The Feelies were an alternative rock band from Haledon, New Jersey. They formed in 1976 and disbanded in 1992. They frequently played at Maxwell's, a live music venue and bar restaurant in Hoboken in the 1980s. Their first album, Crazy Rhythms (Stiff Records, 1980) was cited by the Athens, Georgia band, R.E.M., as a major influence. The Feelies rarely worked with outside producers and created shimmering soundscapes with multiple guitar layers that sounded unique compared to the punk/new wave atmosphere of the late 1970's and early 1980's.
Glenn Mercer, Bill Million and Dave Weckerman began playing together in 1976 in Haledon, New Jersey in a band called the Outkids.
Most of the vocals and songs were written and sung by Glenn Mercer. Along with original band members Bill Million, Keith Clayton and Anton Fier, The Feelies released their first single “Fa Ce La” on Rough Trade Records in 1980. The album that followed on Stiff Records, Crazy Rhythms, was #78 in Rolling Stone's top 100 albums of the 1980s, and #69 on Pitchfork Media's similar list.
After the departure of Fier and Clayton, Mercer and Million collaborated with other local New Jersey musicians, forming a band called the Trypes, featuring future members of The Feelies, Brenda Sauter, David Weckerman and Stanley Demeski.
Other members of the Trypes, which released one EP on the Coyote label, ”The Explorer's Hold” became members of the band Speed The Plough circa 1982.
As a quintet, The Feelies recorded The Good Earth in 1985 with Peter Buck of R.E.M. as producer. The Feelies enjoyed success as an opening band for Lou Reed as well as R.E.M. that year. The band also found the time and energy to record the songs of David Weckerman under the name Yung Wu in 1986. The album was released on Coyote Records and was titled “Shore Leave”. The only difference between The Feelies and Yung Wu was that the songs were sung by Weckerman and featured John Baumgartner of Speed The Plough on keyboards.