James Brown – "I Got You (I Feel Good)" (1965)

I f-e-e-l good

I knew that I would

Today we welcome James Brown – a/k/a/ “Soul Brother Number One,” “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business,” and “The Godfather of Soul" – to the 2 OR 3 LINES “GOLDEN DECADES” HIT SINGLES HALL OF FAME.

Brown absolutely dominated the Billboard R&B singles charts during the 2 or 3 lines “Golden Decade” years of 1965 t0 1974, with no fewer than 42 top ten singles – 16 of which went all the way to #1.

There were no stations that programmed soul music in Joplin, Missouri when I was growing up there in the sixties.  Hell, there was only one top-40 station, and it was a low-powered AM station that signed off each night at sunset.

James Brown was only an occasional presence on that station.  While most of his biggest-selling singles charted on the Billboard “Hot 100,” they usually peaked at much lower chart positions – meaning they got played much less often on top-40 stations.  A total of 91 Brown singles made their way into the “Hot 100” – the most ever by an artist who never had a #1 hit.

Today’s featured song went all the way to #3, which was the highest “Hot 100” position ever for a James Brown song.  I don’t remember hearing it in 1965 – the year it was released – but it became a ubiquitous presence in movie soundtracks (including The Big Chill, Good Morning Vietnam, and Garfield: The Movie) and on television shows (including The Simpsons, Punky Brewster, and Full House).

“I Got You (I Feel Good)” has also been used in numerous TV commercials, including this one for Autolite spark plugs, which aired in 1990. 

*     *     *     *     *

All the records by black recording artists that have previously inducted into the 2 OR 3 LINES “GOLDEN DECADE” HIT SINGLES HALL OF FAME were released on Motown or Tamla (which was a  Motown subsidiary label).  

James Brown with Johnny Carson

“I Got You (I Feel Good)” was released on King Records – a Cincinnati label that initially specialized in country music.  (The label’s advertising slogan was "If it's a King, It's a Hillbilly – If it's a Hillbilly, it's a King.”)

Click here to listen to “I Got You (I Feel Good)”

Click below to buy the song from Amazon: