"
I Feel Love" is a song by
Donna SummerLaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
, taken from her 1977
concept albumIn music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
I Remember Yesterday-Charts:AlbumSingle-Certifications:...
.
The song constituted the "future" segment of the album, which represented a stylistic progress through time. The title track of the
I Remember Yesterday album represented the 1940s, "
Love's Unkind"Love's Unkind" is a single by Donna Summer from her album, I Remember Yesterday, which combined modern disco beats with sounds of previous decades. "Love's Unkind" has stories of high school crushes and love triangles. It became one of her biggest hits in the UK, peaking at number three, while it...
" the 1950s, "Back in Love Again" the 1960s and the album concluded with the futuristic "I Feel Love". The song reached number one in the
UK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, number six on the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in the US and number nine on the Hot Soul Chart. It quickly became popular in gay dance clubs and was adopted as a
gay anthemA gay anthem is a song that has become widely popular among, or has become identified with, the LGBT community; usually with gay men. The lyrics of gay anthems are often marked with hope against the odds, pride, unity, or defiance...
. "I Feel Love" is ranked #411 on
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Production
Before "I Feel Love", most disco recordings had been backed by acoustic orchestras although all-electronic music had been produced for decades.
Giorgio MoroderHansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
's innovative production of this disco-style song, recorded with an entirely
synthesizedA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
backing track, spawned imitators in the disco genre, and was influential in the development of
technoTechno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
.
Reception
According to
David BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, then in the middle of recording of his
Berlin TrilogyThe Berlin Trilogy is a series of David Bowie albums recorded in collaboration with Brian Eno in the 1970s. The three albums are Low, "Heroes" and Lodger....
with
Brian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, its impact on the genre's direction was recognized early on:
The album version lasts for almost six minutes. It was extended for release as a 12" maxi-single, the eight-minute version included on the 1989 compilation
The Dance Collection: A Compilation of Twelve Inch SinglesThe Dance Collection is a compilation album by Donna Summer released in 1987 . Summer had become the biggest star of the disco era in the 1970s when signed to Casablanca Records. By 1987, Summer was signed to the Geffen label, and Casablanca had long since been bought out by Polygram. This album...
. The song was slightly edited on the 7" format, the fade-in opening sound reaching maximum volume sooner. A version which fades out at 3:45, before the third verse and final choruses, has been included on a large number of greatest hits packages and other compilations issued by
PolyGramPolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
,
Mercury RecordsMercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
, Universal Music and others, such as 1994's
Endless Summer: Greatest HitsEU edition#"Melody of Love " - 4:16#"Love to Love You Baby" - 3:21#"Could It Be Magic" - 3:55#"I Feel Love" - 3:46...
and 2003's
The Journey: The Very Best of Donna SummerThe Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer is a compilation of the American singer's hits released by Universal Music in 2003. It features most of Summer's best known songs from the 1970s disco era, during which she became the most successful female of that genre, plus some of her hits from the...
.
In 2004,
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
ranked "I Feel Love" #411 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The review for the song stated that Moroder and Summer "claimed tomorrow in the name of disco."
Following the track's success, within months Summer and Moroder produced the 11-minute "Now I Need You"/"Working the Midnight Shift" sequence on Summer's 1977 double album
Once Upon a Time- Charts :AlbumSingle-Certifications:- Cover versions, appearances in other media etc. :"Sweet Romance" has been sampled by Ilacoin for his underground hit "By a Stranger", which had guest appearances from Labba and Black Rob and featured on Grand Theft Auto III...
, which successfully builds on "I Feel Love"'s pioneering ethereal vocals, mechanised beats, sequenced
arpeggioAn arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
s and
ostinatoIn music, an ostinato is a motif or phrase, which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice. An ostinato is always a succession of equal sounds, wherein each note always has the same weight or stress. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody in...
basslineA bassline is the term used in many styles of popular music, such as jazz, blues, funk, dub and electronic music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played by a rhythm section instrument such as the electric bass, double bass, tuba or keyboard...
s.
Patrick Cowley remix
In 1978,
discoDisco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
and
Hi-NRGHi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...
pioneer
Patrick CowleyPatrick Joseph Cowley was an American disco and Hi-NRG dance music composer and recording artist. He recorded in a style that has drawn comparisons to that of Giorgio Moroder and is often credited with pioneering electronic dance music.-Early life:Patrick Cowley was born in Buffalo, New York to...
created a 15:45 remix of "I Feel Love" which, despite not impressing Moroder, became a popular "underground classic" available only on
acetate discAn acetate disc, also known as a test acetate, dubplate , lacquer , transcription disc or instantaneous disc...
s. The remix used loops, keeping the song's 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. Since this pressing was not available to the general public for commercial sale, it became highly sought after by collectors.
In 1982 the mix was released on a commercially available 12" single in the UK market by
CasablancaCasablanca Records was an American record label started by Neil Bogart, who partnered with Cecil Holmes, Larry Harris, and Buck Reingold in 1973, and based in Los Angeles. The label was formed after all of them had left Buddah Records and secured financing by Warner Bros. Records to start the venture...
, backed with an 8-minute edited version. With this wider release, "I Feel Love" became a dance floor hit again, five years after its debut. A further-edited 7" single reached #21 on the UK singles chart.
The Patrick Cowley mix is now available on the second ("bonus") disc of
The Journey: The Very Best of Donna SummerThe Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer is a compilation of the American singer's hits released by Universal Music in 2003. It features most of Summer's best known songs from the 1970s disco era, during which she became the most successful female of that genre, plus some of her hits from the...
.
Cover versions
"I Feel Love" was covered by
Bronski BeatBronski Beat were a popular British synthpop trio who achieved success in the mid 1980s, particularly with the 1984 chart hit "Smalltown Boy". All members of the group were openly homosexual and their songs reflected this, often containing political commentary on gay-related issues...
on their 1984 album
The Age of ConsentThe Age of Consent is a synthpop album by Bronski Beat , released at the end of 1984 on London Records.-Overview:...
and released as a single by
Bronski BeatBronski Beat were a popular British synthpop trio who achieved success in the mid 1980s, particularly with the 1984 chart hit "Smalltown Boy". All members of the group were openly homosexual and their songs reflected this, often containing political commentary on gay-related issues...
feat.
Marc AlmondMarc Almond is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell...
in 1985. It was also covered by violinist
Vanessa-MaeVanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson , known professionally as Vanessa-Mae , is an internationally known British violinist. Her music style is self-described as "violin techno-acoustic fusion", as several of her albums prominently feature the techno style...
in 1997. In 2003, "I Feel Love" was performed live, released as a single and included on the
The Complex album by
Blue Man GroupBlue Man Group is an organization founded by Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton. The organization produces theatrical shows and concerts featuring popular music, comedy and multimedia; recorded music and scores for film and television; television appearances for shows such as The Tonight...
feat.
Venus HumVenus Hum is an electronic pop music group from Nashville, Tennessee, consisting of vocalist Annette Strean and multi-instrumentalists Kip Kubin and Tony Miracle. Miracle has a rare heart condition which results in perpetually hearing his own heartbeat in his ears...
.
1995 remixes
Following 1993's
The Donna Summer AnthologyThe Donna Summer Anthology is a double compilation album by the American singer released by Polygram Records in 1993. The compilation featured the majority of Summer's best known songs right from the start of her success to the present day. Summer had originally made her name during the disco era...
and 1994's
Endless Summer: Greatest HitsEU edition#"Melody of Love " - 4:16#"Love to Love You Baby" - 3:21#"Could It Be Magic" - 3:55#"I Feel Love" - 3:46...
, both released by
PolyGramPolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
, "I Feel Love" was re-released on the PolyGram sublabel Manifesto in a newly remixed form as a single in 1995, including mixes by
Masters At WorkMasters at Work is the house/garage production and remix team of "Little" Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez. They first worked together using the name, which had been given to them by mutual friend Todd Terry , in 1990...
and
Rollo ArmstrongRollo Armstrong is one half of the music producers/remixers team Rollo and Sister Bliss and is a founding member of the electronic music group Faithless.-Early life:...
and
Sister BlissSister Bliss is a British keyboardist, record producer, DJ, composer and songwriter. In the studio she is best known for her work with Rollo Armstrong, particularly as part of the now disbanded dance group Faithless.She started music at the age of five, when she learned how to play the piano...
of UK remixer/producer team
FaithlessFaithless were a British electronica band consisting of Maxi Jazz, Sister Bliss and Rollo. The group is best known for their dance songs . Faithless recorded six albums. During their career they sold over 15 million records worldwide...
- and also new vocals by Summer herself. The single became a UK #8 hit, the second time the song had entered the Top 10, and the '95 Radio Edit was later included as a bonus track on PolyGram France's version of the
Endless Summer compilation.
The song was again remixed and issued as a single in 2005.
Chart positions
| Chart (1977) |
Peak
position |
Dutch GfKThe GfK Group, established in 1934 as Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung is Germany's largest market research institute, and the fourth largest market research organisation in the world, after Nielsen Company, Kantar Group, and IMS Health...
chart |
1 |
| Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...
|
1 |
| UK Top 40 |
1 |
| Chart (1995) |
Peak
position |
Dutch GfKThe GfK Group, established in 1934 as Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung is Germany's largest market research institute, and the fourth largest market research organisation in the world, after Nielsen Company, Kantar Group, and IMS Health...
chart |
28 |