"Good Times" is a song by American R&B band

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English diction ...

from their third album '' Risqué'' (1979). It ranks 68th on ''

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 ...

''s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and has become one of the most

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

tunes in music history, most notably in hip hop music. Originally released with "A Warm Summer Night" on the B-side, it was reissued in 2004 with " I Want Your Love" on the B-side, a version which was certified Silver in the UK.

Lyrics and inspiration

The lyrics include a reference to

Milton Ager Milton Ager (October 6, 1893 – May 6, 1979) was an American composer, regarded as one of the top songwriters of the 1920s and 1930s. His most lasting compositions include "Ain't She Sweet?” and “Happy Days Are Here Again”. Biography Ag ...

's "

Happy Days Are Here Again "Happy Days Are Here Again" is a 1929 song with music by Milton Ager and lyrics by Jack Yellen. The song is a standard that has been interpreted by various artists. It appeared in the 1930 film '' Chasing Rainbows'' and was the campaign song for ...

". It also contains lines based on lyrics featured in "

About a Quarter to Nine "About a Quarter to Nine" is a popular song written by Al Dubin and Harry Warren and published in 1935 by M. Witmark & Son, New York. Background The songwriting partnership of Dubin and Warren wrote "About a Quarter to Nine" for the 1935 musica ...

" made famous by

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jews, Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-bi ...

. Nile Rodgers has stated that these

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

-era lyrics were used as a hidden way to comment on the then-current economic conditions in the United States. In a 2015 interview Rodgers stated that "Good Times" was partly inspired by the 1974

Kool & The Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. T ...

song "

Hollywood Swinging "Hollywood Swinging" is a 1974 song by R&B/ funk band Kool & the Gang from their album '' Wild and Peaceful''. It was written by Robert "Kool" Bell, Ronald Bell, George M. Brown, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Claydes Charles Smith, Dennis R. Thomas an ...

Chart performance

The song hit number-one on the

Billboard Hot 100 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 ...

on August 18, 1979, before being ousted by

The Knack The Knack was an American rock band based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with its first single, "My Sharona", an international number-one hit in 1979. History Founding (1977–1978) Singer Doug Fieger was a native of Oak Park, Michigan, a no ...

's smash hit "

My Sharona "My Sharona" () is the debut single by the Knack. The song was written by Berton Averre and Doug Fieger, and it was released in 1979 from their debut album, '' Get the Knack''. It reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart, w ...

" the following week. Along with the songs "

My Forbidden Lover "My Forbidden Lover" is the second single from Chic's 1979 album '' Risqué''. From the funk/soul genre, and in the style of disco, the song was written and produced by Chic's two frontmen, Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers. The song's backing ...

" and "

My Feet Keep Dancing "My Feet Keep Dancing" is the third single from Chic's third studio album '' Risqué''. It features a co-lead vocal by Luci Martin and Bernard Edwards and a tap dance solo by Fayard Nicholas Fayard Antonio Nicholas (October 20, 1914 – January ...

", "Good Times" reached #3 on the disco chart. It reportedly sold more than 5 million copies, making it, at the time, the best-selling 45 rpm single in the history of

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine named "Good Times" the number one soul single of 1979. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' praised the "excellent

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

" and "bright, sassy female vocals."

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" – 8:08 * B. "Good Times" – 3:42 12" 2004 reissue * A. "Good Times" – 8:15 * B. "I Want Your Love" – 6:53

Personnel

* Vocals: Alfa Anderson * Keyboards: Andy Schwartz * Bass Guitar, Vocals:

Bernard Edwards Bernard Edwards (October 31, 1952 – April 18, 1996) was an American bass player and record producer, known primarily for his work in disco music with guitarist Nile Rodgers, with whom he co-founded Chic. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the ...

* Strings: Cheryl Hong * Vocals:

Fonzi Thornton Alfonso "Fonzi" Thornton is a U.S. songwriter/producer and vocal contractor. In a career spanning 40 years, Thornton has sung backing vocals for top artists across many genres of music. His vocal credits can be found on the recordings of Are ...

* Strings: Karen Karlsrud * Strings: Karen Milne * Vocals: Luci Martin * Vocals: Michele Cobbs * Guitar:

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

* Keyboards: Raymond Jones * Keyboards:

Robert Sabino Robert Sabino is an American rock keyboardist.(14 July 1996)Star Turns From a Home in the Firehouse ''The New York Times'' ("Mr. Sabino, a well-known keyboardist, attracted a record producer, Nile Rodgers, who lived in Fairfield County, to some o ...

* Percussion: Sammy Figueroa * Drums: Tony Thompson * Vocals:

Ullanda McCullough Ullanda McCullough is an American pop music singer most noted as a backing vocalist. Career McCullough began her singing career at age 13 in Detroit, Michigan. In early 1970s she sang numerous advertising jingles including the 1971 Coca-Cola com ...

* Strings: Valerie Haywood * Writers:

* Producers:

* Engineer:

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he has a very ...

* Masterer:

Dennis King Dennis King (born Dennis Pratt, 2 November 1897 – 21 May 1971) was an English actor and singer. Early years Born on 2 November 1897 in Coventry, Warwickshire, or Birmingham, England, King was the son of John and Elizabeth King Pratt. He ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Disco Montego version

"Good Times" was covered by Australian musicians

Disco Montego Disco Montego (earlier known as Kaylan) was an Australian R&B and dance music trio. The Dowlut brothers Dennis and Darren, together with Tony Vass formed Kaylan in Melbourne in 1995. They released an R&B album '' No Commandments'' in 2000, whic ...

, Selwyn,

Katie Underwood Katie Underwood (born 23 December 1975) is an Australian singer-songwriter and meditation teacher. She is best known for being a member of Bardot, winners of the first Australian series of ''Popstars'' in 2000. Since departing the group in ...

, Peta Morris, and

Jeremy Gregory Jeremy Gregory is a South-African born, Australian singer and musician. He has recorded with Australian bands The Rockmelons and Disco Montego, co-written minor commercial hits including " Let It Go" by Will Young William Robert Young (born ...

and released on November 4, 2002. It was released as part of Australia's 'Rumba' music festival, which took place in November and December 2002 across Australia. The song peaked at number 52 on the ARIA Singles Chart in December 2002 in its sixth week.

Track listing

CD single # "Good Times" # "Good Times" (karaoke version) # "Disco Montego Megamix" # "Good Times" (extended mix)

Charts

Sampling and motifs

The backing track of "Good Times" was notably recreated in

the Sugarhill Gang The Sugarhill Gang is an American hip hop trio. Their 1979 hit "Rapper's Delight" was the first rap single to become a top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100; reaching a peak position of number 36 on January 12, 1980. This was the trio's onl ...

's 1979 single "

Rapper's Delight "Rapper's Delight" is a 1979 hip-hop track by the Sugarhill Gang, produced by Sylvia Robinson. Although it was shortly preceded by the Fatback Band's "King Tim III (Personality Jock)", "Rapper's Delight" is credited for introducing hip-hop mus ...

", a key track in the development of hip hop.

and

threatened legal action over

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

, which resulted in a settlement and them being credited as co-writers. 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 (the song used samples of the strings, and an

interpolation In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has a n ...

of the bass line). He also stated that "as innovative and important as 'Good Times' was, 'Rapper's Delight' was just as much, if not more so."
Traditionally, Chic's live performances of "Good Times" incorporate a portion of "Rapper's Delight" including audience participation call-and-response.

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It ...

group Da Click's 1999 debut single " Good Rhymes"

interpolated In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has a n ...

the song's bassline and chorus along with vocals from

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

' " Never Too Much".

References

External links

chictribute.com: Chic Emulators
* {{Authority control 1979 songs 1979 singles Chic (band) songs Disco Montego songs Selwyn (singer) songs 2002 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Songs written by Bernard Edwards Songs written by Nile Rodgers Song recordings produced by Nile Rodgers Song recordings produced by Bernard Edwards Atlantic Records singles Warner Music Group singles