"I Got You (I Feel Good)" | ||||
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Single by James Brown and the Famous Flames | ||||
from the album I Got You (I Feel Good) | ||||
B-side | "I Can't Help It (I Just Do-Do-Do)" | |||
Released | October 1965 | |||
Recorded | May 6, 1965 [1] [2] | |||
Studio | Criteria Studios, Miami | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:44 | |||
Label | King 6015 | |||
Songwriter(s) | James Brown | |||
Producer(s) | James Brown | |||
James Brown and the Famous Flames singles chronology | ||||
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Visualizer video | ||||
"James Brown - I Got You (I Feel Good) (Visualizer)" on YouTube |
"I Got You (I Feel Good)" is a song by the American singer James Brown. First recorded for the 1964 album Out of Sight and then released in an alternate take as a single in 1965 and included on the compilation album of the same name, it was his highest-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 and is arguably his best-known recording. In 2013, the 1965 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. [3]
"I Got You (I Feel Good)" is a twelve-bar blues with a brass-heavy instrumental arrangement similar to James 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.
"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. [4] [5]
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 and the Famous Flames appear and lip sync a performance of the song. The film was released on June 30, 1965. It was intended for a single release but was withdrawn due to a court order from King Records, with whom Brown was involved in a contract dispute. [6]
In 1965, after visiting Criteria Studios in Miami and being impressed by the sound of the studio's custom recording console, King Records owner Syd Nathan booked a recording session for Brown, during which he recorded the version of "I Got You (I Feel Good)" released by the label as a single. [7]
The song entered the Billboard charts on November 13, 1965 following an October release, and reached number three on December 18. [8] Of Brown's 91 hits to reach the Billboard Hot 100, "I Got You (I Feel Good)" is Brown's highest-charting song. 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. [8] 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. The song is played at the Zentralstadion whenever RB Leipzig scores a goal.
Cash Box described it as a "rhythmic, funky ode about a real lucky guy who wants nothing more than to be near his gal." [9]
In 2000, "I Got You (I Feel Good)" reached No. 21 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs in Rock and Roll and No. 75 on VH1's 100 Greatest Dance Songs, one of only seven songs to make both lists. In 2004, "I Got You (I Feel Good)" was ranked No. 78 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
with the James Brown Orchestra:
Year | Chart | Peak position |
---|---|---|
1965 | US Billboard Hot 100 [10] | 3 |
US Billboard Rhythm and Blues Singles [8] | 1 | |
UK Singles (OCC) [11] | 29 | |
1992 | Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [12] | 49 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Italy (FIMI) [13] | Gold | 50,000‡ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [14] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
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).
Brown re-recorded the song for his 1975 album Sex Machine Today . This version was featured in the 1992 film White Men Can't Jump , and the video games Rock Band 3 (2010) and Don King Presents: Prizefighter (2008).
In 1992, producer and remixer Paul Dakeyne released a 12" 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.
During the late 1980's through the mid 1990's, the San Francisco Giants used the song in their publicity campaigns.
The song was used in an animation test for the 2001 film Shrek in 1996, though the clip was considered lost media until 2023. [15]
The song is featured in the 2010 video game Just Dance 2 . [16]
"Funky Drummer" is a single released by James Brown in 1970. Its drum break, improvised by Clyde Stubblefield, is one of the most frequently sampled music recordings.
"In the Midnight Hour" is a song originally performed by Wilson Pickett in 1965 and released on his 1965 album of the same name, also appearing on the 1966 album The Exciting Wilson Pickett. The song was composed by Pickett and Steve Cropper at the historic Lorraine Motel in Memphis, later the site of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Pickett's first hit on Atlantic Records, it reached number one on the R&B charts and peaked at number 21 on the pop charts.
"Please, Please, Please" is a rhythm and blues song performed by James Brown and the Famous Flames. Written by Brown and Johnny Terry and released as a single on Federal Records in 1956, it reached No. 6 on the R&B charts. The group's debut recording and first chart hit, it has come to be recognized as their signature song.
"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" is a song written and recorded by James Brown. Released as a two-part single in 1965, it was Brown's first song to reach the Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten, peaking at number eight, and was a number-one R&B hit, topping the charts for eight weeks. It won Brown his first Grammy Award, for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording.
"Soul Power" is a song by James Brown. Brown recorded it with the original J.B.'s and it was released as a three-part single in 1971. Like "Get Up Sex Machine" and other hits from this period it features backing vocals by Bobby Byrd. It charted #3 R&B and #29 Pop.
"It's a Man's Man's Man's World" is a song written by James Brown and Betty Jean Newsome. Brown recorded it on February 16, 1966, in a New York City studio and released it as a single later that year. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its title is a word play on the 1963 comedy film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
"Cold Sweat" is a song performed by James Brown and written with his bandleader Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis. Brown recorded it in May 1967. An edited version of "Cold Sweat" released as a two-part single on King Records was a No. 1 R&B hit, and reached number seven on the Pop Singles chart. The complete recording, more than seven minutes long, was included on an album of the same name.
"Get Up Sex Machine" is a funk song recorded by James Brown with Bobby Byrd on backing vocals. Released as a two-part single in 1970, it was a no. 2 R&B hit and reached no. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Mother Popcorn (You Got to Have a Mother for Me)" is a song recorded by James Brown and released as a two-part single in 1969. A #1 R&B and #11 Pop hit, it was the highest-charting of a series of recordings inspired by the popular dance the Popcorn which Brown made that year, including "The Popcorn", "Lowdown Popcorn", and "Let a Man Come In and Do the Popcorn". The "mother" of the song's title was, in the words of biographer RJ Smith, "[Brown's] honorific for a big butt".
"Hot Pants (She Got to Use What She Got to Get What She Wants)" is a 1971 song by American singer James Brown, released as a single on his People Records label (then distributed by King Records) in July of that year with "Pt. 1" on the A-side and "Pt. 2 and 3" on the B-side. It was a number-one hit on the Billboard R&B chart, and reached number fifteen on the Hot 100 and number ten on the Cashbox magazine charts. "Hot Pants" was Brown's final release under King's purview before he and the People label moved to Polydor Records.
"Get Up Offa That Thing" is a song written and performed by James Brown. It was released in 1976 as a two-part single. It reached #4 on the R&B chart, briefly returning Brown to the Top Ten after a year's absence, and #45 on the Billboard Hot 100. Thanks to its chart success, the song became Brown's biggest hit of the late 1970s. The song's lyrics urge listeners to "Get up offa that thing / and dance 'til you feel better." Due to his troubles with the IRS for failure to pay back taxes, Brown credited authorship of the song to his wife Deidre and their daughters, Deanna and Yamma Brown.
"Get on the Good Foot" is a funk song performed by James Brown. It was released in 1972 as a two-part single that charted #1 R&B and #18 Pop. It also appeared on an album of the same name released that year. Partly due to the unwillingness of Brown's record labels to certify sales of his previous hits, "Get on the Good Foot" was his first gold record. Billboard ranked it as the No. 99 song for 1972.
"I Got the Feelin'" is a funk song by James Brown. Released as a single in 1968, it reached No. 1 on the R&B chart and #6 on the pop chart. It also appeared on a 1968 album of the same name.
"Doing It to Death", also known as "Gonna Have a Funky Good Time", is a funk song recorded by The J.B.'s featuring James Brown. A 10-minute, two-part version of "Doing It to Death" was included on a J.B.'s album of the same name. The complete, unedited and nearly 13-minute-long original recording of the song was first issued on the 1995 J.B.'s compilation Funky Good Time: The Anthology. Performances of the song also appear on the albums Live at Chastain Park and Live at the Apollo 1995.
"Lost Someone" is a song recorded by James Brown in 1961. It was written by Brown and Famous Flames members Bobby Byrd and Baby Lloyd Stallworth. Like "Please, Please, Please" before it, the song's lyrics combine a lament for lost love with a plea for forgiveness. The single was a #2 R&B hit and reached #48 on the pop chart. According to Brown, "Lost Someone" is based on the chord changes of the Conway Twitty song "It's Only Make Believe". Although Brown's vocal group, The Famous Flames did not actually sing on this tune, two of them, Byrd and Stallworth, co-wrote it with Brown, and Byrd played organ on the record, making it, in effect, a James Brown/Famous Flames recording.
"Out of Sight" is a funk song recorded by James Brown in 1964 featured on the album of the same name. A twelve-bar blues written by Brown under the pseudonym "Ted Wright", the stuttering, staccato dance rhythms and blasting horn section riffs of its instrumental arrangement were an important evolutionary step in the development of funk music.
Stompin' at the Savoy – Live is an album by American R&B/funk band Rufus with singer Chaka Khan, released on the Warner Bros. Records label in 1983.
I Got You (I Feel Good) is a compilation album by American musician James Brown. It consists primarily of songs released on previous studio albums, including an alternate take of the title track, as well as songs released on singles, such as "Night Train", "I Can't Help It (I Just Do-Do-Do)", and "Suds". The album was released on January 1, 1966. Brown's vocal group, The Famous Flames—Bobby Byrd, Bobby Bennett, and Lloyd Stallworth—can be heard on the previously released songs "Think" and "Good Good Lovin'"; Byrd and Stallworth co-wrote but did not sing on the previously-released "Lost Someone".
Life on Planet Groove is a live album by Maceo Parker, released in 1992. It was recorded in concert at the club Stadtgarten in Cologne, Germany.
"Get It Together" is a song performed by James Brown. Released in October 1967 as a two-part single, it charted #11 R&B and #40 Pop. Both parts also appeared on the album I Can't Stand Myself When You Touch Me. Donald A. Guarisco of Allmusic described the song as "a taut, minimalist tune that combines soulful but frantically paced verse melodies with a bubbling, two-note staccato chorus."