Performed by: The Beatles
Written by: John Lennon; Paul Mccartney
Credits: Lennon, John (Songwriter); Mccartney, Paul (Songwriter); SONY BEATLES LTD (Publisher); SONY/ATV TUNES LLC (Publisher)
I Feel Fine
| Lyrics: I Feel Fine |
| Wikipedia: I Feel Fine |
For the EP by Black Lab, see I Feel Fine (album).
| "I Feel Fine" | ||||
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| Single by The Beatles | ||||
| B-side | "She's a Woman" | |||
| Released | 23 November 1964 (US) 27 November 1964 (UK) |
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| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | 18 October 1964 Abbey Road Studios, London |
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| Genre | Rock and roll | |||
| Length | 2:18 (stereo version) 2:20 (untrimmed stereo version) 2:25 (mono version) |
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| Label | Capitol 5222 (US) Parlophone R5160 (UK) |
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| Writer(s) | Lennon/McCartney | |||
| Producer | George Martin | |||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA)[1] | |||
| The Beatles singles chronology | ||||
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"I Feel Fine" is a riff-driven rock song written primarily by John Lennon[2] (credited to Lennon/McCartney) and released in 1964 by the Beatles as the A-side of their eighth UK single. The single reached the top of the UK charts on 12 December of that year, displacing The Rolling Stones' "Little Red Rooster," and remained there for five weeks. It also reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1964. The B-side was "She's a Woman".
"I Feel Fine" was the first of six number one songs in a row on the American charts, a record at the time.[citation needed] The subsequent singles were "Eight Days a Week", "Ticket to Ride", "Help!", "Yesterday", and "We Can Work It Out".[3] The record was equaled by The Bee Gees in the 1970s and surpassed by Mariah Carey in the 1990s.[citation needed]
Contents |
Origin
Lennon wrote the guitar riff while in the studio recording Eight Days a Week.[4] "I wrote 'I Feel Fine' around that riff going on in the background," he recalled.[5] "I told them I'd write a song specially for the riff. So they said, 'Yes. You go away and do that,' knowing that we'd almost finished the album [Beatles for Sale]. Anyway, going into the studio one morning, I said to Ringo, 'I've written this song but it's lousy.' But we tried it, complete with riff, and it sounded like an A side, so we decided to release it just like that."[5] George Harrison said that Lennon's riff was influenced by a riff in "Watch Your Step", a 1961 release written and performed by Bobby Parker[5] and covered by The Beatles in concerts during 1961 and 1962.
Paul McCartney said the drums on "I Feel Fine" were inspired by Ray Charles's "What'd I Say".[2]
At the time of the song's recording, The Beatles, having mastered the studio basics, had begun to explore new sources of inspiration in noises previously eliminated as mistakes (electronic goofs, twisted tapes, talkback). "I Feel Fine" marks the earliest example of the use of feedback as a recording effect. Artists such as Jimi Hendrix, The Kinks, and The Who used feedback, but Lennon remained proud of the fact that The Beatles were the first group to actually put it on vinyl.[6]
Structure
The intro to "I Feel Fine" starts with a single, percussive (yet pure-sounding) note (a high "A" harmonic) played on McCartney's Hofner bass guitar that sustains, perhaps beyond any song previously recorded. It is then transformed and distorted via feedback. According to McCartney, "John had a semi-acoustic Gibson guitar. It had a pick-up on it so it could be amplified... We were just about to walk away to listen to a take when John leaned his guitar against the amp. I can still see him doing it... it went, 'Nnnnnnwahhhhh!" And we went, 'What's that? Voodoo!' 'No, it's feedback.' Wow, it's a great sound!' George Martin was there so we said, 'Can we have that on the record?' 'Well, I suppose we could, we could edit it on the front.' It was a found object, an accident caused by leaning the guitar against the amp."[2]
While sounding very much like an Electric guitar, Lennon played it on an acoustic (a Gibson model J-160E),[7] employing the guitar's onboard pickup and 1960s sound effect devices to make the acoustic guitar sound more electronic. The intro riff around a D major chord progresses to a C, then a G, where the G major vocals begin. Just before the coda, Lennon's intro riff (or ostinato), is repeated with a bright sound by George Harrison on electric guitar (a Gretsch Tennessean),[7] followed by the more electric sound of John on amped acoustic.[6][7][8][9]
Other releases
In the US, the song was released on their Capitol album Beatles '65, and is presented in a duophonic mix featuring a layer of reverb added by executive Dave Dexter, Jr..
In the UK, the song was released on the LP format on A Collection of Beatles Oldies. A true stereo version can be found on the Past Masters Vol 1 and Beatles 1 CDs.
There is also another stereo version that sounds the same, but with whispering at the very beginning which appears on the original release of "1962-1966".
Personnel
- John Lennon – double-tracked vocal, lead/rhythm guitar
- Paul McCartney – harmony vocal, bass
- George Harrison – harmony vocal, lead/rhythm guitar
- Ringo Starr – drums
- Personnel per Ian MacDonald[10]
Cover versions
- In 1967, Alma Cogan released a version on her album Alma.
- In 1988, Sweethearts of the Rodeo released a Country version as a single.
- In 1998, The Punkles did a Punk version on their first album, The Punkles.
- In 2002, Take That included "I Feel Fine" in their "Beatles Medley".
- In 2003, Curtis Stigers did a ballad version on his album You Inspire Me.
- In 2005, Les Fradkin released an instrumental version on his album While My Guitar Only Plays.
Notes
- ^ RIAA 2009.
- ^ a b c Miles 1997, p. 172.
- ^ Wallgren 1982, pp. 38–45.
- ^ MacDonald 2005, p. 36.
- ^ a b c The Beatles, p. 160.
- ^ a b Beatles Interview Database 2009.
- ^ a b c Babiuk 2002, pp. 146–147.
- ^ Leanord 1993.
- ^ Emerick & Massey 2006, pp. 94–95.
- ^ MacDonald 2005, p. 136.
References
- Babiuk, Andy (2002). Beatles Gear: All the Fab Four's Instruments, from Stage to Studio (Revised ed.). San Francisco: Backbeat Books. ISBN 0-87930-731-5.
- The Beatles (2000). The Beatles Anthology. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-2684-8.
- "Beatles For Sale". Beatles Interview Database. http://www.beatlesinterviews.org/dba04sale.html. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
- Emerick, Geoff; Massey, Howard (2006). Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 1-592-40179-1.
- Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation, ed (1993). The Beatles - Complete Scores. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0-7935-1832-6.
- MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-844-13828-3.
- Miles, Barry (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0-8050-5249-6.
- "RIAA Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - The Beatles Gold Singles". Recording Industry Association of America. http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=The%20Beatles&format=SINGLE&awardDescription=Platinum&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
- Wallgren, Mark (1982). The Beatles on Record. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-45682-2.
| Preceded by "Come See About Me" by The Supremes |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single December 26, 1964 (three weeks) |
Succeeded by "Come See About Me" by The Supremes |
| Preceded by "Little Red Rooster" by The Rolling Stones |
UK number one single (UK Christmas Number One single) December 10, 1964 (five weeks) |
Succeeded by "Yeh Yeh" by Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames |
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