"I Feel the Earth Move" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Carole King for her second studio album Tapestry, released in 1971. The song was part of a double A-sided single, with "It's Too Late" on the other side. Both "I Feel the Earth Move" and "It's Too Late" became two of the most popular songs of 1971.

Reception

Jon Landau's review of Tapestry for Rolling Stone praised Carole King's voice on this track, noting that it moves smoothly from "raunchy" to "bluesy" to "harsh" to "soothing," with the last part matching the song's melody as it reaches the chorus. Landau called the melody of the chorus a "simple pop line." In 2011, Rolling Stone said King's "warm, sincere singing" added "earthy joy" to the song. Music journalist Harvey Kubernik wrote that "I Feel the Earth Move" was "probably the most sexually confident song on the Tapestry album" and a "daring" opening to an album mostly focused on "calm, personal stories."

AllMusic critic Stewart Mason described the song as "the best example of hippie-style romantic music" and wrote that it "sounds like the release of a whole generation of quiet college girls' shared excitement." Cash Box called the song a "powerful 'earthquake song'" and said pairing it with "It's Too Late" as a single was "double dynamite." Record World said the song was "high-quality modern pop."

Author James Perone praised how the lyrics and music work together. He used the line "tumbling down" as an example, explaining that the rhythm of the melody places the emphasis at the end of the word "tumbling" instead of the beginning, creating a "musical version of a fall." Perone also noted that the fast tempo helps listeners feel the singer's excitement about being close to her love, and that the lyrics show sexual tension even though it is not directly stated. Perone said some of the song's success came from producer Lou Adler's choice to focus on King's piano playing in the recording, making it sound different from the guitar-heavy style of her previous album. Mason also credited the song's success to the "piano-based rhythm" and King's singing style.

King's version of "I Feel the Earth Move" reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week of June 19, 1971. It stayed at number one for five weeks in a row. It also reached number six on the UK Singles Chart.

Because the song is upbeat, Ode Records chose "I Feel the Earth Move" as the A-side (main track) of Tapestry's first single. It received radio play, but later, radio hosts and listeners preferred the slower, sadder B-side "It's Too Late." Both sides were played for a time, but eventually, "It's Too Late" became more popular. On the Cash Box singles chart, which tracked each side of a single separately, "It's Too Late" stayed at number one for four weeks, while "I Feel the Earth Move" did not chart. However, Billboard labeled the record a "double A-side" and its chart became seen as the official singles chart. Because of this, many books and articles say both songs reached number one.

Along with "It's Too Late," "I Feel the Earth Move" was named by the RIAA as number 213 of 365 Songs of the Century.

Personnel

• Carole King performed keyboards and sang vocals
• Danny Kootch played electric guitar
• Charles Larkey played electric bass
• Joel O'Brien played drums

Martika version

In mid-1989, American singer-songwriter and actress Martika released a cover of the song "I Feel the Earth Move." This version was the third single from her first album, Martika (1988). The song reached number seven on the charts in the United Kingdom and number two in Australia. It also reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, the song's chart position dropped quickly after radio stations stopped playing it following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The music video for the song was filmed during the promotional tour for the album.

The single was released on cassette and 7-inch formats.
– Side A: "I Feel the Earth Move"
– Side B: "Quiero Entregarte Mi Amor" (Spanish version of "More Than You Know")

Other cover versions

In 1989, the British boy band Big Fun recorded their version of the song. They planned to release it as a single, but this was cancelled because Martika had already released her own cover. The song was later included as one of the tracks on the B-side of their single "Can't Shake the Feeling." It was also part of their 1990 album "A Pocketful of Dreams," produced by the Stock Aitken Waterman team. The song appeared as a bonus track on the CD and cassette versions of the album. Brix Smith from Record Mirror criticized this version, calling it a "massacre." Smith also said that "discofying" the track showed a lack of imagination, greed, and insensitivity to music.