Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)

"Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" is a hit song by American dance group C+C Music Factory. It was released in late 1990 as the lead single from the album, Gonna Make You Sweat. The song charted internationally and achieved great success in the United States, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland where it reached number one on the charts.

Background and writing
The rap verse was performed by Freedom Williams and the female vocals by Martha Wash. The official music video featured Zelma Davis lip-syncing to the actual Wash's vocal parts. After discovering that the group was using model-turned-singer Zelma Davis in the music video, Wash attempted to negotiate with the producers of the C+C Music Factory for sleeve credits and royalties which ultimately proved unsuccessful. Additionally, the song used an edited compilation of vocal parts that Wash recorded in June 1990 for an unrelated demonstration tape. On December 11, 1991, Wash filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court against C+C Music Factory's Robert Clivilles and David Cole, charging the producers and their record company, Sony Music Entertainment, with fraud, deceptive packaging and commercial appropriation. The case was eventually settled in 1994 and as a result of the settlement, Sony made an unprecedented request to MTV to add a disclaimer that credited Wash for vocals and Zelma Davis (who lip-synched Wash's vocals in the official music video) for "visualization" to the "Gonna Make You Sweat" music video.

Reception
When it was first released, "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" enjoyed widespread commercial success. Topping charts in several countries, the song dominated the airwaves while its accompanying music video received constant rotation on MTV. Music critics praised "Gonna Make You Sweat" for Freedom Williams' Ice-T-like rap delivery in conjunction with Martha Wash's powerful, exuberant, post-disco vocals and deemed the song as a bona fide classic.

Billboard wrote about the song: "New act featuring hot producers Robert Clivilles and David Cole serves up a potential multiformat smash with this slammin', guitar-driven hip-hopper, fueled by a stellar appearance from former Weather Girl Martha Wash." Network 40 wrote that: ""Gonna Make You Sweat" is an electrifying debut from Robert Clivilles & David Cole, the production team that brought you Seduction. With singer Freedom Williams up front demanding, "Everybody Dance Now," the song is simply the best party starter to come along in months. It doesn't hurt that it's right in line sound-wise with past chart top hits like Black Box's "Everybody Everybody" and Snap's "The Power," either." And Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report commented: "Difficult to package any more excitement into this release which exemplifies what fresh music is all about."

However, over the years, the song came to be used and/or referenced innumerable times by the entertainment industry, to the point that it became something of a musical, pop culture cliché. By 2007, the song was criticized by Allmusic as "the lazy Hollywood 'go-to' song for supposed laugh-filled, irony-fueled dance numbers."

Chart performances
The song held the top spot in the Billboard Magazine list of popular dance club tunes for five weeks in December 1990, and topped Billboard Hot 100 Singles list for two weeks in 1991 (February 9 and February 16.) It reached #3 in the UK in January, a full month before its American pop success. It even found success in the urban contemporary music world as it crossed over to the R&B charts where it reached number-one for a week.

Impact and legacy
VH1 placed "Gonna Make You Sweat" at #9 on its list of 100 Greatest Dance Songs in 2000 and at #36 on its list of 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s in 2007.

In popular culture
The song was played in many films, including The Super, Sister Act, Man of the House (1995), Man of the House (2005), Space Jam, Something's Gotta Give, Robots, Jarhead, Chicken Little, A Fairly Odd Summer, Old School, Evan Almighty, Detention and Pain and Gain. Also played movie trailers, including Superstar, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Flushed Away, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and The Middle in "Cutting the Cord" when Brick was dancing as a bookmark.

It was used in the TV episode "Alpha" of The Flash (1990-1991), the episodes "The Big Four-Oh" and "Banks Shot" of The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, "Meet By-Product" in King of Queens, in an episode of So You Think You Can Dance, in a 2010 episode and the 2011 season premiere of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, in an episode of The Office, "Cafe Disco" in which both Andy and Kelly had a dance off, in an episode of American Dad! entitled When a Stan Loves a Woman, in the 30 Rock episode "Retreat to Move Forward", and was played twice during a 1997 episode of The Simpsons, "Homer's Phobia", as well as in "Love Is a Many Strangled Thing." The song is also sung by King Julien in the movie, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.

The track opens Episode 4 of The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story, where through a flashback scene O. J. Simpson's former party lifestyle (alongside Robert Kardashian) is contrasted with his current cell conditions.

It appears in a 2016 TV commercial for Applebee's, as well as a 2015 commercial for Target, and a 2017 commercial for Fabletics. The song was slightly rewritten for a 1999 Pringles commercial.

The song and video were parodied in the 1994 hip-hop mockumentary, Fear of a Black Hat as "Come and Pet the P.U.S.S.Y." — a solo single for rapper Ice Cold (Rusty Cundieff) — as well as being included on the film's soundtrack album.

According to the 2017 "Ken's New Intern" episode of Dr. Ken, the character Damona Watkins sang the vocal "Everybody Dance Now".

Appears in NBA 2K18 soundtrack.

Music video
The video was directed by Marcus Nispel and featured dancers performing in front of a white back drop. Zelma Davis lip-synchs to the recorded vocals of Martha Wash. A short clip of Double Dutch is shown near the end.

Track listings
CD single
 * 1) "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" (radio version) – 4:06
 * 2) "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" (in your face mix instrumental) – 4:54

7" single 12" maxi
 * 1) "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" (radio version) – 4:06
 * 2) "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" (in your face mix instrumental) – 4:54
 * 1) "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" (the slammin' vocal club mix) – 6:50
 * 2) "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" (Clivillés & Cole DJ's choice mix) – 5:00
 * 3) "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" (the master mix instrumental) – 4:54

Cover versions

 * "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" was covered in a remixed version by French DJ Bob Sinclar's 2006 song "Rock This Party (Everybody Dance Now)" which became a huge hit in many countries.
 * Norwegian band Combichrist have also done an EBM remix for the compilation Das Bunker (Choice of a New Generation).
 * In 2011, Ivi Adamou and rapper Midenistis performed a cover version at the annual Mad Video Music Awards.
 * In 2012, UK grime artist Skepta sampled the song in his single "Make Peace Not War".
 * King Julien (voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen) performed the song in the 2012 film Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. Danny Jacobs covered the song for the soundtrack, replacing Baron Cohen.
 * Panamanian reggaeton artist Aldo Ranks sampled the song in "Mueve Mami".
 * In 2012, Justice Crew and Bonnie Anderson recorded a version of "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" to promote the Australian reality television series, Everybody Dance Now. It was released as a digital download on August 3, 2012. The lyric video was uploaded onto Justice Crew's VEVO account on August 17, 2012. Despite the promotion on Network Ten, the song did not chart in Australia.