I Feel Fine

Name	I Feel Fine
Writer	Lennon/McCartney
Cover	05_ifeelfine.jpg
Artist	The Beatles
B-side	"She's a Woman"
Released	23 November 1964 (US)27 November 1964 (UK)
Recorded	18 October 1964EMI Studios, London
Format	7"
Genre	Rock and roll
Length	2:18 (stereo version)2:20 (untrimmed stereo version)2:25 (mono version)
Label	Capitol 5222 (US)Parlophone R5160 (UK)
Producer	George Martin
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Last single	"A Hard Day's Night"(UK-1964)—"Matchbox"(US-1964)
This single	"I Feel Fine"(1964)
Next single	"Ticket to Ride"(UK-1965)—"Eight Days a Week"(US-1965)

"I Feel Fine" is a riff-driven rock song written primarily by John Lennon (credited to Lennon/McCartney) and released in 1964 by The Beatles as the A-side of their eighth British 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. The subsequent singles were "Eight Days a Week", "Ticket to Ride", "Help!", "Yesterday", and "We Can Work It Out". The record was equaled by The Bee Gees in 1979 and surpassed by Whitney Houston in 1988.

It was also the first Beatles single to be released almost concurrently in the US and the UK.

Origin

Lennon wrote the guitar riff while in the studio recording "Eight Days a Week". "I wrote 'I Feel Fine' around that riff going on in the background," he recalled. "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." John Lennon said that the riff was influenced by a riff in "Watch Your Step", a 1961 release written and performed by Bobby Parker 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".

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.

Structure

The intro to "I Feel Fine" starts with a single, percussive (yet pure-sounding) feedback note produced by plucking the A-note on McCartney's bass guitar, which was picked up on Lennon's semi-acoustic guitar. This was the very first use of feedback on a rock record. 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."

While sounding very much like an electric guitar, Lennon played it on an acoustic (a Gibson model J-160E), 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), followed by the more electric sound of John on amped acoustic.

Other releases

In the United States, 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.. This was on the stereo version of the album. The mono mix- released as a single on Capitol- features an exclusive mix with added reverb and a shorter fade as created by Beatles producer George Martin.

In the United Kingdom, 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

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, Westlife included the song in their The Number Ones Tour set list.

In 2005, Les Fradkin released an instrumental version on his album While My Guitar Only Plays.

Notes

References

Category:1964 singles Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Category:Number-one singles in Australia Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles Category:Number-one singles in Norway Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Category:Parlophone singles Category:Songs produced by George Martin Category:The Beatles songs Category:Songs written by Lennon/McCartney Category:Chet Atkins songs Category:Sweethearts of the Rodeo songs Category:English-language songs