearing a unitard and lip synching the song's vocals. In late 1990, Wash saw the music video and called her manager after realising that she was uncredited on the song.[1] She described Quinol's appearance as being "[six]-feet tall, very skinny [with] cobalt-blue eyes" and suggested that such models were utilised in various music videos as "props".[2] Writing for the St. Petersburg Times, Jean Carey considered the video to be "lame" and wrote that it "encourage[d] the rumors" about "the group's mystery vocalist".[25]

Track listing[]

Charts[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Newman, Jason (2 September 2014). "Martha Wash: The Most Famous Unknown Singer of the '90s Speaks Out". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Stamberg, Susan (20 November 1990). "Did Martha Washington Sing Black Box's Hit?". Morning Edition. NPR – via ProQuest.
  3. ^ Pareles, Jon (6 December 1990). "Lawsuits Seek Truth In Music Labeling". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  4. ^ "RCA Act Black Box Sued for False Advertising" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 102 no. 42. 20 October 1990. p. 94. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  5. ^ Patrin, Nate (11 November 2020). "Everybody Everybody (But One) Dance Now: The Diva Erasure Of Martha Wash Revisited". Stereogum. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Philips, Chuck (21 February 1991). "Read Her Lips : R&B; Singer Says Hot Dance Hit Is Lip-Synced". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  7. ^ Bernstein, Sharon (14 December 1990). "Martha Wash Gets Her Form Back : Pop Music: The singer's voice but not face appeared on the Black Box videos. But she'll perform tonight at Details". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  8. ^ Farley, Keith. "Best of House Music: Disco Nights, Vol. 5 - Various Artists | AllMusic Review by Keith Farley". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born". Blender. 1 April 2009. p. 4. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Coleman, Bill (7 July 1990). "Dance Trax: The Summer's Sizzling For Everybody Everybody" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 102 no. 27. p. 27. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  11. ^ "Billboard: Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 102 no. 23. 9 June 1990. p. 84. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Everybody Everybody". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b c Raposa, David (30 August 2010). "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 200-151". Pitchfork. p. 3. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  14. ^ Henderson, Alex. "Dreamland - Black Box | AllMusic Review by Alex Henderson". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  15. ^ Fox, Marisa (26 April 1991). "Dance Now!!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  16. ^ Ziraldo, Yvette (21 September 1990). "Crossover: Retail Sales" (PDF). The Network Forty. No. 30. p. 54. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  17. ^ Heath, Chris (2 May 1990). "Review: LPs". Smash Hits. No. 298. p. 55. Retrieved 16 August 2021 – via Flickr.
  18. ^ Hardy, Ernest (16 June 1990). "On The Dancefloor: New Grooves - Singles" (PDF). Cashbox. Vol. 53 no. 47. p. 12. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b "Black Box Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b "Black Box Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  21. ^ Jump up to: a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b "Australian-charts.com – Black Box – Everybody Everybody". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b "Charts.nz – Black Box – Everybody Everybody". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  24. ^ Black Box (22 June 2009). "Black Box - Everybody Everybody (Official Video)". Retrieved 16 August 2021 – via YouTube.
  25. ^ Carey, Jean (8 December 1990). "Knifestyles of the rich and famous? Series: Videosyncracies". St. Petersburg Times. p. D.1 – via ProQuest.
  26. ^ Everybody Everybody (back cover). Black Box. Canada: RCA Records. 1990. 2628-1-RD.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  27. ^ Everybody Everybody (back cover). Black Box. United Kingdom: Deconstruction Records. 1990. PD 43716.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  28. ^ Everybody Everybody (back cover). Black Box. United Kingdom: Deconstruction Records. 1990. PT 43716.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  29. ^ Everybody Everybody (back cover). Black Box. Australia: BMG Ariola. 1990. CS 3715.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  30. ^ Everybody Everybody (back cover). Black Box. Germany: Polydor Records. 1990. 867 603-2.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  31. ^ Everybody Everybody (back cover). Black Box. Germany: Polydor Records. 1990. 877 305-2.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  32. ^ Everybody Everybody (back cover). Black Box. Germany: Deconstruction Records. 1990. PB 43715.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  33. ^ Everybody Everybody (back cover). Black Box. Germany: Polydor Records. 1990. 877 423-1.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  34. ^ "Ultratop.be – Black Box – Everybody Everybody" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  35. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 18 August 1990. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  36. ^ "Lescharts.com – Black Box – Everybody Everybody" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  37. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Black Box – Everybody Everybody" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  38. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Black Box" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  39. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Black Box – Everybody Everybody" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  40. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Black Box – Everybody Everybody". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  41. ^ "Black Box Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  42. ^ "Hot 100 – Year-End 1990". Billboard. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  43. ^ "Dance Singles Sales – Year-End 1990". Billboard. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  44. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 1990". Billboard. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
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