I Feel Fine (Lennon/McCartney)

The “whispering” version

A version known as the “whispering” version exists where, at the beginning of the track, what sounds like a tape being started can be heard followed by some indecipherable muttering. This version appeared in stereo on 1962-1966 as well as the Italian compilation The Beatles In Italy.

Quotes

“That’s me, including the guitar lick with the first feedback ever recorded. I defy anybody to find an earlier record – unless it is some old blues record from the Twenties — with feedback on it.” – John Lennon, Playboy, 1980

“I wrote ‘I Feel Fine’ around that riff going on in the background. I told them I’d write a song specially for the riff. So they said, ‘Yes. You go away and do that’, knowing that we’d almost finished the album Beatles for Sale. Anyway, going into the studio one morning, I said to Ringo, ‘I’ve written this song but it’s lousy’. But we tried it, complete with riff, and it sounded like an A side, so we decided to release it just like that.” – John Lennon

BBC Performances

See THERE WILL BE A SHOW TONIGHT: The BBC Performances for complete information on BBC performances and recordings

• Top Gear – recorded November 17, 1964, broadcast November 26, 1964 and December 26, 1964 and released on Live At The BBC (1994)
• Outtake from the November 17, 1964 session but was not broadcast and released on On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2 (2013)

Personnel

• John Lennon – lead vocal, lead and rhythm guitars
• Paul McCartney – harmony vocal, bass guitar
• George Harrison – harmony vocal, lead and rhythm guitars
• Ringo Starr – drums

Release history

• I Feel Fine / She’s A Woman (single) (1964)
• The Beatles’ Million Sellers (EP) (1965)
• A Collection Of Beatles Oldies (1966)
• 1962-1966 (1973)
• 20 Greatest Hits (1982)
• Past Masters (1988)
• Live At The BBC (1994) [live at the BBC, November 1964]
• Anthology 2 (1996) [live on Blackpool Night Out, 1965]
• 1 (2000)
• Mono Masters (2009)
• On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2 (2013) [live BBC studio outtake sequence, November 1964]

Chart performance

• #1, December 10, 1964 – January 13, 1965 (5 weeks), Record Retailer (UK)
• #1, December 26, 1964 – January 15, 1965 (3 weeks), Billboard (US)