I Feel for You

Lore & Background

Prince originally wrote "I Feel For You" for musician Patrice Rushen, but she turned it down. Prince subsequently recorded it for his eponymous second album, released in October 1979. For the song, Prince uses a falsetto vocal with the melody range between C3 and D5. The Pointer Sisters recorded the song in 1982 on their album So Excited!, and Rebbie Jackson recorded it for her 1984 debut album Centipede. In 1993, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake sang this song on The Mickey Mouse Club. In October 2019, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the album Prince, the Prince Estate and Warner Records released a previously unheard solo acoustic demo recording of the song, with Prince also performing acoustic guitar. The track became available on streaming services and as a limited-run 7" vinyl single which sold out.

Reader's Guide

Chaka Khan's version of "I Feel for You" featured rapping from Melle Mel; guitar, drum programming, bass guitar, keyboards and arrangement by Reggie Griffin; bass synthesizer and programming by The System's David Frank using an Oberheim DSX sequencer connected to his Minimoog; and chromatic harmonica playing by Stevie Wonder. The song also uses vocal samples from Wonder's song "Fingertips" (1963). The repetition of Khan's name by Melle Mel at the beginning was a mistake made by producer Arif Mardin, who then decided to keep it.

This version sold more than one million copies in the US and UK, hitting No. 1 on the Cash Box singles chart and peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It reached No. 1 on both the US Hot Dance/Disco and Hot Black Singles charts, and No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. Khan's version is written in the key of G major with a tempo of 125 beats per minute in common time. Khan's vocals span from D4 to A5. In 1985 at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards, it won the Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female.