| I Feel For You | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Chaka Khan | |||||
| Released | October 1, 1984 | ||||
| Recorded | 1984 | ||||
| Genre | Funk, Hip Hop, Electronica, soul, R&B | ||||
| Length | 46:51 | ||||
| Label | Warner Bros. | ||||
| Producer | Arif Mardin, David Foster | ||||
| Chaka Khan chronology | |||||
|
|||||
| Rufus & Chaka Khan chronology | |||||
|
|||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| Boston Phoenix | (favorable)[2] |
| Robert Christgau | (C+)[3] |
| Slant | [4] |
| Yahoo! Music | (mixed)[5] |
I Feel for You is the Platinum certified fifth solo album by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan, released on the Warner Bros. Records label in 1984.
Contents |
| “ | Excellent from start to finish, this album went down in history as both a creative and a commercial success. | ” |
|
—Alex Henderson, Allmusic[6] |
||
After having balanced her two simultaneous careers as a member of the band Rufus and a solo performer during the years 1978 to 1983, which culminated with the release of the final Rufus & Chaka Khan album Stompin' at the Savoy - Live after which the band dissolved, Khan recorded the album that was to make her a pop star with mainstream chart success; 1984's "I Feel for You".
The title track, "I Feel for You" was a sample-heavy cover of a 1979 Prince track, featuring Grandmaster Melle Mel on the classic Ch-ch-ch-chaka-chaka-chaka Khan rap intro and Stevie Wonder on harmonica (and also a sample from one of his first hits, "Fingertips") and saw Khan embracing high-tech funk, rap and hip hop and stands as one of her best known songs and her biggest commercial hit, reaching #3 on the US Pop Chart, #1 on both US R&B and US Dance as well as topping the UK singles chart - and it also earned her a second consecutive Grammy Award in 1985 for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female, following "Ain't Nobody" with Rufus. Further hit singles from the album which reached #16 on Billboard's Pop Chart, #4 on R&B and also #15 on the UK albums chart were "This Is My Night" (US #60, R&B #11, US Dance #1, UK #14), "Eye To Eye" (UK #16 ) and the ballad "Through The Fire," which also reached the US R&B top ten, setting a then-record for most consecutive weeks on the Billboard R&B chart. It also rose to #60 on the Pop chart during a 19-week run on the Hot 100, and crossed over to the adult contemporary chart (US Pop #60, US R&B #15, US AC #16, UK #77). "Through the Fire" has since been sampled by Kanye West for his 2003 hit single "Through the Wire". on his debut album The College Dropout The I Feel for You album's second ballad, "Stronger Than Before" co-written by Burt Bacharach, Bruce Roberts and Carole Bayer Sager, released as the fifth single in certain territories, was later covered by among others Dionne Warwick.
"I Feel for You", "This Is My Night" and "Eye To Eye" were all released as extended 12" remixes in 1984 - these are not to be confused with the re-produced ones that later appeared on the 1989 remix compilation Life is a Dance - The Remix Project. The 1984 mixes by Arif Mardin and Russ Titelman remain unreleased on CD.
1985 saw Khan releasing two non-album singles, "(Krush Groove) Can't Stop The Street" from the movie Krush Groove (US R&B #18, UK #80) and "Own The Night", featured in the first series of Miami Vice (US Pop #57, US R&B #66).
The I Feel for You album was transferred from vinyl to CD in 1984 and remains in print.
| Preceded by "Sugar Walls" by Sheena Easton |
"This is My Night" U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single March 2, 1985 |
Succeeded by "New Attitude"/"Axel F" by Patti LaBelle/Harold Faltermeyer |
|
||||||||||||||