That's The Way I Feel About Cha

Recording and Release History of "That's The Way I Feel About Cha"

"That's The Way I Feel About Cha" was recorded by Bobby Womack & Peace and released in late 1971, marking a significant moment in Womack's gradual transition from respected industry insider to recognized solo artist in his own right. Bobby Womack had spent the 1960s primarily as a session guitarist and songwriter, working extensively for Sam Cooke's SAR Records label and contributing to recordings by a wide range of artists. His guitar work appeared on recordings across multiple genres, and his songwriting produced material that was recorded by artists including Wilson Pickett and others. By the early 1970s, however, Womack was pursuing a solo career more seriously and the addition of "Peace" as a credited collaborator to his name on this recording was part of his presentation as a creative collective.

The recording was produced and released through United Artists Records during a period when Womack was working to establish a more consistent commercial identity. The early 1970s soul landscape was competitive and rapidly evolving, with artists such as Marvin Gaye, Al Green, and Curtis Mayfield redefining what was possible within the soul idiom in terms of both artistic ambition and commercial profile. Womack, who had deep roots in gospel and classic soul traditions, was developing his own voice within this changed environment, and "That's The Way I Feel About Cha" represented one of his most commercially visible moments of this transitional period.

The single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 11, 1971, at number 91. Its chart climb was gradual and measured, reflecting the kind of word-of-mouth and radio-driven momentum that characterized soul records building an audience through sustained exposure rather than immediate commercial blitz. From 91, the record moved to 71, then 60, then 48 in the first week of January 1972, then to 37 the following week. The song continued to build through February 1972, ultimately peaking at number 27 on February 12, 1972. It spent a total of 13 weeks on the Hot 100, a solid chart run that confirmed Womack's capacity to reach pop audiences while retaining his soul identity.

The recording also performed on the R&B charts, where it achieved stronger relative success than its pop position suggested, reflecting the way in which Womack's audience was concentrated particularly among Black radio listeners and soul music enthusiasts. This pattern, of stronger R&B performance relative to pop crossover, was characteristic of Womack's commercial profile during the early part of his solo career, before he achieved the broader mainstream crossover that would come later in the decade.

Bobby Womack's guitar work was a central feature of the recording's identity and one of the elements that distinguished it within the early 1970s soul landscape. His approach to the electric guitar combined blues-rooted technique with a rhythmic sensibility shaped by his years of session work, and this combination gave the recording a textured, organic quality that contrasted with the more studio-polished productions that were beginning to dominate the soul mainstream. The earthiness of the recording's sound was consistent with Womack's artistic identity and appealed to audiences who valued authenticity and musical directness.

The period immediately surrounding the release of "That's The Way I Feel About Cha" was one of considerable productivity for Womack, who was releasing albums at a consistent pace while also continuing to work as a session musician and songwriter. The United Artists Records period of his career, while not always well-documented in later critical surveys that focused primarily on his later work, produced material that has been reassessed favorably by soul music historians as representative of the breadth and depth of his creative output. The song itself was included on his album Communication, which appeared in 1972 and was received favorably by critics interested in the crossroads of classic soul and emerging funk and progressive R&B styles.

In the decades following its original release, "That's The Way I Feel About Cha" has been acknowledged in retrospective critical assessments of early 1970s soul as a characteristically direct and emotionally compelling example of Womack's vocal and musical style. His later commercial and critical peak in the mid-1980s, particularly following the release of The Poet and its sequel, brought renewed attention to his earlier catalog, and this song benefited from that retrospective reassessment. The recording stands as evidence of Womack's creative consistency across a career that spanned multiple decades and stylistic shifts in American popular music.