I Feel Fine

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"I Feel Fine"
Single by The Beatles
Released	November 23, 1964 (US) November 27, 1964 (UK)
Format	7"
Recorded	Abbey Road: October 18 1964
Genre	Rock
Length	2 min 18 s
Label	Parlophone R5200 (UK) Capitol 5327 (US)
Writer(s)	Lennon-McCartney
Producer(s)	George Martin
Chart positions
#1 (UK) #1 (US)
The Beatles singles chronology
"A Hard Day's Night" / "Things We Said Today" (1964)	"I Feel Fine" / "She's A Woman" (1964)	"Ticket To Ride" / "Yes It Is" (UK-1965) --- "Eight Days a Week" (US-1965)

"I Feel Fine" is the name of a song written by John Lennon (although credited to Lennon/McCartney) and released in 1964 by The Beatles as the A side of their seventh UK single. The song reached the top of the charts on December 12 of that year, displacing The Rolling Stones' "Little Red Rooster," and remained there for five weeks.

John's most optimistic song to date, "I Feel Fine" burgeoned from its distinctive guitar riff, written by Lennon while in the studio recording "Eight Days A Week." "I actually wrote 'I Feel Fine' around the riff which is going on in the background," John recalled. "I told them that I'd write a song specially for this riff so they said, 'Yes. You go away and do that,' knowing that we'd almost finished 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's riff would seem to bear a striking resemblance to one found in "Watch Your Step", a 1961 release written and performed by Bobby Parker and covered by The Beatles in concerts during 1961 and 1962 (with the two songs also sharing a remarkably similar Latin-style drum pattern). The Beatles would continue to feature guitar riffs in their songs, most notably in numbers like "Day Tripper" and "Paperback Writer."

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 (electronic goofs, twisted tapes, talkback). "I Feel Fine" marks the earliest example of the use of feedback as a recording effect—artists such as Jimi Hendrix and The Who used feedback, but John remained proud of the fact that The Beatles were the first group to actually put it on vinyl. This subtle shift in their approach to recording became a lasting element of the group's later career, making itself widely apparent on albums like Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

In the US, 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. In the UK, 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.

• Turner, Steve. A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles' Song, Harper, New York: 1994, ISBN 0-06-095065-X

Preceded by: "Come See About Me" by The Supremes	Billboard Hot 100 number one single December 26, 1964	Succeeded by: "Downtown" by Petula Clark
Preceded by: The Beatles I Wanna Hold Your Hand	UK Christmas Number One single I Feel Fine 1964	Succeeded by: The Beatles Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out

The Beatles
Singles
1962: Love Me Do | 1963: Please Please Me | From Me to You | She Loves You | I Want to Hold Your Hand | 1964: Can't Buy Me Love | I Feel Fine | Twist and Shout | A Hard Day's Night | 1965: Ticket to Ride | Help! | Day Tripper | We Can Work It Out | Yesterday | 1966: Paperback Writer | Eleanor Rigby | Yellow Submarine | 1967: Strawberry Fields Forever | Penny Lane | All You Need Is Love | Hello, Goodbye | 1968: Lady Madonna | Hey Jude | 1969: Get Back | Ballad of John and Yoko | Something | Come Together | 1970: Let It Be | The Long and Winding Road | After 1970: The Beatles Movie Medley (1982) | Free as a Bird (1995) | Real Love (1996)
B-sides
1962: P.S. I Love You | 1963: Ask Me Why | I'll Get You | Thank You Girl | 1964: Baby's in Black | I Don't Want to Spoil the Party | She's a Woman | This Boy | You Can't Do That | 1965: I'm Down | Yes It Is | Rain | 1966: What Goes On | 1967: Baby You're a Rich Man | I Am the Walrus | 1968: The Inner Light | Revolution | 1969: Don't Let Me Down | Old Brown Shoe | 1970: For You Blue | You Know My Name (Look up the Number)
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