Good Times (Sam Cooke song)

"Good Times"
Single by Sam Cooke
B-side"Tennessee Waltz"
ReleasedJuly 9, 1964
RecordedDecember 20 and 21, 1963 and February 2, 1964, RCA Studio CA
LabelRCA 8368
Songwriter(s)Sam Cooke
Producer(s)Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore
Sam Cooke singles chronology
"(Ain't That) Good News"
(1964) 		"Good Times"
(1964) 		"That's Where It's At"
(1964)

"Good Times" is a song written and recorded by Sam Cooke, released as single in 1964.

Critical reception

In a retrospective review in 1971, music critic Dave Marsh wrote that "at his very best, Cooke utilized a perfect lyrical sentimentality... listen to 'Good Times' – It might be one o'clock and it might be three/Time don't mean that much to me/Ain't felt this good since I don't know when/And I might not feel this good again/So come on baby, let the good times roll/We gonna stay here til we soothe our soul. That summed up perfectly what rock and roll was about, and still is, in so many ways."[1]

Personnel

Featured musicians are John Ewing (trombone), Edward Hall (drums and percussion), John Pisano (guitar), Clifton White (guitar) and Johnnie Taylor (back-up vocals).

Chart positions

Sam Cooke

The Sam Cooke version of the song hit number one on the Cash Box R&B chart and number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100.[2]

Chart (1964) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[3] 11

Dan Seals version

"Good Times"
Single by Dan Seals
from the album On Arrival
B-side"Bop"[4]
ReleasedMarch 25, 1990
GenreCountry
Length3:51
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)Sam Cooke
Producer(s)Kyle Lehning
Dan Seals singles chronology
"Love on Arrival"
(1990) 		"Good Times"
(1990) 		"Bordertown"
(1990)

Dan Seals' version was a Number One hit on Billboard's Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in mid-1990, and is the second single from his 1990 album On Arrival. His version stayed at number 1 for two weeks, and was his last number 1 hit, as well as his last top 40 hit of his career.[4]

Chart performance

Chart (1990) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[5] 1
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[6] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1990) Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[7] 32
US Country Songs (Billboard)[8] 25

Aretha Franklin version

Aretha Franklin covered the song for her 1967 album I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You.[9] It was described by Rolling Stone as the album's "party starter"[9] and by AllMusic as "on par with the original recording".[10] Franklin changed the line "Come on baby and let the good times roll" to "Get in the groove and let the good times roll" in order to reference the phrase "getting into the groove" (meaning being attached to or participating in the music) and as a nod to the grooves of a disc recording.[11]

References

  1. ^ Marsh, Dave (March 1971). "Sam Cooke: 'This is Sam Cooke'". Creem. Retrieved June 22, 2018 – via Rock's Backpages.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 134.
  3. ^ "Sam Cooke Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  4. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 372. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  5. ^ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 7997." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. August 18, 1990. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  6. ^ "Dan Seals Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  7. ^ "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1990". RPM. December 22, 1990. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  8. ^ "Best of 1990: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1990. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  9. ^ a b Dolan, Jon (2018-08-17). "Aretha's Greatest Albums: 'I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You' (1967)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
  10. ^ Bogdanov, Vladimir (2003). All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 256. ISBN 978-0-87930-744-8.
  11. ^ Feld, Steven (1988). "Aesthetics as Iconicity of Style, or 'Lift-up-over Sounding': Getting into the Kaluli Groove". Yearbook for Traditional Music. 20: 75. doi:10.2307/768167. ISSN 0740-1558. JSTOR 768167.
  12. ^ Video on Vimeo