Good Times (Chic song)

"Good Times"
Single by Chic
from the album Risqué
B-side "A Warm Summer Night"
Released June 30, 1979
Format
Recorded 1979
Genre Disco
Length 8:08 (LP version)
3:42 (7" edit)
Label Atlantic (3584)
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Bernard Edwards
  • Nile Rodgers
Chic singles chronology
"I Want Your Love"
(1979)		 "Good Times"
(1979)		 "My Forbidden Lover"
(1979)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help

"Good Times" is a song by American R&B band Chic from their third album Risqué (1979). The disco song, ranked No. 229 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, has become one of the most sampled tunes in music history, most notably in hip hop music.

Lyrics

The lyrics include a reference to Milton Ager's "Happy Days Are Here Again". It also contains lines based on lyrics featured in "About a Quarter to Nine" made famous by Al Jolson. Nile Rodgers has stated that these Great Depression-era lyrics were used as a hidden way to comment on the then-current economic conditions in the United States.[1]

Chart performance

In August 1979, it became the band's second number-one single on both the pop and soul chart.[2] Along with the songs "My Forbidden Lover" and "My Feet Keep Dancing", "Good Times" reached #3 on the disco chart.[3] It reportedly sold 5 million copies, making it, at the time, the best-selling 45 rpm single in the history of Atlantic Records.[4] Billboard magazine named "Good Times" the number one soul single of 1979.

Track listing and formats

7" vinyl single

  • A. "Good Times" – 3:42
  • B. "A Warm Summer Night" – 6:08

12" vinyl single

  • A. "Good Times" – 8:10
  • B. "A Warm Summer Night" – 6:08

Promo 12" vinyl single

  • A. "Good Times" – 8:10
  • B. "Good Times" – 3:42

Personnel

  • Guitar – Nile Rodgers
  • Bass – Bernard Edwards
  • Acoustic piano – Rob Sabino
  • Fender Rhodes electric piano – Raymond Jones
  • Drums – Tony Thompson
  • String arrangements – Harold Wheeler or Nile Rogers/Bernard Edwards

Charts

Disco Montego version

"Good Times"
Single by Disco Montego featuring Selwyn, Katie Underwood, Peta Morris and Jeremy Gregory
Released 4 November 2002 (2002-11-04)
Format CD Single
Recorded 2002
Label Warner Music
Songwriter(s)
Disco Montego singles chronology
"Magic"
(2002) Magic2002		 ""Good Times""
(2002) "Good Times"2002		 "U Talkin' to Me"
(2002) U Talkin' to Me2002
Selwyn singles chronology
"Like This, Like That"
(2002) Like This, Like That2002		 ""Good Times""
(2002) "Good Times"2002		 "Boomin'"
(2004) Boomin'2004
Katie Underwood singles chronology
"Magic"
(2002) Magic2002		 ""Good Times""
(2002) "Good Times"2002		 "Danger"
(2003) Danger2003
Peta Morris singles chronology
"The Sound of Breaking Up"
(2001) The Sound of Breaking Up2001		 ""Good Times""
(2002) "Good Times"2002		 "Sunshine Eyes"
(2005) Sunshine Eyes2005
Jeremy Gregory singles chronology
""Good Times""
(2002) "Good Times"2002		 "That's What's Goin' Down"
(2003) That's What's Goin' Down2003

"Good Times" was covered by Australian musicians Disco Montego, Selwyn, Katie Underwood, Peta Morris and Jeremy Gregory and released in November 2002. It was released as part of Australia's largest pop music festival Rumba which took place in November and December 2002, across Australia.[11][12]

The song peaked at number 52 on the ARIA Singles Chart in December 2002 in its sixth week.

Track listing

CD single

  1. "Good Times"
  2. "Good Times" (Karaoke version)
  3. "Disco Montego Megamix"
  4. "Good Times" (Extended Mix)

Charts

Chart (2002) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[13] 52

Sampling and motifs

The backing track of "Good Times" was notably recreated in The Sugarhill Gang's 1979 single "Rapper's Delight," a key track in the development of hip hop. Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards threatened legal action over copyright, which resulted in a settlement and their being credited as co-writers.[14] Rodgers admitted that he was originally upset with the song, but would later declare it to be "one of his favorite songs of all time" and his favorite of all the tracks that sampled Chic[15] (although the song did not actually use samples). He also stated that "as innovative and important as 'Good Times' was, 'Rapper's Delight' was just as much, if not more so."[16] Traditionally, Chic's live performances of "Good Times" incorporate a portion of "Rapper's Delight" including audience participation call-and-response.

This is a list of songs that either use direct samples from "Good Times" or feature an original recording inspired by the song.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Cover versions

References

  1. ↑ EMP Museum, "Happy Days Are Here Again" Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine., EMP Oral History Videos, Category: Black History Month. Nile Rodgers interviewed June 25, 2002, Seattle, Washington.
  2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 116.
  3. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 56.
  4. ↑ George, Nelson (1988). The Death of Rhythm & Blues. New York, NY: Pantheon Books. p. 157. ISBN 0142004081. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Chic – Good Times". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  6. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Chic" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  7. ↑ "Charts.nz – Chic – Good Times". Top 40 Singles.
  8. ↑ "Top 100 Singles (1979)". RPM. Retrieved 2017-07-29.
  9. ↑ Musicoutfitters.com
  10. ↑ Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 29, 1979
  11. ↑ "Rumba kicks off in Australia". Sydney Morning Herald. 4 December 2002. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  12. ↑ "RUMBA 2002 - RUMBA 2002". Frontier Touring. 2002. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  13. ↑ "The ARIA Report issue 668" (PDF). The ARIA Report. 17 January 2003. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  14. ↑ "The Story of Rapper's Delight by Nile Rodgers". RapProject.tv. Retrieved October 12, 2008.
  15. ↑ "Nile Rodgers interviewed by Peter Paphides". Twentyfirstcenturymusic.blogspot.com. November 10, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  16. ↑ Archived October 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  17. ↑ "The Evasions, Wikka Wrap - Chic, Good Times". Who Sampled. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  18. ↑ Video on YouTube
  19. ↑ "Seamus Haji V Mark Knight & Funkagenda - Good Times". Missspelt Music. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
  20. ↑ "Amazon Black Friday Deals Week TV Commercial, 'Every Department' Song By Chic". ispot.tv. Retrieved 2017-01-01.
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