I Got You (I Feel Good)
| "I Got You (I Feel Good)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by James Brown | ||||
| from the album I Got You (I Feel Good) | ||||
| B-side | "I Can't Help It (I Just Do-Do-Do)" | |||
| Released | October 1965 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | May 6, 1965, Criteria Studios, Miami, FL | |||
| Genre | Rhythm and blues, soul, funk | |||
| Length | 2:44 | |||
| Label |
King 6015 | |||
| Writer(s) | James Brown | |||
| Producer(s) | James Brown | |||
| James Brown singles chronology | ||||
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"I Got You (I Feel Good)" is a song by James Brown. Recorded and released as a single in 1965, it was his highest charting song and is arguably his most widely known recording.
Description
"I Got You (I Feel Good)" is a twelve-bar blues with a brass-heavy instrumental arrangement similar to Brown's previous hit, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag". It also features the same emphasis "on the one" (i.e. the first beat of the measure) that characterizes Brown's developing funk style. The lyrics have Brown exulting in how good he feels ("nice, like sugar and spice") now that he has the one he loves, his vocals punctuated by screams and shouts. The song includes an alto sax solo by Maceo Parker.
Precursors
"I Got You (I Feel Good)" developed from an earlier Brown-penned song, "I Found You", with a nearly identical melody and lyrics. "I Found You" had been recorded by Brown's back-up singer Yvonne Fair and released as a single (King 5594) in 1962, with little success.[1][2]
In 1964, Brown recorded an early version of "I Got You (I Feel Good)" with a different arrangement, including a stuttering rhythm and prominent baritone sax line, under the title "I Got You". This version appeared on the Smash Records album Out of Sight and in the 1965 film Ski Party, in which Brown lip-synchs his performance. It was intended for a single release but was withdrawn due to a court order from King Records, with whom Brown was involved in a contract dispute.[3]
Reception
Of Brown's 99 hits to reach the Billboard Hot 100 (a total surpassed only by Elvis Presley, and now also by the cast of Glee), "I Got You (I Feel Good)" is Brown's highest-charting song, peaking at number three. The song remained at the top of the Billboard Rhythm and Blues Singles chart for six non-consecutive weeks, after his previous single, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", held the number-one spot for eight weeks.[4] Brown's screams at the beginning and end of the song have been sampled a number of times for hip hop and dance songs. The song has also been covered many times by other performers, and is frequently played at sporting events.
In 2000, "I Got You (I Feel Good)" reached number 21 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs in Rock and Roll and number 75 on VH1's 100 Greatest Rock and Roll Dance Songs, one of only seven songs to make both lists. In 2004, "I Got You (I Feel Good)" was ranked number 78 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
Appearances in film and television
"I Got You (I Feel Good)" has appeared in numerous film soundtracks, including The Nutty Professor; Good Morning, Vietnam; Home Alone 4; Mr. Jones; It Takes Two; Dr. Dolittle; Boat Trip; Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre; K-9; Garfield: The Movie; Exit Wounds; Ernst og lyset (Ernst and the Light); and Transformers. It has also appeared in film trailers including It Could Happen to You.
The song's television appearances include Tour of Duty episode "The Road to Long Binh", the Simpsons episode "Bart's Inner Child" (with Brown himself singing it), the Alvin and the Chipmunks episode "Kong!" (a parody of the 1976 King Kong film) as performed by Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Full House episode "The Return of Grandma", the Malcolm in the Middle episode "Morp", the Lost episode "The Greater Good", and the Miami Vice episode "Missing Hours" in which Brown made a guest appearance as a former music star-turned-con man who promotes extraterrestrial life. In the series finale of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, "I, Done", Philip Banks dances to the song on his birthday.
It was also played on NTV7, a Malaysian television channel, as it plays the song accompanied by the clips of its programmes at the start and end of the day's broadcast since its launch in 1998 until around 2006. It reflects the slogan of the channel, that is "Your Feel Good Channel". It also makes occasional appearances on Soccer Saturday when presenter and lifelong Hartlepool fan Jeff Stelling produces a doll each time winger James Brown scores, much to the mirth of the studio experts and the viewers (with some viewers being made to drink if they are playing the drinking game to accompany it).
Personnel
- James Brown — lead vocal
with the James Brown Orchestra:
- Ron Tooley — trumpet
- Joe Dupars — trumpet
- Levi Rasbury — trombone
- Mike Ridley — trumpet
- Nat Jones — alto saxophone, organ
- St. Clair Pinckney — tenor saxophone
- Eldee Williams — tenor saxophone
- Al "Brisco" Clark — tenor saxophone
- Maceo Parker — alto saxophone
- Jimmy Nolen — guitar
- Alphonso "Country" Kellum — guitar
- Bernard Odum — bass
- Melvin Parker — drums
Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | US Billboard Hot 100[5] | 3 |
| US Rhythm and Blues Singles (Billboard)[4] | 1 | |
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[6] | 29 | |
| 1992 | Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] | 49 |
Other versions
Live recordings
Brown performs the song on the live albums Live at the Garden (1967), Live at the Apollo, Volume II (1968), Soul Session Live (1989), and Live at the Apollo 1995 (1995).
1975 remake
Brown re-recorded the song for his 1975 album Sex Machine Today. This version was featured in the movie White Men Can't Jump.
Paul Dakeyne remix
In 1992 producer Paul Dakeyne released a 12" single remix of "I Got You (I Feel Good)" on FBI Records under the title " James Brown v. Dakeyne – I Got You (I Feel Good) (The Remixes)". It reached No. 72 on the UK Singles chart.
Cover versions
"I Got You (I Feel Good)" has been covered in a variety of styles by performers including Filipino actress Vilma Valera,[8] James Cotton, Joshua Redman, The Jam, James Chance and the Contortions, Bobby McFerrin, and Lucio Dalla. The Captain N: The Game Master episode "Videolympics" also featured a cover version of the song (due to legal issues, it is not included on the DVD release).
- Canadian Idol contestant Mookie Morris performed this song on Top 9 for "Rock and Roll Heaven" night (2008)
- Galician Spanish group Los Tamara recorded a version with another title: "Soy muy feliz", B-side of the "A Santiago voy" single – Zafiro (1967)[9]
- American band Three Penny Ride recorded a version for their song "R&B Triple Play" (2010)
References
- ↑ Finnis, Rob and Rounce, Tony. Booklet with CD "You Heard It Here First". Ace Records CDCHD1204. 2008.
- ↑ Leeds, Alan (1998). "Message from the Soul Sisters". In James Brown's Original Funky Divas [CD booklet]. New York: PolyGram Records.
- ↑ Leeds, Alan and Weinger, Harry (1991). "Star Time: Song by Song". In Star Time (pp. 46–53) [CD booklet]. New York: PolyGram Records.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1542-2009. Record Research. p. 84.
- ↑ "James Brown Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for James Brown. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
- ↑ "February 1966/ Archive Chart: 24 February 1966" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – James Brown – I Got You (I Feel Good)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
- ↑ "'60s Filipino pop music". Office Naps. November 27, 2006. Archived from the original on January 10, 2007.
- ↑ "A Santiago Voy / Soy Muy Feliz". LaFonoteca.
External links
| Preceded by "Ain't That Peculiar" by Marvin Gaye |
Billboard Hot R&B Singles number-one single December 4, 1965 – January 1, 1966 January 15, 1966 |
Succeeded by "A Sweet Woman Like You" by Joe Tex |