I Feel for You

"I Feel for You"
Song by Prince from the album Prince
Released	October 19, 1979
Format	CD
Recorded	1979
Genre	Rhythm and blues
Length	3:24
Label	Warner Bros.
Writer	Prince
Composer	Prince
Producer	Prince
Prince track listing
"Still Waiting" (7) "I Feel for You" (8) "It's Gonna Be Lonely" (9)

"I Feel for You"
Single by Chaka Khan
from the album I Feel for You
Released	October 12, 1984
Format	Vinyl single, picture disc
Recorded	1984
Genre	Hi-NRG, dance, electro, synthpop, funk, hip hop
Length	5:46
Label	Warner Bros
Writer(s)	Prince
Producer(s)	Arif Mardin
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Chaka Khan singles chronology
"Ain't Nobody" (1983) "I Feel for You" (1984) "This Is My Night" (1985)

"I Feel for You" is a song written by Prince that originally appeared on his 1979 self-titled album, one of two songs on that album (along with "I Wanna Be Your Lover") written as demos for Patrice Rushen, though neither appeared on any Rushen album.^[1] The most successful and well known version was recorded by female R&B singer Chaka Khan, appearing on her 1984 album, I Feel for You. Prince, as songwriter, won the 1985 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.

Chaka Khan version

Khan's version featured an all-star supporting cast, with rapping from Melle Mel 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 and chromatic harmonica playing by Stevie Wonder. The song also uses vocal samples from Wonder's "Fingertips". The repetition of Khan's name by Melle Mel at the beginning of the song was originally a mistake made by producer Arif Mardin ), who then decided to keep it.^[2]

This version of the song became a million-selling smash in the U.S. 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 in November-December 1984. 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 U.S. dance^[3] and R&B charts in late 1984, remaining atop both for three weeks each.^[4] In addition, the song also reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart.^[5] 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.

The Pointer Sisters recorded the song in 1982, two years before Khan's version was a hit, on their album So Excited!.

Rebbie Jackson recorded it for her 1984 debut album Centipede.

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 break dancing 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 Sánchez, all of whom appeared in the movie Breakin'.^[6] A remixed version of the video was created to match the 12" vinyl version of the single.

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

Charts

Chart (1984)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[7]	14
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8]	8
France (SNEP)[9]	22
Germany (Official German Charts)[10]	4
Ireland (IRMA)	1
Italy (FIMI)[11]	44
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12]	12
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13]	2
Norway (VG-lista)[14]	8
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[15]	7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[16]	6
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[5]	1
US Billboard Hot 100[17]	3

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)

References

1. McInnis, C. Liegh (November 1, 2007). "Chapter 5: 'Laying a Foundation'". The Lyrics of Prince Rogers Nelson: A Literary Look at a Creative Musical Poet, Philosopher, and Storyteller (Paperback) (Third ed.). Psychedelic Literature. p. 177. ISBN 0965577503.
2. "Arif Mardin: Tales from the Recording Studio". NPR. December 19, 2005. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
3. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 144.
4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 321.
5. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 442. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
6. "I feel for You Video - Stiefelfreund2006 - MyVideo". Myvideo.de. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
7. "Austriancharts.at – Chaka Khan – I Feel For You" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
8. "Ultratop.be – Chaka Khan – I Feel For You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
9. "Lescharts.com – Chaka Khan – I Feel For You" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
10. "Musicline.de – Chaka Khan Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
11. "Indice per Titolo: I" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
12. "Dutchcharts.nl – Chaka Khan – I Feel For You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
13. "Charts.org.nz – Chaka Khan – I Feel For You". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
14. "Norwegiancharts.com – Chaka Khan – I Feel For You". VG-lista. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
15. "Swedishcharts.com – Chaka Khan – I Feel For You". Singles Top 100. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
16. "Swisscharts.com – Chaka Khan – I Feel For You". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
17. "Chaka Khan – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Chaka Khan. Retrieved April 30, 2016.

External links

• Video on VH1 Classic website
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics