Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)

"Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)" is a song by Zambian-born Zimbabwean singer Rozalla, released in August 1991 as the second single from her second album, Everybody's Free (1992). It had been a staple in the clubs in Ibiza and Mallorca in the summer of 1991, and hordes of recovering ravers were delighted to find "that tune about being free to feel good and stuff" was available to buy back home. Upon its release, the song reached number two in Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain, while entering the top 10 in Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. On the Eurochart Hot 100, the single reached number six, and in Zimbabwe, it peaked at number four. It also topped the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Several music videos have been made to promote the song. It is widely regarded as one of the biggest dance anthems of the 1990s and it has been remixed and re-released several times.

"Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)"
One of variants of the standard artwork
Single by Rozalla
from the album Everybody's Free
B-side"Everybody's Free" (Free Bemba Mix)
Released26 August 1991 (1991-08-26)[1]
Genre
Length
  • 3:40 (7-inch radio edit)
  • 6:40 (12-inch club mix)
LabelPulse-8
Songwriter(s)
  • Nigel Swanston
  • Tim Cox
Producer(s)Band of Gypsies
Rozalla singles chronology
"Born to Luv Ya"
(1990)		 "Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)"
(1991)		 "Faith (In the Power of Love)"
(1991)
Music video
"Everybody's Free" on YouTube

Recording

The song was recorded in the Peer Music studio, in a basement on Denmark Street in London's West End. In the 2017 book, Stars of 90's Dance Pop: 29 Hitmakers Discuss Their Careers by James Arena, Rozalla told about the making of "Everybody's Free", "Nigel [Swanston] gave me the song to sing, or at least the chorus, but I should mention that I couldn't sing any song exactly the way the writer or producer might necessarily have wanted me to. I always had to personalize it. Well, I went in and sang the chorus over and over until we had a sound that everyone loved. We played the chorus on the studio speakers, and we just knew we had it — our hook. That put Nigel on the next level to find the verses, the storyline so-to-speak, to go with the chorus."[3]

Chart performances

"Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" first charted in the United Kingdom in 1991, peaking at number six.[4] It made the top 40 best selling UK singles of 1991, at position 40. The success soon crossed over to the rest of Europe, where the single reached number two in Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain. It entered the top 10 also in Denmark (9), France (8), Germany (6), Ireland (8), Sweden (6) and Switzerland (3), as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100, where it peaked at number six in January 1992. Additionally, "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" was a top 20 hit in Austria (18), Finland (13) and Italy (19). Outside Europe, the song peaked at number-one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in the United States, number two on the RPM Dance/Urban chart in Canada, number 11 in Australia and number 14 in New Zealand.

The song was not released in the United States until 1992, when Rozalla was signed to Epic Records after a sought-after bidding war. It performed extremely well on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, climbing to number one. On the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the track was a top 40 Hit, reaching number 37.

Critical reception

Barry Walters from The Advocate complimented the song as "fabulous".[5] AllMusic editor William Cooper described it as a "catchy, cathartic rave anthem that managed to cross over to the Top 40 pop charts."[6] Larry Flick from Billboard deemed it "bright and invigorating", and "imbued with anthemic U.S. house vibes and lush Euro-disco execution".[7] He also viewed it as a "brain-embedding anthem", and complimented the singer's "crystalline voice."[2] Amy Linden from Entertainment Weekly called it "soaring". She stated that Rozalla "radiates independence" and "seizes the mystical, richly textured, techno-house reins and rides, stating her case with total clarity and power, injecting heart and depth into a genre that is often soulless."[8] Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report noted that "one of the most electrifying tracks around is far from new to audiences around the world. Just think of a country and chances are good that this has been #1 there. Following some lengthy delays on the official U.S. release, here it is ready to explode at Top 40."[9]

Davydd Chong from Music Week's RM Dance Update called it both "pulsating" and "anthemic".[10] Another editor, James Hamilton, described it as a "moodily started then scampering and raving jangly Italo style cheerful galloper".[11] In an retrospective review, Pop Rescue wrote that "Everybody's Free" "really showcases Rozalla’s vocal range", declaring it as "brilliant".[12] Mark Coleman from Rolling Stone felt "it's unforgettable once it gets under your skin. There's a subtle African rhythmic influence bubbling under the raving synth lines, and Rozalla pulls a bittersweet melody out of the hedonistic chorus."[13] Another editor, Al Weisel described it as an "ecstatic" single.[14] Anita Naik from Smash Hits viewed it as an "ear-splitting rave number". The magazine's Marc Andrews felt it "contained one of the most memorable spazz drum "sequences" in recent history".[15] Jonathan Bernstein from Spin wrote, "Lumbered with the misnomer "Queen of Rave", this Zambian minx strikes a mighty blow for her side in the up-to-now unequal battle of woman against machine. With grace and grit, Rozalla transforms the standard house thump into a living, breathing, beating heart."[16]

Music video

Various music videos exist for "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)". One of them, a semi-live performance video directed by Nick Burgess-Jones for Rozalla's original label Pulse 8,[17] first aired in September 1991. In the United States, Epic had Rozalla record a different video (shot in New York City). Rozalla also shot a video for her 1996 remix in Africa and another for the 2002 version with German Eurodance group Aquagen. Australian TV network Ten and affiliates used the Global Deejays remix to advertise the 2009 series of So You Think You Can Dance Australia.

Remixes

"Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)" has been remixed various times. In 1996, a remix reached number 30 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2000, she re-recorded with Richard 'Humpty' Vission and had a minor US dance hit. In 2002 came the Aquagen remix of the song, which reached number 22 in Germany, followed by a Delerium & Faze remix in 2005. The following year came from Italian Kortezman the new remix of the song. A shortened version of the Aquagen remix was used in the introduction to The Venture Bros. episode, "Powerless in the Face of Death". In 2015, the single received an updated remix, billed as the "Crazy Ibiza Remix," which Rozalla loved, and then commented on her Facebook page thanking the fans and mixers who continue to keep the song alive to this day.

Impact and legacy

"Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)" won an award in the category for Best hi-NRG 12-inch Single on the 1993 WMC International Dance Music Awards.[18] It was ranked number two in "The Top 10 Dance Tunes Of The '90s" for Attitude in 2016.[19] American entertainment company BuzzFeed ranked it number 47 in their list of "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs Of the '90s" in 2017.[20] Vibe ranked the song number 15 in ther list of "Before EDM: 30 Dance Tracks From The '90s That Changed The Game" in 2018.[21]

Accolades
Year Publisher Country Accolade Rank
1993 WMC International Dance Music Awards United States "Best hi-NRG 12-inch Single"[22] 1
2011 Max Australia "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time"[23] 580
2011 MTV Dance United Kingdom "The 100 Biggest 90's Dance Anthems of All Time"[24] 24
2013 Vibe United States "Before EDM: 30 Dance Tracks From The '90s That Changed The Game"[21] 15
2016 Attitude United Kingdom "The Top 10 Dance Tunes Of The '90s"[19] 2
2017 BuzzFeed United States "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s"[25] 47

(*) indicates the list is unordered.

"Everybody's Free (Ca$ino Mix)"
Single by Rozalla
Released1996
Length3:38
LabelPulse 8
Songwriter(s)
  • Nigel Swanston
  • Tim Cox
Producer(s)
  • Band of Gypsies
  • Ca$ino
Rozalla singles chronology
"Losing My Religion"
(1995)		 "Everybody's Free (Ca$ino Mix)"
(1996)		 "Coming Home"
(1997)

Track listings

Original version

Charts

Weekly charts

Cover versions

Quindon Tarver performed a choral cover for the 1996 film Romeo + Juliet. His version was later sampled for Baz Luhrmann's single "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)".

Blümchen - Ich Bin Wieder Hier (1998) German cover in happy hardcore style.

Global Deejays released a version of "Everybody's Free" in 2008 that was credited to Global Deejays featuring Rozalla. It features guitars and strong dance beats. It was used in television promotions for So You Think You Can Dance Australia and debuted at number 33 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[61] It climbed to number 7, which made it Rozalla's highest-charting single in Australia.

Australian singer Nat Conway released a synthpop cover produced by MNEK on 19 August 2016 as her debut single.[62] In 2015, Conway had performed the track as her audition song on the seventh series of The X Factor Australia. She went on to finish 6th and she signed a record deal with label Sony Music Australia.[63]

Kylie Minogue covered the song for her 2016 album Kylie Christmas: Snow Queen Edition. The cover was used in a Christmas TV advertisement for British pharmacy chain Boots. In 2022, Minogue's version was used in the film Bros.

In the same year, Chase & Status sampled the track's chorus for their song "Spoken Word", featuring George the Poet.

The Finnish EDM producer Jaakko Salovaara, known as JS16, released a cover version on May 28, 2021, featuring Alora & Senii and Felix Ojack.[64]

References
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  2. Flick, Larry (June 27, 1992). "New & Noteworthy" (PDF). Billboard. p. 62. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  3. Arena, James (2017). Stars of 90's Dance Pop: 29 Hitmakers Discuss Their Careers. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc.
  4. "Official Singles Chart Top 75 29 September 1991 - 05 October 1991". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  5. Walters, Barry (September 20, 1994). "Reviews: Music". The Advocate. p. 68. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  6. Cooper, William. "Rozalla - Everybody's Free". AllMusic. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  7. Flick, Larry (September 14, 1991). "Dance Trax: Rozalla Reaches 'Everybody'; Madden Presents 'Facts'" (PDF). Billboard. p. 37. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  8. Linden, Amy (August 21, 1992). "Everybody's Free". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  9. Sholin, Dave (June 12, 1992). "Gavin Picks > Singles" (PDF). Gavin Report. No. 1909. p. 44. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  10. Chong, Davydd (August 31, 1991). "DJ Directory: Rozalla" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 5. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  11. Hamilton, James (September 7, 1991). "DJ Directory: Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 6. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  12. "Review: "Everybody's Free" by Rozalla (CD, 1992)". Pop Rescue. March 16, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  13. Coleman, Mark (December 10, 1992-December 24, 1992). "The year in records". Rolling Stone. Issue 645/646.
  14. Weisel, Al (September 21, 1995). "Recordings". Rolling Stone. Issue 717.
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