"Feel Like Makin' Love" is a song composed by singer-songwriter and producer Eugene McDaniels, and recorded originally by soul singer-songwriter Roberta Flack. The song has been covered by R&B and jazz artists including D’Angelo, Roy Ayers, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Lou Rawls, Isaac Hays, George Benson, Jeffrey Osborne, Larry Coryell, Johnny Mathis, and Marlena Shaw.
Reception
Released nine months before the album of the same title, the song became one of the greatest musical successes of 1974, as well as of Roberta Flack's recording career. Flack's version scored a week at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, making it Flack's third #1 single, making her the first female vocalist since 1940 to top the chart in three consecutive years.[3] "Feel Like Makin' Love" also had five weeks at #1 on the Hot Soul Singles chart.[4] and two weeks at #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts of both Canada[5] and the U.S. Flack co-produced the record under the pseudonym Rubina Flake, with Eugene McDaniels. It went on to receive three Grammy nominations for Flack: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Upon the single release, Record World said that it "isn't as poetic as 'Killing Me Softly,' but what Roberta brings to it will make this her biggest record since."[6]
In 1983, George Benson recorded a cover version of Feel Like Makin' Love which appeared on the album In Your Eyes. Compared to the original, which is a ballad, this version is danceable and therefore very funk-heavy. In addition to the studio album, it is also included on the Original Album Series Vol. 2, The Ultimate Collection, and 1983 [2017] compilations.[19]
American R&B and neo soul musician D'Angelo covered the song for his second studio album Voodoo (2000). It was released April 8, 2000, on Virgin Records as the album's fifth and last single. His cover version features a quiet storm radio-style sound and heavy use of multi-tracking for vocals.[22] It was initially planned as a duet with R&B singer Lauryn Hill.[23] Although tapes were sent via FedEx between the two, the collaboration between D'Angelo and Hill was aborted and the song was instead recorded solo. According to producer and drummer Questlove, the duet failed to materialize due to "too many middle men.... I don't think Lauryn and D ever talked face-to-face."[23] Mistakenly, some critics who later reviewed the album's track assumed that Lauryn Hill's vocals are present in the recording.[23]
According to Questlove's review of Voodoo at Okayplayer, the song's production was also managed by late hip hop producer J Dilla, as Questlove stated "Jay Dee did the Lauryn track".[24] Dilla, however, did not receive an official credit for the song.[25] As a single, "Feel Like Makin' Love" was Voodoo's least successful, as it only reached #109 on the BillboardHot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.
^Molanphy, Chris (March 25, 2022). "Killing Me Softly Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
