"For the Good Times" is a song written by

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Nig ...

, first recorded by singer Bill Nash in 1968 before appearing on Kristofferson's own debut album in April 1970. After a recording by Ray Price became a #1

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

in June of that year, the song established Kristofferson as one of country and popular music's top songwriters while giving Price his first chart-topping

country and western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

song in 11 years. "For the Good Times" continued to be recorded by a number of artists in subsequent years, to popular success. It became a staple of soul singer

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...

's concert repertoire in the 1970s, also featuring as a studio recording on his 1972 album '' I'm Still in Love with You''. A version by

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...

spent 27 weeks on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

peaking at #7 in August 1973.

Composition

Kristofferson wrote most of the song in 1968 while on a work-related road trip from Nashville to the Gulf of Mexico. It recounts the end of a love affair, based on a real life experience of his, in a manner that popular music scholar Steve Sullivan said "conveys sadness, acceptance, and longing".

Ray Price's recording

An early recording of the song was by Bill Nash on

Smash Records Smash Records was an American record label founded in 1961 as a subsidiary of Mercury Records by Mercury executive Shelby Singleton and run by Singleton with Charlie Fach. Fach took over after Singleton left Mercury in 1966. Its recording artist ...

in 1968. Kristofferson's own recording appeared on self-titled debut album in April 1970. Ray Price recorded it on March 16, 1970, accompanied by an orchestra in Nashville's Columbia Studio A."Kris Kristofferson Talks More About His Songs"
CMT. Retrieved September 8, 2018. Price's recording was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

and made its

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

debut on June 27, 1970, topping the country and western chart for one week and reaching #11 on the

pop singles chart The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming in ...

. "For the Good Times" was Price's fifth #1 single and spent 19 weeks on the chart. It was also his only release to hit the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

of the pop chart. Originally Price's label,

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, had released the song as the "B" side of the single, but switched to promoting "For the Good Times" after

Wayne Newton Carson Wayne Newton (born April 3, 1942) is an American singer and actor. One of the most popular singers in the nation from the mid-to-late 20th-century, Newton remains one of the best-known entertainers in Las Vegas. He is known by the nicknam ...

recorded his own version of the tune. The flip side, "Grazin' in Greener Pastures," did receive credit on the country music chart.Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits" (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991 (), p. 43. At the 1971

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country music ...

awards, "For the Good Times" won in the category of "Song of the Year" (for Kristofferson as composer) and "Single of the Year" (for Price). In 2014, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' named Price's recording #18 on its "40 Saddest Country Songs of All Time".

Kacey Musgraves Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American country singer. She has won six Grammy Awards, seven Country Music Association Awards, and three Academy of Country Music Awards. Musgraves self-released three solo albums and one as Texa ...

has said it "might be the saddest song of all time. It really breaks my heart." It was featured in

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promoting

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's coverage of the 2014–15

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.ESPN television commercial promoting 2014–15 College Football Playoff telecasts, courtesy of YouTube.
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Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:For the Good Times (Song) 1968 songs 1970 singles Songs written by Kris Kristofferson Ray Price (musician) songs Al Green songs Dean Martin songs Dolly Parton songs Elvis Presley songs Frank Sinatra songs Jerry Lee Lewis songs Johnny Cash songs Kenny Rogers songs Michael Jackson songs Perry Como songs Tennessee Ernie Ford songs Willie Nelson songs Andy Williams songs Song recordings produced by Don Law Song recordings produced by Jerry Kennedy