Feel Like Makin' Love (Roberta Flack song)

"Feel Like Makin' Love"
Single by Roberta Flack
from the album Feel Like Makin' Love
B-side"When You Smile"
ReleasedJune 10, 1974
Genre
Length2:55
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)Eugene McDaniels
Producer(s)Rubina Flake
Roberta Flack singles chronology
"Jesse"
(1973) 		"Feel Like Makin' Love"
(1974) 		"Feelin' That Glow"
(1975)
"Feel Like Makin' Love"
17-second sample of Roberta Flack's recording
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Feel Like Makin' Love" is a song composed by singer-songwriter and producer Eugene McDaniels, and recorded originally by soul singer-songwriter Roberta Flack. The song has been covered by R&B and jazz artists including D’Angelo, Roy Ayers, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Lou Rawls, Isaac Hays, George Benson, Jeffrey Osborne, Larry Coryell, Johnny Mathis, and Marlena Shaw.

Reception

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Released nine months before the album of the same title, the song became one of the greatest musical successes of 1974, as well as of Roberta Flack's recording career. Flack's version scored a week at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, making it Flack's third #1 single, making her the first female vocalist since 1940 to top the chart in three consecutive years.[3] "Feel Like Makin' Love" also had five weeks at #1 on the Hot Soul Singles chart.[4] and two weeks at #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts of both Canada[5] and the U.S. Flack co-produced the record under the pseudonym Rubina Flake, with Eugene McDaniels. It went on to receive three Grammy nominations for Flack: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Upon the single release, Record World said that it "isn't as poetic as 'Killing Me Softly,' but what Roberta brings to it will make this her biggest record since."[6]

Charts

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George Benson version

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"Feel Like Makin' Love"
Single by George Benson
from the album In Your Eyes
ReleasedJuly 1, 1983
Genre
Length4:22
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Eugene McDaniels
Producer(s)Arif Mardin
George Benson singles chronology
"Lady Love Me (One More Time)"
(1983) 		"Feel Like Makin' Love"
(1983) 		"In Your Eyes"
(1983)

In 1983, George Benson recorded a cover version of Feel Like Makin' Love which appeared on the album In Your Eyes. Compared to the original, which is a ballad, this version is danceable and therefore very funk-heavy. In addition to the studio album, it is also included on the Original Album Series Vol. 2, The Ultimate Collection, and 1983 [2017] compilations.[19]

Track listing

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7" Single

  1. Feel Like Makin' Love 4:22
  2. Use Me 4:23

Charts

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Chart (1983) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[20] 28
Ireland (IRMA)[21] 18

D'Angelo version

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"Feel Like Makin' Love"
Single by D'Angelo
from the album Voodoo
ReleasedApril 8, 2000
Recorded1999
StudioElectric Lady, New York City
Genre
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)Eugene McDaniels
Producer(s)J. Dilla, D'Angelo
D'Angelo singles chronology
"Send It On"
(2000) 		"Feel Like Makin' Love"
(2000) 		"Be Here"
(2002)

American R&B and neo soul musician D'Angelo covered the song for his second studio album Voodoo (2000). It was released April 8, 2000, on Virgin Records as the album's fifth and last single. His cover version features a quiet storm radio-style sound and heavy use of multi-tracking for vocals.[22] It was initially planned as a duet with R&B singer Lauryn Hill.[23] Although tapes were sent via FedEx between the two, the collaboration between D'Angelo and Hill was aborted and the song was instead recorded solo. According to producer and drummer Questlove, the duet failed to materialize due to "too many middle men.... I don't think Lauryn and D ever talked face-to-face."[23] Mistakenly, some critics who later reviewed the album's track assumed that Lauryn Hill's vocals are present in the recording.[23]

According to Questlove's review of Voodoo at Okayplayer, the song's production was also managed by late hip hop producer J Dilla, as Questlove stated "Jay Dee did the Lauryn track".[24] Dilla, however, did not receive an official credit for the song.[25] As a single, "Feel Like Makin' Love" was Voodoo's least successful, as it only reached #109 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.

Charts

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Chart (2000) Peak
position
US Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles[26] 9

Other versions

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The song has been covered by many artists. Among the most notable are:

  • An instrumental version by Bob James for his 1974 album One,[27] reaching #88 on the Hot 100. This version was later used in the Breaking Bad episode "Bit by a Dead Bee".
  • An Estonian-language version by Velly Joonas, "Käes on aeg", was recorded in 1980, but did not gain mass popularity until it was re-released in 2015.
  • Lumidee covered it in her 2007 album, Unexpected, and released it as a single, peaking at #90 on the Hot 100.
  • Celeste Legaspi covered it in 1976 with her song "Pag-ibig Na Lubos Lubos."

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Molanphy, Chris (March 25, 2022). "Killing Me Softly Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  2. ^ Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (October 15, 1996). "Walking in Rhythm: Seventies Soul". Precious and Few - Pop Music in the Early '70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 64. ISBN 031214704X.
  3. ^ Sioux Falla Argus Leader 8 September 1974 "Music Beat" by Mike Donnelly p.C-13
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 206.
  5. ^ a b RPM, August 24, 1974
  6. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. June 15, 1974. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  7. ^ Steffen Hung. "Forum - Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts - 1980s (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  8. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
  9. ^ a b "Songs from the Year 1974".
  10. ^ "ROBERTA FLACK". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
  11. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  12. ^ "Adult Contemporary Music Chart". Billboard. 1974-08-17. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  13. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, August 17, 1974
  14. ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1974". Kent Music Report. December 30, 1974. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via Imgur.
  15. ^ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  16. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1975/Top 100 Songs of 1975". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
  17. ^ Top 50 Adult Contemporary Hits of 1974
  18. ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 28, 1974". Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  19. ^ "In Your Eyes overview". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
  20. ^ Chartsurfer.de
  21. ^ Jaclyn Ward. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  22. ^ Neal, Mark Anthony. Review: Voodoo. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2008-08-09.
  23. ^ a b c Sinclair, Tom. Body & Soul: Voodoo. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2009-06-04.
  24. ^ Thompson, Ahmir 'Questlove'. "Review: Voodoo[dead link]". ?uestcorner/Okayplayer: 1999. Archived from the original Archived 2015-08-11 at the Wayback Machine on 2008-08-09.
  25. ^ D'Angelo (2000), pp. 5–24.
  26. ^ |0 Billboard charts - Feel Like Makin' Love[dead link]. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved on 2008-08-09.
  27. ^ "Bob James - One". Allmusic. Retrieved March 29, 2018.

References

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  • Saul Williams, D'Angelo (2000). Voodoo (CD issue liner notes). Virgins Records America, Inc., 338 N. Foothill Road, Beverly Hills, CA 90210.
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