The Story Behind Dave Mason’s Most Covered Song, “Feelin’ Alright?”

Two chords, an intermittently missing question mark, and Joe Cocker. Those are some key ingredients behind “Feelin’ Alright?,” penned by Dave Mason, his most covered song by a wide margin, that helped it become a classic rock, soul, and pop standard. 

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At 21, singer/songwriter/guitarist Dave Mason had experienced fame as one of the key songwriters in the U.K. band Traffic. He wrote and sang the catchy pop single “Hole in My Shoe” from Mr. Fantasy (1967), a major hit in many countries, if not the U.S. 

However, the rest of Traffic felt it didn’t reflect their more creative, offbeat psychedelic folk/rock. Mason also penned the songs he contributed to Traffic alone, as opposed to the rest of the material co-composed by the three other members, Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, and Chris Wood. That led to friction, causing Mason to leave and return a few times during Traffic’s short initial run from 1967 to 1969 (there were also later reformations).

[RELATED: Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dies Months After Retirement: Remembering Traffic Co-Founder Dave Mason]

Mason split the outfit and headed to Greece, on an island named Hydra, where he wrote “Feelin’ Alright?,” expressing his resentment over an unrequited love. He then returned for Traffic’s second release in 1968, which included the song’s first version. Though comprised of only two chords, it was strong enough to be released as a single. But it flopped, never making the Top 100 on either side of the Atlantic. That seemed to leave the future of “Feelin’ Alright?” relegated to a somewhat obscure entry in Traffic’s catalog. 

Producer Denny Cordell accompanied his new client Joe Cocker to Los Angeles in September 1968. Cocker had yet to craft his debut album, but on that trip, he heard “Feelin’ Alright?” The duo recorded it immediately with session musicians from Ray Charles’ band, including backing vocals from The Raelettes. It was the only track from that set created in the States with American musicians. The liner notes in Cocker’s 1995 box collection describe it as “voodoo-shaded.” But when it appeared, Cocker (or someone at his label) changed the title slightly, yet pointedly, to “Feelin(g) Alright,” adding the “g” and omitting the question mark. 

Joe Cocker’s With a Little Help from My Friends album, released in 1969, became a huge hit, partially due to his knockout gig at Woodstock. Cocker started it with a creatively rearranged “Feeling Alright.” Immediately, the congas, vibraslap percussion, and a jumpy jazz/soul piano lick kick in. They continue to bubble throughout, making it substantially different and far catchier than Traffic’s more subtle, folksy approach. Cocker opens with the iconic lyrics Seems I’ve got to have a change of scene / Every night I have the strangest dream introducing not just his gritty, soul-drenched growl to the world, but also the throbbing, instantly memorable tune few had heard before. Many thought it was penned by him. Cocker then performed it on the popular Ed Sullivan Show, seen by millions. 

That was all it took for “Feelin’ Alright?” to jostle the mainstream. Later in 1969, it was quickly recognized as a powerful and easily adaptable tune for others to take a crack at. Hit-makers Three Dog Night included it in their mega-selling second release, Rare Earth gave it a go, as did Motown soul singer David Ruffin, all of whom kept Cocker’s imaginative, propulsive arrangement. Jazz percussionist Mongo Santamaria even made it the title cut of his album that year. 

“Oh my God, this is great,” Mason exclaimed upon hearing Cocker’s sped-up reading. In a later interview, he elaborated, “I think it’s because the song’s so simple but also because Joe Cocker’s version is so damn good!” After leaving Traffic for a successful solo career, Mason copied the piano and conga lick into many of his own performances. It has since been on most of the artist’s live releases and remained a set highlight until his retirement from touring this year at age 79.

Despite its upbeat vibe, especially in Cocker’s and later versions, the song was created out of romantic frustration. Mason had fallen for Linda Keith, a blues lover and model for Vogue magazine, who was also a girlfriend and inspiration to legendary musicians Brian Jones, Keith Richards, and Jimi Hendrix. She did not take the relationship as seriously. “I was young; she was experienced and worldly. My emotions could not handle it,” he relates about the breakup in his 2024 autobiography Only You Know and I Know. That triggered the tortured lyrics of Imprisoned by the way it could have been / Left here on my own or so it seems / I’ve got to leave before I start to scream / But someone’s locked the door and took the key. 

[RELATED: Ex-Traffic Member Dave Mason Set to Release a New Solo Album, ‘A Shade of Blues,’ Following Successful Heart Surgery]

“A lot of people miss the nuance of the question mark in the title,” Mason expounds in his book. That’s because it vanished as early as on Joe Cocker’s sleeve, and in later iterations. But that slight omission changes the intent. Mason is answering a query about whether he’s feeling alright. Even though he responds with Not feeling too good myself, without the question mark, it implies he’s feeling fine, which is clearly not the case as the lyrics progress.

The list of well over 50 covers of “Feelin’ Alright?” is too long to list. But it’s worth mentioning a handful of the remarkably diverse artists who have given it their stamp. They include jazzman Hubert Laws, funk practitioners Maceo Parker, along with Jr. Walker & the Allstars and the Ohio Players, soul acts the Jackson 5, The Bar-Kays, and Isaac Hayes, and rockers Paul Weller, the Black Crowes, as well as Grand Funk Railroad. Most recently, country-rocker Elle King featured it on the soundtrack of the 2022 animated feature The Bad Guys. 

Mason’s own live recording from 1976 reconstructs it with an unusual funk/rock thump, showing how malleable and significant “Feelin’ Alright?” continued to be throughout his extensive career.