Good Times (Chic song)
"Good Times" is a song by American R&B band Chic from their third album "Risqué" (1979). It ranks 68th on "Rolling Stone"s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and has become one of the most sampled tunes in music history, most notably in hip hop music. Lyrics and inspiration. The lyrics include a reference to Milton Ager's "Happy Days Are Here Again". It also contains lines based on lyrics featured in "About a Quarter to Nine" made famous by Al Jolson. Nile Rodgers has stated that these Great Depression-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 song "Hollywood Swinging". Chart performance. The song hit number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 18, 1979 before being ousted by The Knack's smash hit "My Sharona" the following week. Along with the songs "My Forbidden Lover" and "My Feet Keep Dancing", "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. "Billboard" magazine named "Good Times" the number one soul single of 1979. "Cash Box" praised the "excellent production" and "bright, sassy female vocals." Track listing and formats. 7" vinyl single 12" vinyl single Promo 12" vinyl single Disco Montego version. "Good Times" was covered by Australian musicians Disco Montego, Selwyn, Katie Underwood, Peta Morris and Jeremy Gregory and released in November 2002. It was released as part of Australia's largest pop music festival 'Rumba' 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 Sampling and motifs. The backing track of "Good Times" was notably recreated in the Sugarhill Gang's 1979 single "Rapper's Delight", a key track in the development of hip hop. Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards threatened legal action over copyright, 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 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. Other songs significantly influenced by "Good Times" include Vaughan Mason & Crew's "Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll", Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust", the Clash's "This Is Radio Clash", INXS's "Need You  Tonight" and Blondie's "Rapture". The song was also covered for the game "Rayman Raving Rabbids". UK garage group Da Click's 1999 debut single "Good Rhymes" interpolated the song's bassline and chorus along with vocals from Luther Vandross' "Never Too Much".