I Feel Love
"I Feel Love" is a song by the American singer Donna Summer. Produced and co-written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, it was recorded for Summer's fifth studio album, I Remember Yesterday (1977). The album concept was to have each track evoke a different musical decade; for "I Feel Love", the team aimed to create a futuristic mood, employing a Moog synthesizer.
For other uses, see I Feel Love (disambiguation)."I Feel Love"
July 2, 1977
1976
- 5:56 (album version)
- 3:46 (7" version)
- 8:16 (12" version)
- Donna Summer
- Giorgio Moroder
- Pete Bellotte
- Giorgio Moroder
- Pete Bellotte
"I Feel Love" was released as the B-side to the single "Can't We Just Sit Down (And Talk It Over)", which reached number 20 on the US Billboard R&B chart. Two months later, the single was reissued with the sides reversed. "I Feel Love" reached number one in countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It reached number three in West Germany and number six on the US Billboard Hot 100.[1]
"I Feel Love" became popular during the disco era,[4] influencing acts such as David Bowie, Brian Eno, Kylie Minogue, the Human League and Blondie.[5] The Financial Times named it one of the most influential records, laying the foundations for electronic dance music.[6] In 2011, the Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important".[7][8] It has been covered by acts including Bronski Beat, Messiah and Sam Smith.
Composition[edit]
"I Feel Love" was the first song to combine repetitive synthesizer loops with a continuous four-on-the-floor bass drum and an off-beat hi-hat, which became a main feature of techno and house music ten years later.[2][14]
Unusually for a disco track of the era, Moroder composed the backing track and bassline before the melody. He introduced variety by altering the key at regular intervals and layering Summer's vocals.[15] Each note of the bassline is doubled by a delay effect. The unmodified bassline plays through the left channel and the slightly delayed repetition through the right, creating a flickering, strobe-like effect.[13]
"I Feel Love" is in the key of C major, with electronic dance flavor, and choruses and interludes. The album version has a length of 5:53. It was extended to 8:15 for release as a 12" maxi-single,[16] and is included on the 1989 compilation The Dance Collection: A Compilation of Twelve Inch Singles.
The song was edited to 3:45 on the 7" format, the fade-in opening sound reaching maximum volume sooner and fades out before the third verse and final choruses. This version has been included on a large number of greatest hits packages and other compilations issued by PolyGram, Mercury Records, Universal Music and others, such as 1994's Endless Summer: Greatest Hits and 2003's The Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer. A new edit of 3:20 was released on Donna Summer's first compilation album On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II.
Sales[edit]
"I Feel Love" peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the week of November 12, 1977. It reached number nine on the Soul Singles Chart in October 1977. Its 1995 remix peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play.
In the United Kingdom, "I Feel Love" peaked at the top of the UK Singles Chart in July 1977, a position it maintained for four weeks. The 1982 and 1995 remixes of the song peaked at number 21 and number eight on the UK Singles Chart respectively, and sales of these physical singles totaled 956,400.[21] According to the Official Charts Company, together with digital sales, "I Feel Love" has sold 1.07 million copies in the United Kingdom as of June 2013, making it Britain's 103rd best-selling single of all time.[22]
Elsewhere, "I Feel Love" also topped the charts in Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Italy and the Netherlands, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in Canada, West Germany, New Zealand, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, Sweden and Switzerland.[23]
Patrick Cowley remix[edit]
In 1978, disco and Hi-NRG DJ Patrick Cowley created a 15:43 remix of "I Feel Love" which became a popular "underground classic", available only for members of the Disconet remix service.[77] Cowley used loops to keep the bass-line going for extended passages of overdubbed effects and synthesiser parts.
In mid-1980, Cowley's mix was released with the title "I Feel Love / I Feel Megalove" and subtitle "The Patrick Cowley MegaMix", but only on a limited vinyl pressing by the DJ-only subscription service Disconet.[77] Since this pressing was not available to the general public for commercial sale, it became highly sought after by collectors. In 1982, it was released as a 12" single in the UK market by Casablanca, backed with an 8-minute edited version.[78] With this wider release, "I Feel Love" became a dance floor hit again, five years after its debut. A further-edited 7" single reached number 21 on the UK Singles Chart.
The Patrick Cowley mix was out of print until it was released on the bonus disc of the 2003 UK edition of The Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer and the Ben Liebrand compilation album Grand 12-Inches. It also exists on the 2013 double disc I Feel Love: The Collection.
"I Feel Love (1995 Remix)"
Bronski Beat version[edit]
Bronski Beat included a medley of "I Feel Love" with "Johnny Remember Me" on their gay-themed album The Age of Consent in 1984. The album charted in many markets and went platinum in the UK and Canada, with gay anthems "Smalltown Boy" and "Why?" hitting the top 10 in the UK, Australia, Germany, France, and several other European markets, as well as being popular on U.S. dancefloors. Jimmy Somerville left Bronski Beat in 1985 and went on to have success as lead singer of The Communards and as a solo artist.
Hundreds & Thousands included two new recordings with Somerville and remixes of The Age of Consent songs; it was released in 1985. The "I Feel Love" medley was extended with an intro of a cover of Summer's "Love to Love You Baby" and John Leyton's "Johnny Remember Me" with some new vocals from Marc Almond from Soft Cell; it was released as a single that hit No. 3 in the UK.
"I Feel Love"
1992
- Kickin Studios
- Moody Studios, London
4:11
- Kickin (UK)
- WHTE LBLS/American Recordings/Warner Bros. Records (US)
- Donna Summer
- Giorgio Moroder
- Pete Bellotte
- Messiah
- Ralph P. Ruppert
November 1, 2019
4:14
- Donna Summer
- Giorgio Moroder
- Pete Bellotte