I Feel the Earth Move (song)
Encyclopedia
"I Feel the Earth Move" is a song
written and recorded by pop singer-songwriter
Carole King
. A track on King's album Tapestry, the song is one half of the double A-sided
single, the flip side which was "It's Too Late." Together, both "I Feel the Earth Move" and "It's Too Late" became among the biggest mainstream pop hits for the year 1971.
A showcase for King's upbeat piano
style, "I Feel the Earth Move" has lyrics with the same percussive feel:
Jon Landau
's review of Tapestry for Rolling Stone
praised King's voice on this track, saying it negotiates turns from "raunchy" to "bluesy" to "harsh" to "soothing", with the last echoing the development of the song's melody into its chorus.http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/caroleking/albums/album/171700/review/6068041/tapestry
King's version of "I Feel the Earth Move" peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated June 19, 1971. It remained there for five consecutive weeks. It also peaked at #6 in the United Kingdom.
Given its upbeat nature, Ode Records
selected "I Feel the Earth Move" as the A-side to Tapestrys first single. It achieved airplay, but then disc jockey
s and listeners began to prefer the slower, lamenting B-side "It's Too Late". Both sides received airplay for a while, but eventually "It's Too Late" dominated. In fact, on the concurrent Cash Box singles chart, which still tracked the progress of both sides of a single separately, "It's Too Late " spent four weeks at number one while "I Feel the Earth Move" did not chart at all. Regardless, since Billboard
had declared the record a double A-side and their chart gradually became seen by many as the "official" singles chart, it is generally listed in books and articles that both "I Feel the Earth Move" and "It's Too Late" reached #1.
Together with "It's Too Late", "I Feel the Earth Move" was named by the RIAA as number 213 of 365 Songs of the Century
.
On Tuesday, March 18, 2008, King performed the song on The Colbert Report.
's self-titled debut, Martika
. "I Feel the Earth Move" reached the number 25 on the pop charts in the U.S., and number 7 in the UK and number 2 in Australia
. The high energy music video was shot during the promotional tour for this album. The song's tenure on the U.S. charts was cut short when radio stations pulled it from their playlists in the wake of the 1989 San Francisco earthquake.
never recorded "I Feel the Earth Move" for an album, but performed the song live.
Loretta Swit
performed the song on The Muppet Show
in 1980.
Young American actress/singer Mandy Moore
had a go at the song on her somewhat popular 2003 album Coverage
; it was considered a good enough effort to be included on her subsequent albeit disowned The Best of Mandy Moore
collection and on the 2005 benefit album Love Rocks
.
Australian songstress Delta Goodrem
featured the song on her 2005 Visualise Tour.
Jazz/funk guitarist Ivan "Boogaloo Joe" Jones recorded an instrumental version of this song.
Japanese singer UA
recorded a version of this song (in English) included on her "COLONY" single. It was also part of her live album FINE FEATHERS MAKE FINE BIRDS.
In the episode "Praying For Time
" of Eli Stone
, in a vision seen by the title character, Taylor Weathersby (Natasha Henstridge
) and Maggie Dekker (Julie Gonzalo
) sing it, signifying what may be an upcoming earthquake
in San Francisco, as well as giving Eli an insight into his lovelife.
Tori Amos
has added parts of this songs as a bridge to her song Take to the Sky (a B-Side from her debut Little Earthquakes
) in live performances. Most recently, on her Sinful Attraction Tour
in Sydney
on November 16, 2009, but also at the Dranouter Festival on August 8, 2008, and many times during her 2003 Tour. She comments on this on her book Piece By Piece
.
Rock band Super 400
recorded a version at Ardent Studios
in Memphis, Tennessee
for their 2009 album "Sweet Fist."
In 1989, I Feel The Earth Move was scheduled to be the debut single for English boy band Big Fun, but was pulled at the last minute in favour of Blame It On The Boogie
, a cover of The Jacksons hit, written by Mick Jackson
(no relation). The Big Fun version of the song appeared as a bonus track on the CD and Cassette versions of their 1989 album "A Pocket Full Of Dreams".
In 2010, Chinese singer Olivia Ong
recorded a cover for her album Olivia.
In 2011, Casey Abrams
and Haley Reinhart
sang a duet of this song in American Idol (Season 10)
.
During an NHL game between the Anaheim Ducks
and the Los Angeles Kings
at Staples Center
, an earthquake occurred. During the first break-in-play after the earthquake, the Kings DJ played Carole King's "I Feel The Earth Move".
The song was used in Japan for a Toyota RAV4
commercial in 2001.
On the popular NBC sitcom Will & Grace
, the character Jack McFarland
sings a piano solo version of this song as a part of his one-man cabaret.
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
written and recorded by pop singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
. A track on King's album Tapestry, the song is one half of the double A-sided
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
single, the flip side which was "It's Too Late." Together, both "I Feel the Earth Move" and "It's Too Late" became among the biggest mainstream pop hits for the year 1971.
A showcase for King's upbeat piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
style, "I Feel the Earth Move" has lyrics with the same percussive feel:
- I feel the earth - move - under my feet
- I feel the sky tum-b-ling down - tum-b-ling down
- I feel my heart start to trem-b-ling -
- Whenever you're around
Jon Landau
Jon Landau
Jon Landau is an American music critic, manager and record producer, most known for his association in all three capacities with Bruce Springsteen.He is currently the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....
's review of Tapestry for Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
praised King's voice on this track, saying it negotiates turns from "raunchy" to "bluesy" to "harsh" to "soothing", with the last echoing the development of the song's melody into its chorus.http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/caroleking/albums/album/171700/review/6068041/tapestry
King's version of "I Feel the Earth Move" peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated June 19, 1971. It remained there for five consecutive weeks. It also peaked at #6 in the United Kingdom.
Given its upbeat nature, Ode Records
Ode Records
Ode Records was a record label, started by Lou Adler in 1967 after he sold Dunhill Records to ABC Records. It was distributed by CBS Records until 1969. Between 1970 and 1976 the label was distributed by A&M Records, from 1976 onward it was again distributed by CBS Records.Adler deactivated the...
selected "I Feel the Earth Move" as the A-side to Tapestrys first single. It achieved airplay, but then disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
s and listeners began to prefer the slower, lamenting B-side "It's Too Late". Both sides received airplay for a while, but eventually "It's Too Late" dominated. In fact, on the concurrent Cash Box singles chart, which still tracked the progress of both sides of a single separately, "It's Too Late " spent four weeks at number one while "I Feel the Earth Move" did not chart at all. Regardless, since Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
had declared the record a double A-side and their chart gradually became seen by many as the "official" singles chart, it is generally listed in books and articles that both "I Feel the Earth Move" and "It's Too Late" reached #1.
Together with "It's Too Late", "I Feel the Earth Move" was named by the RIAA as number 213 of 365 Songs of the Century
Songs of the Century
The "Songs of the Century" list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America , the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. that aims to "promote a better understanding of America’s musical and cultural heritage" in American schools...
.
On Tuesday, March 18, 2008, King performed the song on The Colbert Report.
Personnel
- Joel O'Brien: DrumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Charles Larkey: Electric BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Danny KootchDanny KortchmarDanny "Kootch" Kortchmar is a guitarist, session musician, and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as David Crosby, Carole King, Graham Nash, Carly Simon and James Taylor helped define the signature sound of the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s...
: Electric GuitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Carole King: KeyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, Vocals
Martika version
Released in autumn 1989, "I Feel the Earth Move" was the third single from MartikaMartika
Martika is an American pop singer-songwriter and actress. As a singer she released two internationally successful albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s, selling over four million copies worldwide.-Early life and career:Martika entered mainstream show business in an uncredited role as one of the...
's self-titled debut, Martika
Martika (album)
Martika is the title of the debut album by former child actor and Teen pop singer Martika. It was released on CBS Records in 1988.- Background :...
. "I Feel the Earth Move" reached the number 25 on the pop charts in the U.S., and number 7 in the UK and number 2 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The high energy music video was shot during the promotional tour for this album. The song's tenure on the U.S. charts was cut short when radio stations pulled it from their playlists in the wake of the 1989 San Francisco earthquake.
Track listing
For the cassette or 7" single:- Side A – "I Feel The Earth Move"
- Side B – "Quiero Entregarte Mi Amor" (Spanish Version "More Than You Know")
Other versions
Peggy LeePeggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
never recorded "I Feel the Earth Move" for an album, but performed the song live.
Loretta Swit
Loretta Swit
Loretta Swit is an American stage and television actress known for her character roles. Swit is best-known for her portrayal of Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on M*A*S*H.-Early life:...
performed the song on The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
in 1980.
Young American actress/singer Mandy Moore
Mandy Moore
Amanda Leigh "Mandy" Moore is an American singer-songwriter, actress and fashion designer. Moore became famous as a teenager in the late 1990s, after the release of her teen pop albums So Real, I Wanna Be with You, and Mandy Moore. In 2007, she took an adult pop-folk direction with the release of...
had a go at the song on her somewhat popular 2003 album Coverage
Coverage (album)
Coverage is the fourth album released by pop singer Mandy Moore, composed exclusively of covers of songs from the 1970s and 1980s. The album was released by Epic Records.-History:...
; it was considered a good enough effort to be included on her subsequent albeit disowned The Best of Mandy Moore
The Best of Mandy Moore
The Best of Mandy Moore is a greatest hits compilation album featuring songs from Mandy Moore, released in 2004 through Epic Records.-History:...
collection and on the 2005 benefit album Love Rocks
Love Rocks
Love Rocks is a two-disc compilation album released February 8, 2005, by the Human Rights Campaign in collaboration with Centaur Entertainment...
.
Australian songstress Delta Goodrem
Delta Goodrem
Delta Lea Goodrem is an Australian singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress. Signed to Sony at the age of 15, Goodrem rose to prominence in 2002, starring in the Australian soap opera Neighbours as Nina Tucker. Goodrem has achieved eight number-one singles and three number-one albums in her home...
featured the song on her 2005 Visualise Tour.
Jazz/funk guitarist Ivan "Boogaloo Joe" Jones recorded an instrumental version of this song.
Japanese singer UA
UA (singer)
, simply known by the stage name UA , is a Japanese singer-songwriter. She debuted under Speedstar Records in 1995 with the single "Horizon".-Biography:...
recorded a version of this song (in English) included on her "COLONY" single. It was also part of her live album FINE FEATHERS MAKE FINE BIRDS.
In the episode "Praying For Time
Praying for Time
"Praying for Time" is a U.S. number-one song written and performed by George Michael, released on Epic Records in 1990. It spent one week in the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, and was the last solo single from Michael to occupy the top of the chart in the US.-History:The song was...
" of Eli Stone
Eli Stone
Eli Stone is an American TV series, and also the name of the title character.San Francisco lawyer Eli Stone begins to see things, which leads him to discover a brain aneurysm...
, in a vision seen by the title character, Taylor Weathersby (Natasha Henstridge
Natasha Henstridge
Natasha T. Henstridge is a Canadian fashion model turned actress. Her most notable on-screen roles include Species, The Whole Nine Yards, It Had To Be You, Ghosts of Mars, She Spies, the TV series Eli Stone, and the Canadian TV mini-series Would Be Kings, for which she won the Gemini Award for...
) and Maggie Dekker (Julie Gonzalo
Julie Gonzalo
Julie Gonzalo is an Argentine-American actress. She is known for her roles as Parker Lee in Veronica Mars, Shelby in A Cinderella Story and Maggie Dekker in Eli Stone. She has been in two movies with Chad Michael Murray: Freaky Friday and A Cinderella Story...
) sing it, signifying what may be an upcoming earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
in San Francisco, as well as giving Eli an insight into his lovelife.
Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
has added parts of this songs as a bridge to her song Take to the Sky (a B-Side from her debut Little Earthquakes
Little Earthquakes
-B-sides:The album is also known for its collection of B-sides. The four songs recorded with Davitt Sigerson that did not make it to the final version of the album were included on the singles released from Little Earthquakes....
) in live performances. Most recently, on her Sinful Attraction Tour
Sinful Attraction Tour
The Sinful Attraction Tour is the tenth world concert tour by American singer-songwriter Tori Amos to support her album Abnormally Attracted to Sin.-Songs:Amos is known for changing her setlist every time she performs...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
on November 16, 2009, but also at the Dranouter Festival on August 8, 2008, and many times during her 2003 Tour. She comments on this on her book Piece By Piece
Piece by Piece (book)
Piece by Piece is an autobiographical book by singer/songwriter Tori Amos and co-authored by rock music journalist Ann Powers. It was published in the U.S. in February 2005 and in the U.K. in June 2005.-Synopsis:...
.
Rock band Super 400
Super 400
Super 400 is a rock band from Troy, New York. Active since the mid 90’s the band has released four studio albums and one live set as of September 2009....
recorded a version at Ardent Studios
Ardent Studios
Ardent Studios is a recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee. Ardent Records/Ardent Music is the in-house label.- History :Ardent Studios was founded by John Fry and was initially a studio in his family's garage, where he recorded his first Ardent Records 45's. In 1966 the operation moved...
in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
for their 2009 album "Sweet Fist."
In 1989, I Feel The Earth Move was scheduled to be the debut single for English boy band Big Fun, but was pulled at the last minute in favour of Blame It On The Boogie
Blame It on the Boogie
"Blame It on the Boogie" is a disco song, originally released in 1978 both by English singer-songwriter Mick Jackson as well as by The Jacksons , and was later also covered by numerous other artists.-Background:...
, a cover of The Jacksons hit, written by Mick Jackson
Mick Jackson (singer)
Mick Jackson is an English singer-songwriter and the co-writer of the song, "Blame It on the Boogie"...
(no relation). The Big Fun version of the song appeared as a bonus track on the CD and Cassette versions of their 1989 album "A Pocket Full Of Dreams".
In 2010, Chinese singer Olivia Ong
Olivia Ong
Olivia Ong is a Singaporean singer. She sings mostly in English but developed her career singing in English and Japanese. In addition, she has released rare tracks, recorded in Mandarin, and Cantonese which can be found on limited edition albums.-Biography:...
recorded a cover for her album Olivia.
In 2011, Casey Abrams
Casey Abrams
Casey Abrams is an American musician from Idyllwild, California who finished in sixth place on the tenth season of American Idol. He was eliminated from the competition on April 28, 2011, five weeks after being saved from elimination by the judges.-Early life:Abrams was born on February 12, 1991...
and Haley Reinhart
Haley Reinhart
Haley Reinhart is an American singer from Wheeling, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois who placed third in the tenth season of American Idol. Reinhart is currently signed to 19 and Interscope Records.-Early life:...
sang a duet of this song in American Idol (Season 10)
American Idol (season 10)
The tenth season of American Idol premiered on January 19, 2011 and concluded on May 25, 2011, on Fox. The show underwent a number of changes from season nine, including the reduction of the judging panel to its original number of just three judges , a returning executive producer, a new music...
Usage
The first 22 seconds of the Carole King version is used for the earthquake room exhibit at the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry (OMSI) in Portland, Oregon, USAPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
.
During an NHL game between the Anaheim Ducks
Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California, USA. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
and the Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
at Staples Center
Staples Center
Staples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles...
, an earthquake occurred. During the first break-in-play after the earthquake, the Kings DJ played Carole King's "I Feel The Earth Move".
The song was used in Japan for a Toyota RAV4
Toyota RAV4
The Toyota RAV4 is a compact crossover SUV from Toyota. It was the first compact crossover SUV, introduced in Japan and Europe in 1994 and beginning sales in North America in 1996...
commercial in 2001.
On the popular NBC sitcom Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
, the character Jack McFarland
Jack McFarland
John Philip "Jack" McFarland was a fictional character on the American television sitcom Will & Grace, played by Sean Hayes.-Character personality:...
sings a piano solo version of this song as a part of his one-man cabaret.