[2] The song was first performed in public by Guyanese-British singer and actor Cy Grant on the opening night of The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham on 3 August 1964.
It opened on 16 May 1965 at the Shubert Theatre in New York City, where the role of "the Negro", who sings "Feeling Good", was taken by Gilbert Price.
[citation needed] Versions were also released in 1965 by Nina Simone, Jean DuShon, Julie London, Chris Connor, Billy Eckstine, Andy & The Bey Sisters and Sammy Davis Jr. Ed Ames recorded a version in 1966 on his album "It's a Man's World".
[citation needed] Nina Simone's version, arranged and produced by Hal Mooney, was recorded in New York in January 1965 and appeared on her album I Put a Spell on You.
[9] The vocal track by Nina Simone and the music of "Feeling Good" have been sampled in numerous songs.
The bulk of the recording consists of new lyrics, composed by Mary J. Blige, will.i.am and Keith Harris; however, the chorus samples several lines from "Feeling Good" as performed by Nina Simone.
The original instrumental track to Nina Simone's "Feeling Good" was also used in the Swedish musician Avicii's song of the same name, used by Volvo.
[20] In September 2010, NME readers voted it the greatest cover song of all time, over "Twist and Shout" by the Beatles and "Hurt" by Johnny Cash.
[23][24] "Feeling Good" was covered by Canadian singer Michael Bublé as the lead single from his album It's Time.
The song was the opening track on his live album Caught in the Act and has appeared in television advertisements, ESPN's 2005 World Series of Poker tournament, and the 2010 NBA draft broadcast.
It features Bublé in a nuclear power plant, reminiscent of James Bond and other 1960s secret agent movies.
American girl group the Pussycat Dolls recorded "Feeling Good" for their debut studio album, PCD (2005).
Nick Butler of Sputnikmusic wrote that the song's inclusion on the album serves as "a pretty pointless vocal workout for Nicole".
[29] John Murphy from musicOMH gave a negative review, writing: "All the emotion and melodrama of the original is ripped out of the heart of the song and we're left with a pointless, faux-jazz version.
While delivering an a cappella version of the song, Scherzinger wore a "virginal hoodie-cum-headscarf", reported Helen Pidd of The Guardian.
The studio version of "Feeling Good" was recorded by Michael in 2008 (with actress Loretta Devine featured prominently on backing vocals) and included on the US edition of his Twenty Five compilation.