Something He Can Feel

"Something He Can Feel" is a song composed by Curtis Mayfield for the 1976 motion picture Sparkle. The song, a love ballad in a Chicago-/Philly-soul style, became a number-one hit on the Billboard's R&B singles chart in the United States twice with two separate recordings: a 1976 version by Aretha Franklin from the film's soundtrack (see 1976 in music), and a 1992 cover by girl group En Vogue (see 1992 in music).

Aretha Franklin version

In the original 1976 version of the film Sparkle, the song is performed by "Sister & the Sisters", with Lonette McKee on lead vocal, and Irene Cara and Dwan Smith on backing vocals.

The version of "Something He Can Feel" present on the film's soundtrack album replaces the vocal tracks with those of Aretha Franklin and the Kitty Haywood Singers, with the instrumental tracks remaining the same. Sparkle revolves around the lives of the members of Sister & the Sisters, a 1960s Motown-esque girl group, and "Something He Can Feel" is present in the film as part of their repertoire. Franklin's recording of the song was issued as the first single from the album, and became a number-one hit on Billboard's Hot Soul Singles chart, peaking at number twenty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Aretha's only pop Top 40 hit during the second half of the 1970s.^[1]

Sparkle would be remade in 2012, as would "Something He Can Feel", this time performed by Carmen Ejogo on lead vocal with Jordin Sparks and Tika Sumpter on backing vocals. In an allusion to Aretha Franklin's version of the song and soundtrack, Sister & Her Sisters perform "Something He Can Feel" as part of a live TV performance headlined by Franklin.

Charts

Chart (1976)	Peak position
Billboard Hot 100	28
Billboard Hot Soul Singles	1

Afrika Bambaataa feat. Boy George version

"Something He Can Feel"
Single by Afrika Bambattaa and Family
from the album The Light
Released	1988 (US)
Genre	Soul
Length	5:52
Label	Parlophone
Writer(s)	Curtis Mayfield

In 1988, a rap and Hip Hop artist, Afrika Bambaataa recorded a cover version of "Something He Can Feel". The cover, released on the album, The light, a collaboration album with lead vocals on this song by Boy George.

En Vogue version

"Giving Him Something He Can Feel"

Single by En Vogue

from the album Funky Divas

Released

June 11, 1992 (US)^[2]

Format

CD single, Cassette single

Recorded

Fall 1991—January 1992^[3]

Genre

Soul

Length

3:57

Thomas McElroy & Denzil Foster

En Vogue singles chronology

"My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)"
(1992)

"Giving Him Something He Can Feel"
(1992)

"Free Your Mind"
(1992)

Fifteen years after Sparkle was released, R&B group En Vogue recorded a cover version of "Something He Can Feel" (issued as "Giving Him Something He Can Feel"), produced by Thomas McElroy & Denzil Foster. The En Vogue cover, released as the second single from the group's second album, Funky Divas, was also a successful hit, with lead vocals by Dawn Robinson. It peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, and became the fifth En Vogue single in two years to peak at number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.^[4] This song is led entirely by Dawn Robinson.

Cover versions

Nichole Cordova performed the En Vogue's version of "Something He Can Feel" on the season finale of Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious where she became the first member of Girlicious.^[5] She received high praise from the judges.^[5]

Charts

Chart (1992)	Peak position^[6]
Australia (ARIA Singles Chart)^[7]	84
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	6
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Top 40	31
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	32^[8]

Year-end charts

Chart (1992)	Position
US Billboard Hot 100^[9]	29

References

↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 216.
↑ "En Vogue - Giving Him Something He Can Feel - Amazon.com Music". Retrieved January 26, 2016.
↑ "Don't think I can make it. By Denzil Foster, Thomas McElroy, Will Townsend, Pharoah Davis, Warren Robinson & Andre Zachary". Faqs.org. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 189.
1 2 "Pussycat Dolls Present Girlicious: Season Finale "You Are Girlicious" Recap". Buddy TV. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
↑ Billboard Charts.Billboard.com
↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
↑ Whitburn, Joel. Top Adult Contemporary 1961-2001. "En Vogue," p. 87. Record Research, 2002.
↑ "Billboard Top 100 - 1992". Retrieved 2010-07-30.

External links

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Sparkle

1976 film 1976 soundtrack 2012 film 2012 soundtrack "Something He Can Feel"

Aretha Franklin

Studio albums

Columbia	Aretha (1961) The Electrifying Aretha Franklin (1962) The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin (1962) Laughing on the Outside (1963) Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington (1964) Runnin' Out of Fools (1964) Yeah!!! (1965) Soul Sister (1966) Take It Like You Give It (1967) Take a Look (1967) Soft and Beautiful (1969)

Atlantic	I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967) Aretha Arrives (1967) Lady Soul (1968) Aretha Now (1968) Soul '69 (1969) This Girl's in Love with You (1970) Spirit in the Dark (1970) Young, Gifted and Black (1972) Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky) (1973) Let Me in Your Life (1974) With Everything I Feel in Me (1974) You (1975) Sparkle (1976) Sweet Passion (1977) Almighty Fire (1978) La Diva (1979)

Arista	Aretha (1980) Love All the Hurt Away (1981) Jump to It (1982) Get It Right (1983) Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985) Aretha (1986) Through the Storm (1989) What You See Is What You Sweat (1991) A Rose Is Still a Rose (1998) So Damn Happy (2003)

Other	Songs of Faith (1956) This Christmas, Aretha (2008) Aretha: A Woman Falling Out of Love (2011) Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics (2014)

Live albums

Aretha in Paris (1968)
Aretha Live at Fillmore West (1971)
Amazing Grace (1972)
One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism (1987)
Oh Me Oh My: Aretha Live in Philly, 1972 (2007)

Compilation albums

Aretha's Gold (1969)
Aretha's Greatest Hits (1971)
The Best of Aretha Franklin (1973)
Aretha Sings the Blues (1980)
Greatest Hits: 1980–1994 (1994)
Greatest Hits (1998)
Aretha's Best (2001)
Rare & Unreleased Recordings from the Golden Reign of the Queen of Soul (2007)
Jewels in the Crown: All-Star Duets with the Queen (2007)
A Deeper Love: The Best of Aretha Franklin (2009)
The Great American Songbook (2011)
Knew You Were Waiting: The Best of Aretha Franklin (1980-1998) (2012)

Box sets

Queen of Soul: The Atlantic Recordings (1992/2014)
Take A Look: Aretha Franklin Complete on Columbia (2011)

Singles

"Precious Lord (Part 1)" (1959)
"Today I Sing the Blues" (1960)
"Won't Be Long" (1960)
"Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" (1961)
"Operation Heartbreak" (1961)
"I Surrender, Dear" (1962)
"Try a Little Tenderness" (1962)
"Say It Isn't So" (1963)
"Skylark" (1963)
"The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" (1964)
"One Step Ahead" (1965)
"You Made Me Love You" (1965)
"Mockingbird" (1967)
"I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" (1967)
"Respect" (1967)
"Baby I Love You" (1967)
"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (1967)
"Do Right Woman, Do Right Man"
"Chain of Fools" (1967)
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (1968)
"(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone" (1968)
"Think" (1968)
"You Send Me" (1968)
"The House That Jack Built" (1968)
"I Say a Little Prayer" (1968)
"See Saw" (1968)
"My Song" (1968)
"The Weight" (1969)
"Tracks of My Tears" (1969)
"I Can't See Myself Leaving You" (1969)
"Gentle on My Mind" (1969)
"Share Your Love with Me" (1969)
"Eleanor Rigby" (1969)
"Call Me" (1970)
"Son of a Preacher Man" (1970)
"Spirit in the Dark" (1970)
"The Thrill Is Gone" (1970)
"Don't Play That Song" (1970)
"Border Song (Holy Moses)" (1970)
"You're All I Need to Get By" (1971)
"Bridge over Troubled Water" (1971)
"Spanish Harlem" (1971)
"Rock Steady" (1971)
"Day Dreaming" (1972)
"Wholy Holy" (1972)
"Angel" (1973)
"Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" (1973)
"I'm in Love" (1974)
"Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" (1974)
"Something He Can Feel" (1976)
"Break It to Me Gently" (1977)
"What a Fool Believes" (1981)
"It's My Turn" (1981)
"Jump to It" (1982)
"Get It Right" (1983)
"Freeway of Love" (1985)
"Who's Zoomin' Who" (1985)
"Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" (1985)
"Jumpin' Jack Flash" (1986)
"Jimmy Lee" (1986)
"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (1987)
"Oh Happy Day" (1988)
"Gimme Your Love" (1989)
"It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" (1989)
"Everyday People" (1991)
"Someday We'll All Be Free" (1992)
"A Deeper Love" (1993)
"A Rose Is Still a Rose" (1998)
"Here We Go Again" (1998)
"Put You Up on Game" (2007)
"Rolling in the Deep (The Aretha Version)" (2014)

Something He Can Feel

Aretha Franklin version

Charts

Afrika Bambaataa feat. Boy George version

En Vogue version

Cover versions

Charts

Year-end charts

See also

References

External links