Good Times Bad Times

"Good Times Bad Times"
German single picture sleeve
Single by Led Zeppelin
from the album Led Zeppelin
B-side "Communication Breakdown"
Released 10 March 1969 (1969-03-10) (US)
Format 7-inch single
Recorded October 1968
Studio Olympic, London
Genre Hard rock[1]
Length 2:43
Label Atlantic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Jimmy Page
Led Zeppelin singles chronology
"Good Times Bad Times"
(1969)		 "Whole Lotta Love"
(1969)
Audio sample
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"Good Times Bad Times" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, featured as the opening track on their 1969 debut album Led Zeppelin. The song was released as a single in the US, where it reached the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Recording

For the lead guitar solo, guitarist Jimmy Page fed the output from his Fender Telecaster guitar through a Leslie speaker to create a swirling effect.[3] Jones says that the riff he wrote for this song was the most difficult one he ever wrote.[3]

Live performances

"Good Times Bad Times" was rarely played live at Led Zeppelin concerts in its entirety. In a few instances in 1969 it was used as an introduction to "Communication Breakdown" (as seen in Led Zeppelin (Deluxe Edition). It also appeared in almost complete form within the "Communication Breakdown" medley performed at the LA Forum on 4 September 1970, where it included a bass solo by Jones (as can be heard on the Led Zeppelin bootleg recording Live on Blueberry Hill), and several "Whole Lotta Love" medleys in 1971. It was also the opening song for Led Zeppelin's reunion show at the O2 Arena, London on 10 December 2007. The version of "Good Times Bad Times/Communication Breakdown" released 15 April 2014, on iTunes, is from 10 October 1969 in Paris, on the European Tour of Autumn 1969.

Reception

In a reassessment of Led Zeppelin in 2016, Andy Greene of Rolling Stone praised "Good Times Bad Times", writing the song begins the album with a bang: "Jimmy Page's guitar pounces from the speakers, fat with menace; John Bonham's kick drum swings with anvil force; Robert Plant rambles on about the perils of manhood. Hard rock would never be the same."[4]

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year
Blender United States "The 1001 Greatest Songs to Download Right Now!"[5] 2003

Chart positions

Chart (1969) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[6] 64
Japan (Oricon)[7] 84
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[8] 19
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9] 17
US Billboard Hot 100[10] 80
US Cash Box[11] 66
US Record World[12] 65

Cover versions

Godsmack cover

"Good Times, Bad Times"
Single by Godsmack
from the album Good Times, Bad Times... Ten Years of Godsmack
Released 2007
Format CD single
Recorded 2007
Length 2:57
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Sully Erna
Godsmack singles chronology
"The Enemy"
(2006)		 "Good Times, Bad Times"
(2007)		 "Whiskey Hangover"
(2009)

American rock band Godsmack covered the song in 2007, for their album, Good Times, Bad Times... Ten Years of Godsmack. It was the only song on the album to be newly released as a single and gained moderate radio airplay on US rock stations. A music video was also created for the Godsmack version of the song, featuring live footage.

Charts

Chart (2007) Peak
position
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks[13] 8
US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks[13] 28

Citations

  1. ↑ "Led Zeppelin Biography". The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved 7 June 2014. launching pithy hard-rock rave-ups like "Good Times Bad Times" and "Communication Breakdown."
  2. ↑ Plant was later given a songwriting credit. ISWC T-070.066.161-5
  3. 1 2 Lewis 2010, eBook.
  4. ↑ Greene, Andy (25 July 2016). "10 Classic Albums Rolling Stone Originally Panned: Led Zeppelin, 'Led Zeppelin' (1969)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  5. ↑ "Led Zeppelin – Good Times Bad Times". Blender. Acclaimed Music. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  6. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5981." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  7. ↑ "Top 100 Singles – 5 June 1969" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  8. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Led Zeppelin - Good Times Bad Times" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  9. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Led Zeppelin – Good Times Bad Times" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  10. ↑ "Led Zeppelin – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  11. ↑ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending APRIL 26, 1969". Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. . Cash Box.
  12. ↑ "100 Top Pops" (PDF). Record World. 26 April 1969. p. 29. ISSN 0034-1622. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  13. 1 2 "Good Times, Bad Times: 10 Years of Godsmack – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 6 June 2014.

Sources

  • Lewis, Dave (2010). Led Zeppelin: The Complete Guide to Their Music. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857121356.
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