"Feeling Good" Song

Feeling Good


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For other uses, see Feeling Good (disambiguation).

"Feeling Good"
Song
Published	1964 by Musical Comedy Productions
Genre	Show tune, jazz
Songwriter(s)	Anthony Newley Leslie Bricusse

"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 Legend as part of the Celebrating America performance marking the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on January 20th 2021.
Early performances and recordings[]
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".
Chart versions