"Ain't Nothin' Goin' On but the Rent" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Gwen Guthrie Gwendolyn Guthrie (July 9, 1950 – February 3, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter and pianist who also sang backing vocals for Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Peter Tosh, The Limit and Madonna, among others, and who wrote son ...

. It was released in 1986 as the lead single from her fourth album, '' Good to Go Lover'' (1986), on

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

. It was both written and produced by Guthrie, becoming the biggest hit of her career, and the song's title became a semi-popular catchphrase among many women throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. The single peaked at number five in the UK, but hit number one in New Zealand, Zimbabwe and on the US ''

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 advertis ...

Hot Dance Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

. In 1993, it was remixed and again charted in the UK, peaking at number 42. In 2005, ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...

'' listed "Ain't Nothin' Goin' On but the Rent" at number 339 on its list of "Greatest Songs Since You Were Born".

Critical reception

Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave the 1993 remix three out of five. He wrote, "A disappointing seven-inch remix by Nigel Wright is stale and one-dimensional, but the original, still sounding fresh, and a radical E-Lustrious remix are more than enough to score a hit."

James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...

from the ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' Dance Update noted, "1986 garage anthem's radical blippily thundering E-Lusirious, breezily soulful Nigel Wright Remixes, ponderously lurching Original".

Chart performance

The song charted moderately on the US pop chart (reaching number 42 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100), but faring better on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart where it spent one week at number-one and on the ''Billboard''

chart where it spent two weeks at the top. The song peaked at number one in New Zealand and Zimbabwe, and was also successful in parts of

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, reaching number five on the UK Singles Chart.Official Charts Company info from Official Charts Company
/ref> The 1993 remix reached number eight on the UK Dance Singles Chart.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References