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I Feel for You
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Wikipedia article
"'I Feel for You'" is a song written by American musician Prince that originally appeared on his 1979 self-titled album. The most successful and best-known version was recorded by R&B singer Chaka Khan and appeared on her 1984 album of the same name. It became the recipient of two Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song (with Prince as its songwriter) and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for Khan.
Background and other versions
Prince originally wrote "I Feel For You" and his hit single "I Wanna Be Your Lover" for musician Patrice Rushen, but she turned down both songs. Prince subsequently recorded them for his eponymous second album, which was released in October 1979. For the song, Prince uses a falsetto vocal with the melody range between C3 and D5.
The Pointer Sisters recorded the song in 1982 on their album 'So Excited!', and Rebbie Jackson recorded it for her 1984 debut album 'Centipede'. In 1993, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake sang this song on 'The Mickey Mouse Club'.
In October 2019, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the album 'Prince', the Prince Estate and Warner Records released a previously unheard solo acoustic demo recording of the song, with Prince also performing acoustic guitar. The track became available on streaming services and as a limited-run 7 vinyl single which sold out.
Chaka Khan version
{{Infobox song
| name = I Feel for You
| cover = Chaka Khan - I Feel for You.JPG
| alt =
| caption = Artwork for 7-inch vinyl edition, also used for 12-inch edition with different titling layout
| type = single
| artist = Chaka Khan
| album = I Feel for You
| B-side = Chinatown
| released = 1984
| recorded = 1984
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
* Synth-funk
* Synth-pop
* hip hop
* R&B
| length =
* 5:46 (album version)
* 4:03 (single version)
| label = Warner Bros.
| writer = Prince
| producer = Arif Mardin
| chronology = Chaka Khan
| prev_title = Ain't Nobody
| prev_year = 1983
| next_title = This Is My Night
| next_year = 1985
| misc =
}}
Chaka Khan's version of "'I Feel for You'" featured a supporting cast including rapping from Melle Mel (of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five); guitar, drum programming, bass guitar, keyboards and arrangement by Reggie Griffin; bass synthesizer and programming by The System's David Frank using an Oberheim DSX sequencer, which was connected to his Minimoog via CV and gate; and chromatic harmonica playing by Stevie Wonder. The song also uses vocal samples from Wonder's song "Fingertips" (1963). The repetition of Khan's name by Melle Mel at the beginning of the song was a mistake made by producer Arif Mardin, who then decided to keep it.
This version of the song sold more than one million copies in the US and UK, and it helped to relaunch Khan's career. The song hit No. 1 on the 'Cash Box' singles chart and peaked at No. 3 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 chart from the weeks of November 24, 1984 to December 8, 1984, prevented by further chart movement by Prince's "Purple Rain" and Wham!'s massive hit "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go". The song remained on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 for 26 weeks and became one of 'Billboard's five biggest pop songs of the year for 1985. The single reached No. 1 on both the US dance and R&B charts in late 1984, remaining atop both for three weeks each. In addition, the song also reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, remaining there for three weeks from November 425, 1984. 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.
Khan's version of the song is written in the key of G major with a tempo of 125 beats per minute in common time. Khan's vocals span from D4 to A5 in the song.
Personnel
* Chaka Khan lead vocals, backing vocals* Steve Ferrone drums
* David Frank keyboards, synthesizer, programming
* Philippe Saisse keyboards, synthesizer, programming
* Robbie Buchanan keyboards, synthesizer, programming
* Reggie Griffin guitar, bass, keyboards, synthesizer, drum machine, programming and arrangement
* Stevie Wonder chromatic harmonica
* Grandmaster Melle Mel vocals
*Mark Williamson - vocals
Music video
The first version of the music video for Khan's song featured her working in a club with female dancers. As rap music and breakdancing were gaining popularity in mainstream pop culture at the time, the song was released and proved a success, so another version of the video, in an inner-city courtyard setting, was created. It featured Khan with a disc jockey and break dancers Shabba Doo, Boogaloo Shrimp, Bruno Falcon and Ana Snchez, all of whom appeared in the movie 'Breakin'. A remixed version of the video was created to match the 12" vinyl version of the single.Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications and sales
See also
*List of number-one dance hits (United States)
References
Category:1979 songs
Category:1984 singles
Category:Prince (musician) songs
Category:Chaka Khan songs
Category:The Pointer Sisters songs
Category:Songs written by Prince (musician)
Category:Cashbox number-one singles
Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Category:Song recordings produced by Prince (musician)
Category:Warner Records singles
Category:Dance-pop songs
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