Good Lovin'

Infobox Single
Name = Good Lovin'


Artist = The Young Rascals
from Album =
B-side = "Mustang Sally"
Released = February 21, 1966
Format = 7" single
Recorded = February 1, 1966
Genre = White soul, Garage rock
Length = 2:31
Label = Atlantic Records
Writer = Rudy Clark
Arthur Resnick
Producer = The Rascals with Arif Mardin, Tom Dowd
Chart position =

#1 (U.S.)

Reviews =
Last single = "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore"
(1965)
This single = "Good Lovin'"
(1966)
Next single = "You Better Run"
(1966)

"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.

The song was first recorded in 1965 by R&B/novelty artists The Olympics, but was only a minor hit at best, reaching number 81 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. The tale is told that Rascal Felix Cavaliere heard it on a New York City radio station and the group added it to their concert repertoire. Co-producer Tom Dowd captured this live feel on the recording, even though the group did not think the performance held together well.

Divining a mixture of garage rock and white soul, the Rascals' "Good Lovin'" jumped out of radios with a "One - Two - Three -" count-in, high-energy instrumentation, and insistent call-and-response vocals from Cavaliere and the band:

:"I was feelin' ... so-oo bad,":"I asked my family doctor just what I had.":"I said, "Doctor, [Doc-turrr ...] ":"Mister M.D., [Doc-turrr ...] ":"Now can you tell me,":"What's ailin' me??" [Doc-turrr ...]

These were followed by an organ break from Cavaliere, and a full stop false ending that was suddenly popular at the time (cf. "Paperback Writer" and "Monday, Monday") — all in two and a half minutes. "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. It was also the first of three #1 hits for the group.

"Good Lovin'" is one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, and was ranked number 325 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."

[
Grateful Dead released "Good Lovin'" as a single in 1978, but it failed to chart.] The song has since been performed and recorded by a number of artists, including Bobby McFerrin, Herbie Mann and The Who. The Grateful Dead made it a workhorse of their concert rotation, sung in their early years by Ron "Pigpen" McKernan and then later sung 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." [Gary Von Tersch, [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thegratefuldead/albums/album/181260/review/5940913/shakedown_street "Shakedown Street"] , "Rolling Stone", March 8, 1979.]

"Good Lovin'" was also featured in the "Atomic Shakespeare"/Taming of the Shrew episode of "Moonlighting", with Bruce Willis singing the Cavaliere vocal.

References