I Got You (I Feel Good)
Released October 1964
Format 7″
Recorded
May 6, 1963
Criteria Studios
Miami, FL
Genre
Soul
Length 2:44
Label King
6015
Songwriter(s) James Brown
Producer(s) James Brown
“I Got You (I Feel Good)” is a song by American singer James Brown. Recorded and released as a single in 1964, it was his highest charting song and is arguably his most well known recording.
“I Got You (I Feel Good)” is a twelve-bar blues with a brass-heavy instrumental arrangement similar to Brown’s previous hit, “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”. It also features the same emphasis “on the one” (i.e. the first beat of the measure) that characterizes Brown’s developing funk style. The lyrics have Brown exulting in how good he feels (“nice, like sugar and spice”) now that he has the one he loves, his vocals punctuated by screams and shouts. The song includes an alto sax solo by Maceo Parker.
“I Got You (I Feel Good)” developed from an earlier Brown-penned song, “I Found You”, with a nearly identical melody and lyrics. “I Found You” had been recorded by Brown’s back-up singer Yvonne Fair and released as a single (King 5594) in 1962, with little success.
In 1964, Brown recorded an early version of “I Got You (I Feel Good)” with a different arrangement, including a stuttering rhythm and prominent baritone sax line, under the title “I Got You”. This version appeared on the Smash Records album Out of Sight and in the 1965 film Ski Party, in which Brown lip synchs his performance. It was intended for a single release but was withdrawn due to a court order from King Records, with whom Brown was involved in a contract dispute.
Personnel
James Brown — vocals
with the James Brown Orchestra:
Ron Tooley — trumpet
Joe Dupars — trumpet
Levi Rasbury — trombone
Mike Ridley — trumpet
Nat Jones — alto saxophone, Hammond organ
St. Clair Pinckney — tenor saxophone
Eldee Williams — tenor saxophone
Al “Brisco” Clark — tenor saxophone
Maceo Parker — alto saxophone
Jimmy Nolen — Electric guitar
David “Hooks” Williams — bass
Melvin Parker — drums
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