B-side "Olympic Shuffle" Genre Rhythm and blues Producer(s) Jerry Ragavoy | Released 1965 Label Loma | |
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Writer(s) Rudy Clark, Arthur Resnick | ||
"Good Lovin'" is a song written by Rudy Clark and Arthur Resnick that was a number one hit single for The Young Rascals in 1966.
Contents
Original version
The song was first recorded by Lemme B. Good (actually Canton, Ohio, R&B singer Limmie Snell) in March 1965 and written by Rudy Clark. The following month it was recorded with different lyrics by R&B artists The Olympics, produced by Jerry Ragavoy; this version reached number 81 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart.
The Young Rascals' version
The tale is told that Rascal Felix Cavaliere heard The Olympics' recording on a New York City radio station and the group added it to their concert repertoire, using the same lyrics and virtually the same arrangement as The Olympics' version. Co-producer Tom Dowd captured this live feel on their 1966 recording, even though the group did not think the performance held together well. "Good Lovin'" rose to the top of the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the spring of 1966 and represented the Young Rascals' first real hit.
"Good Lovin'" is one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, and was ranked #333 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. Writer Dave Marsh placed it at number 108 in his 1989 book The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made, saying it is "the greatest example ever of a remake surpassing the quality of an original without changing a thing about the arrangement," and that "'Good Lovin' all by itself is enough to dispel the idiotic notion that rock and roll is nothing more than white boys stealing from blacks."
Other versions
The song has been performed and recorded by a number of artists.
British group Brian Poole and the Tremeloes released their version in 1965, before the Young Rascals single. In June 1965, The Who recorded a live version for the radio program Top Gear.
Tommy James and the Shondells released a version on their 1966 album Hanky Panky.
Mary Wells included her version of the song on her 1966 album The Two Sides of Mary Wells.
"Good Lovin'" was the title song of a 2008 album by Australian singer David Campbell.
A popular version was by the Grateful Dead, who made it a workhorse of their concert rotation, appearing almost every year from 1969 on. It was sung in their early years during the 1960s by Ron "Pigpen" McKernan and later by Bob Weir. The Weir rendition was recorded for the group's 1978 Shakedown Street album and came in for a good amount of criticism: Rolling Stone said it "feature[d] aimless ensemble work and vocals that Bob Weir should never have attempted."
John Paul Young covered the song on his album, The Singer (1981).
Bobby McFerrin recorded a version for his Simple Pleasures album in 1988.
Pop/rock band Hanson recorded their own version of the song for the soundtrack to the 1998 film Jack Frost
The song was used in the 1988 movie Salsa, starring Robbi 'Draco' Rosa. The song was sung by Kenny Ortega.
Film and television appearances
The Rascals' "Good Lovin'" was used in 1983 the film The Big Chill. The false ending was used for dramatic effect, in which the character Chloe says about the character who committed suicide, while the song is playing in the background, "Alex and I made love the night before he died, it was fantastic." Everyone in the car with her is surprised by the comment, which ends at the exact moment of the pause in the song.
It was also used in the 1990 film Joe Versus the Volcano, just as Joe hooks a huge shark.
The song is included in the 1993 film Grumpy Old Men.
It was also featured in the 1986 third season "Atomic Shakespeare"/Taming of the Shrew episode of Moonlighting, with Bruce Willis singing the Cavaliere vocal, as well as the 1987 first season Wiseguy episode "No One Gets Out of Here Alive".
The song was also used as the theme for the 1989 television series, Doctor Doctor.
The song plays during a mind-movie flashback (titled “Viet Cong Lookout”) of an experience at a bar during the Vietnam War that the character Johnny Marinville (Tom Skerritt) has in Stephen King’s film Desperation.
This song was featured in the film More American Graffiti.
The song was featured on the end credits of the 2003 family comedy Good Boy!.