"I Feel Fine" is a riff-driven rock song written by John Lennon^[3] (credited to Lennon–McCartney) and released in 1964 by The Beatles as the A-side of their eighth British single. The song is notable for the first use of guitar feedback on record.^{[citation needed]}

Charts[link]

The single reached the top of the British 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 for the Beatles, a record at the time. The subsequent singles were "Eight Days a Week", "Ticket to Ride", "Help!", "Yesterday" and "We Can Work It Out".^[4] The record was equalled 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[link]

Lennon wrote the guitar riff while in the studio recording "Eight Days a Week".^[5] "I wrote 'I Feel Fine' around that riff going on in the background", he recalled.^[6] "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."

Lennon loved technology, and when the feedback was coincidentally recorded during the I Feel Fine session, liked the sound of it and placed it at the beginning of the song.^[6] John Lennon said that the riff was influenced by a riff in "Watch Your Step", a 1961 release written and performed by Bobby Parker^[6] 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".^[3]

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 (such as electronic goofs, twisted tapes, and talkback). "I Feel Fine" marks the earliest example of the use of feedback as a recording effect. Artists such as The Kinks and The Who had already used feedback live, but Lennon remained proud of the fact that the Beatles were the first group to actually put it on vinyl.^[7]

Structure[link]

The intro to "I Feel Fine" starts with a single, percussive (yet pure-sounding) feedback note produced by plucking the A string on Lennon's 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 pickup 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."^[3]

Although it sounded very much like an electric guitar, Lennon actually played it on an acoustic-electric guitar (a Gibson model J-160E),^[8] employing the guitar's onboard pickup. 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),^[8] followed by the more "electric" sound of John's amped acoustic. ^{[7][8][9][10]}

Music video[link]

Two different music videos directed by Joe McGrath were filmed.

Other releases[link]

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[link]

• John Lennon – double tracked lead vocal, lead/rhythm guitar
• Paul McCartney – harmony vocal, bass
• George Harrison – harmony vocal, lead/rhythm guitar
• Ringo Starr – drums

Personnel per Ian MacDonald^[11]

Cover versions[link]

• In 1965, The Ventures covered the song during a live set, found on the 1995 release "Live in Japan '65".
• In 1967, Alma Cogan released a version on her album Alma.
• In 1986, Queen would often play this song's signature riff during their Magic Tour.
• 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[link]

References[link]

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2010)

"Feel Fine!" is Mai Kuraki's 12th single, released on April 24, 2002

Track listing[link]

All lyrics written by Mai Kuraki. 

Charts[link]

[edit] Oricon Sales Chart

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mai Kuraki Official Website

Sweethearts of the Rodeo is an American country music duo composed of sisters Janis Oliver (guitar, vocals) and Kristine Oliver (vocals). The duo recorded for Columbia Records between 1986 and 1991, releasing four albums and twelve singles for the label. In the 1990s, they also recorded two albums for Sugar Hill Records. The duo reached Top Ten on the Hot Country Songs charts seven times in the late 1980s, with its highest singles being the #4 hits "Midnight Girl/Sunset Town" and "Chains of Gold," both in 1987.

Biography[link]

Janis Oliver was born March 1, 1954 (1954-03) (age 58)^[1][2][3][4] and her sister Kristine Oliver was born November 28, 1956 (1956-11-28) (age 55)^[5][6] in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, California.^[1] They were raised in Manhattan Beach, California,^[1] where they began singing while in elementary school and performed bluegrass music as the Oliver Sisters during their teenage years.^[7]

The duo later renamed itself Sweethearts of the Rodeo, taking the name from The Byrds' album Sweetheart of the Rodeo.^[1] After being discovered by Emmylou Harris, they secured slots as opening acts and backing vocalists for other artists. In 1977, the Sweethearts opened a Redondo Beach, California, show for Sundance, a group which included a then 19-year-old Vince Gill.^[1][3] In 1980, Janis married Gill, who by then was a member of Pure Prairie League,^[3] and Kristine married Leonard Arnold^[1] of the band Blue Steel.^[7] In 1983 the Gills moved to Nashville, Tennessee, followed soon after by the Arnolds, and the sisters began singing together again.^[1]

1986–1992: Columbia Records[link]

In 1985, Sweethearts of the Rodeo won the Wrangler Country Showdown talent contest and soon after signed with Columbia Records.^[1] Sweethearts of the Rodeo's first single, "Hey Doll Baby", debuted in April 1986,^[8] followed by the release their self-titled debut album.^[1] After it came the duo's first Top Ten hit at #7, "Since I Found You." The song was written by Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd, and its success helped Foster & Lloyd secure a record deal of its own.^[7] Four more singles from the album followed, including the #4 hits "Midnight Girl/Sunset Town" and "Chains of Gold," which would be their highest-charting singles.^[8]

A second album, One Time, One Night, accounted for three more Top Ten hits: "Satisfy You," "Blue to the Bone" and a cover of The Beatles' "I Feel Fine,"^[7] but its next single, "If I Never See Midnight Again," peaked at #39.^[8] Two more albums for Columbia followed (1990's Buffalo Zone and 1992's Sisters), but neither produced any major hits, and Columbia dropped the duo in 1992.^[7]

1993–present[link]

Sweethearts of the Rodeo continued to tour in the 1990s, later releasing two albums of bluegrass music on the Sugar Hill label:^[7] Rodeo Waltz in 1993 and Beautiful Lies in 1996.^[9] Janis and Kristine owned a clothing store in Franklin, Tennessee called "Gill & Arnold" for a time in the late 1990s that has since closed.^[9] Janis and Vince Gill were divorced in 1997^[8][10] and she married Roy Cummins in 2000.^[4]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Music videos[link]

References[link]