I Feel for You
| "I Feel for You" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by Prince from the album Prince | ||||
| Released | October 19, 1979 | |||
| Format | CD | |||
| Recorded | 1979 | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 3:24 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Writer | Prince | |||
| Composer | Prince | |||
| Producer | Prince | |||
| Prince track listing | ||||
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| "I Feel for You" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Chaka Khan | ||||
| from the album I Feel for You | ||||
| Released | October 27, 1984 | |||
| Format | Vinyl single, picture disc | |||
| Recorded | 1984 | |||
| Genre | Synthpop, R&B | |||
| Length | 5:46 4:06 (7") |
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| Label | Warner Bros | |||
| Writer(s) | Prince | |||
| Producer | Arif Mardin | |||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||
| Chaka Khan singles chronology | ||||
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"I Feel for You" is a song written by Prince that originally appeared on his 1979 self-titled album. The most successful and well known version was recorded by female R&B singer Chaka Khan, appearing on her 1984 album, I Feel for You. Prince, as songwriter, won the 1985 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.
Khan's version featured an all-star supporting cast, with rapping from Melle Mel, keyboard and guitar by The System's David Frank, and harmonica playing by Stevie Wonder. The song also uses vocal samples from Wonder's "Fingertips". The repetition of Khan's name by rapper Melle Mel at the beginning of the song was originally a mistake made by producer Arif Mardin (actually a sample of Melle Mel's song "Step Off"), who then decided to keep it.[1]
This version of the song became a million-selling smash in the U.S. and UK, and it helped to relaunch Khan's career. The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1984, matching her previous highest pop chart position from ten years prior (the 1974 hit single, "Tell Me Something Good", which she recorded with the band Rufus). The song remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for 26 weeks and became Billboard's #5 pop song of the year in 1985. The single reached #1 on both the U.S. dance[2] and R&B charts in late 1984, remaining atop both for three weeks each.[3] In addition, the song also reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart. While touring with Prince in 1998 in support of her collaborative album, Come 2 My House, Khan and Prince performed "I Feel for You" as a duet.
The keyboard break from the Prince original was used in the "Beautiful" remix of Prince's #1 1994 single "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World".
There are several lesser-known covers of the song. The Pointer Sisters recorded the song in 1982, two years before Khan's version was a hit, on their album So Excited!. Their version, however, was not a single. Rebbie Jackson also covered the song on her 1984 album, Centipede which ironically was released one week after Khan's album. On an episode of The Mickey Mouse Club, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears performed "I Feel for You".
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[edit] Music videos (Chaka Khan version)
The first version of the music video for Khan's song featured her working in a club with female dancers. As rap music and break dancing were becoming well known in mainstream pop culture at the time the song was released and started gaining popularity, the more well known video was created featuring Khan with a Disc jockey and break dancers in an inner-city courtyard setting.[4] A remixed version of the video was created to match the 12" vinyl version of the single.
[edit] Covers and Parodies
The repeating sample of Melle Mel saying "Chaka Khan" has been parodied many times. In The Simpsons episode "Brake My Wife, Please", Homer Simpson calls out "Save me Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan!!!" as his car sinks into the ocean. In Eminem's song, "Bagpipes From Baghdad", from the album Relapse, he raps, "Shucka, shucka corn, shucka corn". The 1988 Morris Minor and the Majors song, "Stutter Rap (No Sleep Til Bedtime)", features the line, "He was gonna throw a bottle, he was gonna chuck a can".
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Arif Mardin: Tales from the Recording Studio", by Michele Norris at npr.org
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 144.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 321.
- ^ music video in MyVideo.de
[edit] External links
- Video on VH1 Classic website
| Preceded by "I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder |
Billboard Hot Black Singles number-one single (Chaka Khan version) November 3, 1984 – November 17, 1984 |
Succeeded by "Cool It Now" by New Edition |
| Preceded by "Swept Away" by Diana Ross |
Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single (Chaka Khan version) October 27, 1984 - November 10, 1984 |
Succeeded by "Out of Touch" by Hall & Oates |
| Preceded by "Freedom" by Wham! |
UK number-one single (Chaka Khan version) 10 November 1984 - 24 November 1984 |
Succeeded by "I Should Have Known Better" by Jim Diamond |
| Irish Singles Chart number-one single (Chaka Khan version) 17 November 1984 - 24 November 1984 |
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| Preceded by "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham! |
Cashbox Top 100 (Chaka Khan version) December 8, 1984 |
Succeeded by "The Wild Boys" by Duran Duran |
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