"Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)" is a song by Zambian-born Zimbabwean singer Rozalla, released in August 1991 by label Pulse-8 as the second single from her second album, '' Everybody's Free'' (1992). The song was written by Nigel Swanston and Tim Cox, and produced by Band of Gypsies. It had been a staple in the clubs in

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

and

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

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 European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...

, the single reached number six, and in Zimbabwe, it peaked at number four. It also topped the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Dance Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart. Several music videos have been made to promote the song. It is widely regarded as one of the biggest

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

anthems of the 1990s and it has been remixed and re-released several times.

Background

Rozalla was born in Zambia, but relocated to Zimbabwe at the age at eighteen. After fronting various bands, she began her own recording career ending up with five number one hits on Zimbabwe's national charts. In 1989, she was invited to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

by Chris Sergeant to perform with the Band of Gypsies. Rozalla's first UK single was "Born to Luv Ya", which was a club hit in 1990. However, it was with her dance anthem "Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)" that her career took off.

Recording

Rozalla had sent around some cassettes trying to get a record deal, and one of these tapes ended up with the Band of Gypsies. They loved her voice and contacted her for a collaboration. "Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)" was recorded in the Peer Music studio, in a basement on

Denmark Street Denmark Street is a street on the edge of London's West End running from Charing Cross Road to St Giles High Street. It is near St Giles in the Fields Church and Tottenham Court Road station. The street was developed in the late 17th centu ...

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 the song, "Nigel wanstongave 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."

Chart performances

"Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" first charted in the United Kingdom in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, peaking at number six. 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

, 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 ''

chart in the United States, number two on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' 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 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, when Rozalla was signed to

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

after a sought-after bidding war. It performed extremely well on the

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 An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...

'' complimented the song as "fabulous".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

editor William Cooper described it as a "catchy, cathartic

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

anthem that managed to cross over to the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

pop charts."

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

'' deemed it "bright and invigorating", and "imbued with anthemic U.S.

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

vibes and lush Euro-disco execution". He also viewed it as a "brain-embedding anthem", and complimented the singer's "crystalline voice." Amy Linden from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' called it "soaring". She stated that Rozalla "radiates independence" and "seizes the mystical, richly textured,

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

-house reins and rides, stating her case with total clarity and power, injecting heart and depth into a genre that is often soulless." Dave Sholin from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The ...

'' 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." Davydd Chong from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

s ''RM'' Dance Update called it both "pulsating" and "anthemic". Another ''RM'' editor,

James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...

, described it as a "moodily started then scampering and raving jangly Italo style cheerful galloper". In a retrospective review, Pop Rescue wrote that "Everybody's Free" "really showcases Rozalla’s vocal range", declaring it as "brilliant". Mark Coleman from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' 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." Another ''Rolling Stone'' editor, Al Weisel described it as an "ecstatic" single. Anita Naik from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' named it an "ear-splitting rave number". The magazine's Marc Andrews felt it "contained one of the most memorable spazz drum "sequences" in recent history". Jonathan Bernstein from ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' 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."

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, first aired in September 1991. In the United States,

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

had Rozalla record a different video (shot in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

). Rozalla also shot a video for her 1996

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

in Africa and another for the 2002 version with German

Eurodance Eurodance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of Hip-hop, rap, techno and Eurodisco. This genre of music is heavily influenced by the use ...

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 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. 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. It was ranked number two in "The Top 10 Dance Tunes Of The '90s" for ''

Attitude Attitude or Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), a disposition or state of mind ** Attitude change * Propositional attitude, a mental state held towards a proposition Science and technology * Orientation ...

'' in 2016. American entertainment company ''

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'' ranked it number 47 in their list of "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs Of the '90s" in 2017. ''

Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

'' ranked the song number 15 in their list of "Before EDM: 30 Dance Tracks From The '90s That Changed The Game" in 2018.

Accolades

(*) indicates the list is unordered.

Track listings

Original version

* 7" single # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (free radio mix) – 3:40 # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (Free Bemba mix) – 4:00 * 12" maxi # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (original mix) – 6:40 # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (Free Bemba mix) – 6:05 * 12" maxi – Italy # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (original mix) – 6:40 # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (7" edit) – 3:40 # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (Free Bemba mix) – 6:00 * CD single # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (original mix) – 6:40 # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (Free Bemba edit) – 3:58 * CD maxi – Australia # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (original mix – edit) – 3:40 # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (original mix) – 6:40 # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (Free Bemba mix) – 6:10 * CD maxi – France, Belgium # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" – 6:40 # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (Free Bemba mix) – 6:05 # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (a cappella-Italia mix) – 6:06 # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (africana mix) – 7:17 * CD maxi – Germany # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (club mix) – 6:40 # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (Free Bemba mix) – 5:57 # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (free radio mix) – 3:33 * CD maxi – UK # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (original mix) – 6:40 # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (Free Bemba mix) – 6:06 # " Faith (In the Power of Love)" (coola vibes) – 7:23 * Cassette # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (original mix) – 6:40 # "Everybody's Free (to Feel Good)" (Free Bemba)

Aquagen featuring Rozalla version

* CD maxi # "Everybody's Free" (radio edit) – 3:40 # "Everybody's Free" (original album version) – 6:35 # "Everybody's Free" (extended mix) – 8:50 # "Everybody's Free" (club mix) – 6:10 # "Everybody's Free" (Dance Nation remix) – 7:23 # "Everybody's Free" (Green Court remix) – 8:44 # "Everybody's Free" ( Kosmonova remix) – 5:35

Global Deejays featuring Rozalla version

* CD maxi # "Everybody's Free" (General Electric version) – 7:00 # "Everybody's Free" (2elements mix) – 6:37 # "Everybody's Free" (Klaas remix) – 6:38 # "Everybody's Free" (Markito's sunlight remix) – 6:07

Charts

Weekly charts

Original version

Remix versions

Richard umptyVission featuring Rozalla Aquagen featuring Rozalla Global Deejays featuring Rozalla

Year-end charts

Cover versions

Quindon Tarver Quindon Dan Tarver (August 4, 1982 – April 1, 2021) was an American singer. He was best known for his covers of Prince's " When Doves Cry" and Rozalla's " Everybody's Free" for the 1996 film '' William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet''. Life and ...

performed a choral cover for the 1996 film ''

Romeo + Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet or Romeo & Juliet may also refer to: Ballets * ''Romeo and Juliet'', a ballet score by Constant Lambert * Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev), ''Romeo and Juliet'' (Prokofiev), a ...

.'' His version was later sampled for Baz Luhrmann's single "

Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young", commonly known by the title "Wear Sunscreen", is an essay written as a hypothetical commencement speech by columnist Mary Schmich, originally published in June 1997 in the ''Chicago Tribune ...

Blümchen Jasmin Wagner (; born April 20, 1980), better known as Blümchen (), is a German pop music, pop and dance music singer. While she releases her English-language albums under the name Blossom, her German stage name, , translates to "floret" or "s ...

- 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 The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. It climbed to number seven, which made it Rozalla's highest-charting single in Australia. Australian singer Nat Conway released a

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...

cover produced by

MNEK Uzoechi Osisioma "Uzo" Emenike (; born 9 November 1994), professionally known by his stage name MNEK ( ; a gramogram of Emenike), is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He has been nominated for a Grammy and a Brit Award, and ha ...

on 19 August 2016 as her debut single. 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 Sony Music Entertainment Australia is the predominant record label operated by American parent company Sony Music Entertainment in Australia. Prior to 1995, SMEA published and distributed video games in Australia & New Zealand on behalf of So ...

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

covered the song for her 2016 album '' Kylie Christmas: Snow Queen Edition''. The cover was used in a Christmas TV advertisement for British

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

chain

Boots A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

. In 2022, Minogue's version was used in the film Bros. In the same year,

Chase & Status Chase & Status are an English electronic music duo composed of Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status). In addition, Andy Gangadeen is the drummer when the band performs live. MC Rage formerly performed as MC with the group, but left in ...

sampled the track's chorus for their song "

Spoken Word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...

", 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.

References

{{authority control 1991 singles 1991 songs 1996 singles Epic Records singles Kylie Minogue songs Music videos directed by Nick Burgess-Jones Music Week number-one dance singles Pulse 8 singles Rozalla songs Songs about racism and xenophobia Songs written by Nigel Swanston