Feeling Good " also known as "

feeling good
Feeling Good" (also known as "Feelin' Good") is a song written by English composers Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd. It was first performed on stage in 1964 by Cy Grant on the UK tour and by Gilbert Price in 1965 with the original Broadway cast.^[1]
Nina Simone recorded "Feeling Good" for her 1965 album I Put a Spell on You. The song has also been covered by Sammy Davis Jr., Traffic, Michael Bublé, John Coltrane, George Michael, Victory, Eels, Joe Bonamassa, Eden, Muse, Black Cat Bones, Bassnectar, Sophie B. Hawkins, Leslie West, Avicii, Chlöe and Lauryn Hill among others. It was also performed by John Legendas part of the Celebrating America performance marking the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on January 20th 2021
Although Bricusse and Newley shared songwriting credits, the words of the song are usually attributed to Bricusse, with the music by Newley.^[2] The song was first performed in public by Guyanese-British singer and actor Cy Grant on the opening night of The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham on 3 August 1964. The show, directed by Newley, toured British provincial theatres, and was then taken to the US by theatre producer David Merrick. It opened on 16 May 1965 at the Shubert Theatre in New York City, where the role of "the Negro", who sings "Feeling Good", was taken by Gilbert Price.^[3]
In the show, Price's character is asked to compete against the show's hero "Cocky"; but, as "Cocky" and his master "Sir" argue over the rules of the game, "the Negro" reaches the centre of the stage and "wins", singing the song at his moment of triumph.^[2] It was described as a "booming song of emancipation",^[4] and a Billboard review said it was "the kind of robust number that should have strong appeal".^[5] The original cast recording of the show, featuring Price's version of the song, was released by RCA Victor in early 1965, before the show reached New York.
A version by Cy Grant with pianist Bill Le Sage – much jazzier than the original stage version – appeared on their 1965 album Cy & I.^[6] Anthony Newley's own recording appeared on his 1965 album "Who Can I Turn To" and other songs from "The Roar of the Greasepaint".^[7] One of the earliest recorded versions was a jazz treatment by saxophonist John Coltrane, which appeared on his album The John Coltrane Quartet Plays.... Recorded on 18 February 1965, it also features Art Davis, Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner.^[8] Versions were also released in 1965 by Nina Simone, Jean DuShon, Julie London, Chris Connor, Billy Eckstine, Andy & The Bey Sisters and Sammy Davis Jr.Ed Ames recorded a version in 1966 on his album "It's a Man's World".
Simone's version was remixed by Joe Claussell in 2002 for the first volume of the Verve Remixed series.^[10]
The vocal track by Nina Simone and the music of "Feeling Good" have been sampled in numerous songs. In 1997, it was sampled in "Feeling Good" by Huff & Herb.^[11] Other uses include "How I Feel" by Wax Tailor, from the 2005 album Tales of the Forgotten Melodies; "New Day" from the debut collaborative studio album Watch the Throne by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West in 2011; "How I Feel" by Flo Rida, from the 2013 album The Perfect 10; and, also in 2013, in the beginning of Bassnectar's Immersive Music Mixtape Side One.^[12]
The track "About You" on Mary J. Blige's 2005 album The Breakthrough features an unusual take on the song. The bulk of the recording consists of new lyrics, composed by Mary J. Blige, will.i.am and Keith Harris; however, the chorus samples several lines from "Feeling Good" as performed by Nina Simone. Simone's original vocals are distorted so much that her voice is almost unrecognisable; for this reason, Simone receives a credit as a featured artist, and Newley and Bricusse receive credit as co-writers. "About You" is produced by will.i.am. The original instrumental track to Nina Simone's "Feeling Good" was also used in the Swedish musician Avicii's song of the same name, used by Volvo.
Simone's recording was used in the film Point of No Return^[13] and appears on soundtracks for the movies Repo Men (2010),^[14]Last Holiday (2006),^[15] Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017),^[16] Cruella (2021),^[17] the TV soundtrack Six Feet Under, Vol. 2: Everything Ends^[18] and the 2009 video game The Saboteur.^[19] The Bassnectar/Simone cover was used in "Chapter 6", a first-season episode of the television series Legion.^[20]
An official music video for Simone's version was released on YouTube 56 years after the release of her recording in June 2021.^[21]