Feelings (Morris Albert song)
| "Feelings" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"Feelings" is a song based on a melody composed by Loulou Gasté and made famous by Morris Albert, who recorded it as the title track of his 1975 debut album. The song's lyrics, recognizable by their "whoa whoa whoa" chorus, concern the singer's inability to "forget my feelings of love." Albert's original recording of the song was very successful, scoring #6 on the pop and #2 on the Adult Contemporary charts in America and performing well internationally. Over the next few years "Feelings" was performed by many other vocalists including Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, Engelbert Humperdinck, Julio Iglesias, Shirley Bassey, Glen Campbell, Sarah Vaughan, Sergey Penkin and Johnny Mathis. It was also recorded by numerous easy listening bandleaders and ensembles such as Percy Faith, Ferrante & Teicher and 101 Strings.
In more recent years "Feelings" has been best known as a target of parody and ridicule for embodying what are perceived by many as the most insipid lyrical and musical qualities of 1970s "soft rock" music. It appears frequently on lists of "the worst songs ever"[1] [2] and was included on the 1998 Rhino Records compilation album '70s Party Killers.[3]
Because of similarities of style "Feelings" is sometimes mistakenly associated with Barry Manilow. "A Sesame Street album had a version of the song sang by Marry Banilow and the Muppetones."
Dispute over authorship
In 1981 the French songwriter Loulou Gasté sued Morris Albert for copyright infringement, claiming that "Feelings" plagiarized the melody of his 1957 song "Pour Toi". In 1988 Gasté won the lawsuit and was awarded 88% of the royalties generated by the song.[4]
Recordings of the song have credited authorship variously to Albert alone, to Albert and Gasté, to Albert and Michel Jourdan, and to Albert and "Kaisermann". The last of these attributions is redundant, since the singer's real name is Mauricio Alberto Kaisermann.[5]
Sakis Rouvas cover
| "Feelings" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Dis Lui" |
In 2003 Greek singer Sakis Rouvas recorded a cover version of "Feelings". Rouvas recorded the song originally as "Pes Tis" for the Greek market, while also covering Mike Brant's French cover "Dis Lui". The English and French covers were written for the re-release of Rouvas' first international album, Ola Kala, for the European market.
Music video
The music video for the song was shot in the South of France, on a ship on the Mediterranean coast and features Rouvas and a woman who is his lover. The shooting took 48 hours to complete and was directed by Xavier Gens of the Bullring production company. The video is filmed widescreen. The Greek version of the song won two MAD Video Music Awards for "Sexiest Appearance in a Video" awarded to Sakis Rouvas, and one awarded to Gens for "Best Direction".
Other versions
Israeli born French pop star Mike Brant recorded a French language version of the song entitled "Dis Lui" in 1975.
Japanese vocal group Hi-Fi Set released a Japanese language version of the same title in late 1976 and it became their breakthrough hit the next year.
The American punk rock band The Offspring recorded a version of "Feelings" for their 1998 album Americana, substituting lyrics about hate for the original ones about love.
Greek singer Sakis Rouvas released a Greek language version entitled "Pes Tis" in 2003, while also covering "Feelings" and Brant's "Dis Lui" French version.
The O'Jays released a version on their 1977 "Travelin' At The Speed Of Thought" album.
Cultural references
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (June 2008) |
- In a 1980s Doonesbury strip two characters play recordings of "Feelings" and other similar songs at a loud volume in a (successful) attempt to drive out drug dealers living next door.
- In a Saturday Night Live sketch, Bill Murray portrayed a lounge singer who performs an overwrought rendition of "Feelings".
- A Far Side cartoon showed a gorilla playing the piano in a café and singing "Peelings, nothing more than peelings."
- In the episode "Bionic Beauty" of The Bionic Woman, Jaime Sommers (Lindsay Wagner) sings the song as part of a beauty pageant talent show.
- An episode of The Muppet Show featured Beaker singing a version of the song using his "mee-mee-mee" and no actual words.
- On The Carol Burnett Show in a Mama's Family sketch, Eunice, played by Carol Burnett, appears on the The Gong Show (against her family's better judgment) and is quickly gonged after just a few agonizing lines of "Feelings".
- In one program of The Gong Show, each contestant came onstage singing "Feelings," totally exasperating the judging panel.
- A Sesame Street album had a version of the song sang by Marry Banilow and the Muppetones.
- Another cartoon skit from Sesame Street featuring a mouse singing about cats and their feelings parodied the song, calling it "Felines".
- A Pepsi ad with MC Hammer shows him singing it in concert after someone replaced his Pepsi with Coca-Cola and he drank it. A fan throws him a Pepsi, he drinks it, and goes right back to singing what he was before.
- In the film The Sure Thing, John Cusack sings the song while perched on a car hood as it tries to drive away.
- In the film Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy sings the song while on patrol.
- The film The Fabulous Baker Boys features Michelle Pfeiffer singing "Feelings" - one of the many familiar songs in the movie.
- In one of the segments of the film National Lampoon Goes to the Movies, called "Municipalians", the song plays a central role shortly before the hero of the story suffers a nervous breakdown.
- In one of the episodes of the sitcom Family Matters, Steve Urkel sings the song while serenading Laura.
- In a 1984 episode of The Facts of Life, Jo (Nancy McKeon) sings the song briefly while playing at a piano bar. She comically gets the guests watching her to sing along with her.
Appearances in other media
- "Feelings" was included on the soundtrack of the 2005 film Breakfast on Pluto.
References
- ^ The worst song of all time, part II cnn.com
- ^ Run for Your Life! It’s the 50 Worst Songs Ever! blender.com
- ^ DEAD LINK [1]
- ^ Louis Gaste v. Morris Kaiserman, 863 F.2d 1061 (2d Cir. 1988) columbia.edu
- ^ Review by Joe Viglione allmusic.com
