Chaka Khan - I Feel for You 1984

 I Feel for You is the fifth solo studio album by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan, released on the Warner Bros. Records label in 1984.

 

After having balanced her two simultaneous careers as a member of the band Rufus and a solo performer during the years 1978 to 1983, which culminated with the release of the final Rufus & Chaka Khan album Stompin' at the Savoy – Live, after which the band dissolved, Khan recorded the album that was to make her a pop star with mainstream chart success: 1984's I Feel for You.^[1]

The title track, "I Feel for You", was a cover of a 1979 Prince track, featuring Grandmaster Melle Mel on the classic "Ch-ch-ch-chaka-chaka-chaka Khan" rap intro and Stevie Wonder on chromatic harmonica (and also a sample from one of his first hits, "Fingertips"). The song saw Khan embracing high-tech funk, rap and hip hop, and stands as one of her best known songs and her biggest commercial hit,^[1] reaching number 3 on the Billboard chart in the US (and becoming the number 5 best-selling song of the year in 1985) and topping the US R&B, Dance, and UK Singles Chart. The song earned her a second Grammy Award in 1985 for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female.^[2]

The album reached number 16 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, 4 on the R&B albums chart and 15 on the UK album chart. Additional hit singles were "This Is My Night" (US No. 60, R&B No. 11, Dance No. 1, UK No. 14), "Eye to Eye" (UK No. 16) and the ballad "Through the Fire", which crossed over to the adult contemporary chart (No. 16) and charted at No. 77 in the UK. The album's second ballad, "Stronger Than Before", co-written by Burt Bacharach, Bruce Roberts and Carole Bayer Sager, was released as the fifth single in certain markets.

"I Feel for You", "This Is My Night" and "Eye to Eye" were released as extended 12" remixes in 1984, and other mixes were created for the 1989 remix compilation Life is a Dance - The Remix Project. The 1984 mixes by Arif Mardin and Russ Titelman remain unreleased on CD.

1985 saw two other songs by Khan released on other albums: "(Krush Groove) Can't Stop the Street" from the Krush Groove soundtrack (US R&B No. 18, UK No. 80), and "Own the Night", from the Miami Vice soundtrack (US Pop No. 57, US R&B No. 66).