It’s Madonna’s birthday, so let’s revisit her first single… that was never actually released

Madonna was born on 16 August, 1958. She’s the most successful female music artist of all time in terms of records sold, with an unbeatable string of chart hits over a 40-year-plus career. 

Ask any diehard Madge fan about her first single and they’ll point you to “Everybody” in 1982. It went to No. 3 on the US Dance Chart. Her big breakthrough hit “Holiday” came a year later in 1983. 

However, things could have worked out very differently.

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Madonna actually recorded another song with a view to releasing it as her debut single, but it ended up being scrapped and used years later as a B-side for a different single.

That song is “Ain’t No Big Deal,” which Madonna finally uploaded to her official YouTube channel just a couple of months ago, more than 40 years after it was first recorded.

Two single deal 

“Ain’t No Big Deal” was written by Madonna and Steve Bray. 

Bray was Madonna’s boyfriend from Michigan who moved with her to New York. The two briefly had a band called The Breakfast Club. In 1981, they recorded several demos together, with some of the songs ending up on Madonna’s first album. 

When Madonna first signed to Sire, it wasn’t for an album but initially for two singles. The label liked “Ain’t No Big Deal” and “Everybody”. So, the initial plan was to put out “Ain’t No Big Deal” with “Everybody” as the B-side.

However, there were discussions over who would produce the track. Alternative versions were produced by Bray, Mark Kamins, and John “Jellybean” Benitez.

For unknown reasons, while Sire was planning on launching Madonna, Bray decided to sell the rights to the song to July Fourth Music. It ended up giving the song to a female disco act called Barracuda, who recorded it as their one and only single.

With Bray having sold the rights, and Sire probably getting wind of the fact that someone else planned to release the song, Madonna’s version was jettisoned. Sire went with “Everybody” instead. 

The two songs are both typical of Madonna’s early sound, with bouncy ’80s synths aimed at the dance floor. We’re sure most fans would agree that “Everybody” ended up being a better single. That said, she didn’t really hit her stride until “Holiday” and “Lucky Star” in 1983, followed by the gargantuan success of “Like A Virgin” in 1984. 

Resurrected as B-side

Madonna retained some affection for “Ain’t No Big Deal,” however. Another version, produced by Reggie Lucas, was used as the B-side for “Papa Don’t Preach” in 1986. 

Warners also included the song on an early 1984 multi-artist compilation called Revenge of the Killer B’s, Vol. 2. “Ain’t No Big Deal” can also be found on an unauthorized compilation of Madonna demos called Pre-Madonna, released in 1997. 

In June 2024, it was finally added to streaming platforms as the b-side of “Papa Don’t Preach,” which is when Madonna added it to YouTube.  

Remembering a mentor

Last year, Madonna lamented the death of Seymour Stein, the influential gay man who co-founded Sire Records and who she credited with securing her record deal. 

“He was one of the most influential men in my life!” she recalled on Instagram. “He changed and shaped my world. I must explain.”

“I stalked a DJ named Mark Kamin for a year at a club called Danceteria! In the Early 80’s. He finally agreed to play my demo of a song called ‘Everybody’ on a Saturday night. The club was packed. An A&R man from Sire Records was there—Michael Rosenblatt. He heard the music and asked me if he could bring me to meet his boss, Seymour Stein.”

“I couldn’t get the words ‘Hell yes!’ out of my mouth fast enough! Unfortunately Seymour was in the hospital for a heart ailment! I didn’t care. Lets Goooooo!”

“When I met him he was laying in a hospital bed wearing his boxer shorts and a wife beater! He had a cannula up his nose and a saline drip in his arm! He was grinning like the Cheshire Cat.”

“I was carrying my giant boombox ready to play my cassette for him immediately! He smiled and laughed when he saw me and asked me if I was related to the Virgin Mary!! Hahahhahahaa. I knew we would hit it off. I played him the song a few times. He signed me to his record label that day!”

“This moment changed the course of my life forever. And was the beginning of my journey as a musical artist. Not only did Seymour hear me but he saw me and my potential! For this I will be eternally grateful!”

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Madonna has been teasing fans over the last couple of years with images of herself working on a screenplay. The planned biopic is likely to cover her rise to fame. So, who knows? Maybe “Ain’t No Big Deal” will be included.

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