“Feel So Bad”
Song by Ray Charles
A remarkable version of the blues song “Feel So Bad” is a 1971 Ray Charles single and the third song on Side A of his 1971 LP Volcanic Action Of My Soul. It’s a crisply played, righteously aggrieved performance on all fronts: an unusually funky bass leads it off, a trebly guitar crunches out the rhythm, a perfectly weird steel guitar solo adds a country flavor, and a scandalized Ray rages and sighs breathlessly about the “dirty deal” his woman gave him.
“Feel So Bad” was a hit in 1967 for Little Milton. (The Little Milton single credited “Feel So Bad” to songwriter Sam “Lightnin'” Hopkins, while Ray credits Leslie Temple and Jimmy Johnson. Hopkins wrote and recorded an unrelated song called “I Feel So Bad” in 1947; as far as I can tell the Little Milton release was in error.)
The overwhelming takeaway from Ray Charles’ “Feel So Bad” is its R&B pulse – and both the blues and the rhythm get 50% of the attention, a perfect balance. Ray’s outraged vocals are a riot and they mesh perfectly with his sinewy, funky band. Everything is urgent, including the fanciful descriptions of his emotions that tumble from Ray’s mouth:
You know I feel so bad
Feel like a ballgame on a rainy day
Yes I do, y’all
Ray scatters his “mm-hmms” and “a-hehs” throughout his performance; he hadn’t adopted quite so committed a blues persona as this in quite some time. Nothing about “Feel So Bad” suggests his popular orchestrated hits or his smooth crooning love song guise, nor his laid-back jazz explorations. “Feel So Bad” is all grime and cigarette ashes on a wooden floor under blue neon.
Single releases
“Feel So Bad”
b/w
“Your Love Is So Doggone Good”
Listen to “Feel So Bad”
Get your own “Feel So Bad” on 45, LP or MP3 from Amazon. Or get the out-of-print complete ABC singles 5xCD box set.
Songs on Volcanic Action Of My Soul