“Feeling Alright” (1969) * Written by Dave Mason * Produced by Denny Cordell * 45: “Feeling Alright” / “Sandpaper Cadillac” * LP: With a Little Help from My Friends * Charts: Billboard Hot 100 (#69 – 1969; #33 – 1971 reissue)
“Feeling Alright,” the opening track on the first album (With a Little Help from My Friends) by explosive British rock n’ soul singer Joe Cocker, was an ideal complement for the cover image of Cocker in mid-convulsion. It’s a celebratory performance by him and his all-star studio band (Jimmy Page and Stevie Winwood grace the back cover), with pianist Artie Butler, especially, giving a signature contribution. The thing is, all this good feeling turns the original meaning of the song, first recorded in 1968 by writer Dave Mason’s (and Stevie Winwood’s) Traffic, on its head. “You feeling alright?” go the lyrics. “I’m not feeling too good myself.” It was a coy, bummer breakup song with a crucial question mark in the title. In Cocker’s wake, the song would appear in numerous cover versions, usually as upbeat album filler. Two versions, by Mongo Santamaria (happy) and Grand Funk Railroad (sorta happy with a bummer undertone), charted in the lower regions. Cocker would finally claim virtual ownership of the song in its joyous guise by re-releasing it in 1971, probably in response to its electrifying presence in his 1970 Mad Dogs and Englishmen concert film. A Billboard ad (Jan 22, 1972) for the reissue featured a postcard with an inscription by Cocker saying, “My friends – I’m alive and well – and feeling alright!” (Note the exclamation point.) The 2012 Denzel Washington film Flight latched onto the song’s dual nature by using the Cocker track for an opening cocaine snort and the Traffic one for the sobering closing credits.