"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 lyrics describe times that the singer feels romantic, including "watching winter turn to spring" and "holding hands by candlelight." The song peaked atop the singles chart in Canada and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It received three Grammy Award nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

"Feel Like Makin' Love" has been covered by various R&B and jazz artists including D’Angelo, Roy Ayers, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Lou Rawls, Isaac Hayes, George Benson, Shirley Bassey, Jeffrey Osborne, Larry Coryell, Johnny Mathis, Marlena Shaw.

Reception Released nine months before the album of the same title, the song scored a week at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It was Flack's third #1 single, making her the first female vocalist since 1940 to top the chart in three consecutive years.Sioux Falla Argus Leader 8 September 1974 "Music Beat" by Mike Donnelly p.C-13 "Feel Like Makin' Love" also had five weeks at #1 on the Hot Soul Singles chart. and two weeks at #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts of both Canada 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."

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1974)PeakpositionAustralia (Kent Music Report)13Canadian Top Singles (RPM)1Canadian Adult Contemporary (RPM)1France 10Netherlands 29UK Singles Chart34US Billboard Hot 100Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - 1US Billboard Hot Soul Singles1US Billboard Easy Listening1US Cash Box Top 1001

Chart (2025)Peakposition US R&B Digital Song Sales (Billboard)8

Year-end charts Chart (1974)RankAustralia (Kent Music Report)94Canada RPM Top Singles21US Billboard Hot 10035US Billboard Easy Listening21US Cash Box 33

George Benson version

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 compilations.

Track listing 7" Single Feel Like Makin' Love 4:22 Use Me 4:23

Charts Chart (1983)PeakpositionUK Singles (OCC)28Ireland (IRMA)18

D'Angelo version

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.Neal, Mark Anthony. Review: Voodoo. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2008-08-09. It was initially planned as a duet with R&B singer Lauryn Hill.Sinclair, Tom. Body & Soul: Voodoo. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2009-06-04. 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." Mistakenly, some critics who later reviewed the album's track assumed that Lauryn Hill's vocals are present in the recording.

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".Thompson, Ahmir 'Questlove'. "Review: Voodoo". ?uestcorner/Okayplayer: 1999. Archived from the original on 2008-08-09. Dilla, however, did not receive an official credit for the song.D'Angelo (2000), pp. 5–24. As a single, "Feel Like Makin' Love" was Voodoos least successful, as it only reached #109 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.

Charts Chart (2000)PeakpositionUS Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles|0 Billboard charts - Feel Like Makin' Love. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved on 2008-08-09. 9

Other versions The song has been covered by many artists. Among the most notable are: An instrumental version by Bob James for his 1974 album One, reaching #88 on the Hot 100. This version was later used in the Breaking Bad episode "Bit by a Dead Bee". An Estonian-language version by Velly Joonas, "Käes on aeg", was recorded in 1980, but did not gain mass popularity until it was re-released in 2015. Lumidee covered it in her 2007 album, Unexpected, and released it as a single. Celeste Legaspi covered it in 1976 with her song "Pag-ibig Na Lubos Lubos." Guitarist Toshiki Soejima's live version has over 6M views on Youtube as of late 2025.

See also List of RPM number-one singles of 1974 List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1974 (U.S.) List of number-one R&B singles of 1974 (U.S.) List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1974 (U.S.)

Notes

References

External links Feel Like Making Love by D'Angelo on Yahoo! Music

Feel Like Makin' Love - Toshiki Soejima : Live & Recording 2022