Flashdance...What A Feeling

Album

A Charlie Brown Christmas (soundtrack)

Label

Casablanca Records

Genre

Stage & Screen

Composer(s)

Irene Cara;Keith Forsey;Giorgio Moroder

Entered Chart

Apr 2, 1983

Peak Date

May 28, 1983

Released

March 1983

Recorded

early 1983

Catalog #

Casablanca 811440-7

B-Side

"Love Theme from Flashdance" (instrumental)

This was the title song to the movie Flashdance, one of the first films not fitting into the "musical" category that was centered around the songs. As more people started watching MTV, it became easier and more acceptable to integrate pop songs into films, which led to movies like Footloose and Dirty Dancing. Irene Cara wrote the lyrics with the songwriter Keith Forsey; Giorgio Moroder composed the music and produced the track. Moroder and Forsey wrote many songs that became hits when they were used in '80s movies: Moroder wrote "Danger Zone" and "Take My Breath Away" for Top Gun, while Forsey wrote "Shakedown" for Beverly Hills Cop II and "Don't You (Forget About Me)" for The Breakfast Club. The word "Flashdance" never appears in the lyric, but the song still relates to the movie, as it's specifically about dancing. Irene Cara was an accomplished dancer who not only sang the title song to Fame, but also starred in the film as an aspiring dancer. Said Cara: "'What a feeling' was a metaphor about a dancer, how she's in control of her body when she dances and how she can be in control of her life." The movie Flashdance was released on April 15, 1983. On May 28, this song hit #1 US, where it stayed for six weeks. On June 25, the soundtrack when to #1 and stayed for two weeks, interrupting the run of Michael Jackson's Thriller, which had been at the top spot for 17 weeks and would return for another 20 (eventually knocked off by the Footloose soundtrack). On September 10, another song from Flashdance, Michael Sembello's "Maniac," also went to #1 US. The backing track is powered by a LM-1 drum machine, programmed by Richie Zito, who also played guitar on the track. Producer Giorgio Moroder was an early adopter of the LM-1, which was the first programable unit to use real drum samples instead of synthesized sounds. "Maniac" also used the device. Irene Cara won the 1983 Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, for her work on this song. She and her co-writers also were awarded the Oscar for Best Original Song, beating out two songs from Yentl, one from Tender Mercies, and another Flashdance tune: "Maniac." The video featured the dance sequence to Flashdance, which was the primary driver of the leg warmers trend of the '80s. According to Giorgio Moroder, he wrote this song with Irena Cara in mind to sing because he loved what she did with the theme song to Fame. The dance scenes in the video (and the movie), were performed by body double Marine Jahan. It was a well kept secret that Jennifer Beals did not dance in the film.

First, when there's nothing
But a slow glowing dream
That your fear seems to hide
Deep inside your mind

All alone, I have cried
Silent tears full of pride
In a world made of steel
Made of stone

Well, I hear the music
Close my eyes, feel the rhythm
Wrap around, take a hold of my heart

What a feeling
Being's believin'
I can have it all, now I'm dancing for my life

Take your passion
And make it happen
Pictures come alive
You can dance right through your life

Now I hear the music
Close my eyes, I am rhythm
In a flash, it takes hold of my heart

What a feeling
Being's believin'
I can have it all, now I'm dancing for my life

Take your passion
And make it happen
Pictures come alive
Now I'm dancin' through my life
What a feeling

What a feeling (I am music now)
Being's believin' (I am rhythm now)
Pictures come alive
You can dance right through your life

What a feeling (I can really have it all)
What a feeling (pictures come alive when I call)
I can have it all (I can really have it all)
Have it all (pictures come alive when I call)
(Call, call, call, call)

(What a feeling)
I can have it all (being's believin')
Being's believin' (take your passion)
(Make it happen) make it happen
(What a feeling) what a feeling