Tell Me Something Good Explained
Tell Me Something Good |
Cover: | Tell Me Something Good by Rufus and Chaka Khan US vinyl.jpg |
Caption: | A-side label of US vinyl release |
Type: | single |
Artist: | Rufus |
Album: | Rags to Rufus |
B-Side: | Smokin' Room |
Released: | June 1974 |
Recorded: | 1974 |
Genre: |
|
Length: | 4:36 (album version) 3:30 (single version) |
Label: | ABC Records |
Producer: | Bob Monaco and Rufus |
Prev Title: | Feel Good |
Prev Year: | 1973 |
Next Title: | You Got the Love |
Next Year: | 1974 |
"Tell Me Something Good" is a song by Rufus included on their 1974 album "Rags to Rufus," written by Stevie Wonder and released in 1974. This was the first and only hit credited to Rufus, as once singer Chaka Khan's voice became the focus of the group, they changed their name to "Rufus featuring Chaka Khan" for their next album.[3] The single was a hit in the United States, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent one week at number one on the Cash Box Top 100.[4] It was among the earliest hits to use the guitar talk box, by Tony Maiden.[5]
Production
The record was produced by the band with Bob Monaco.[6]
The song has been described as having ".. rude metallic guitar" (by Al Ciner) and ".. a beautiful bass, clav and heavy breathing groove." The song can be difficult to count as there is an off-count into the verse. The first note is on the "and of four."[7]
Critical reception
Jason Elias of AllMusic described the song as "a rare instance of an artist like Stevie Wonder giving away a tune that he could have had a big hit with himself."[8]
On July 5, 1974 the band played the song on The Midnight Special[9] and on September 7, played the song, along with "You Got The Love", on Don Cornelius' show Soul Train,[10]
Awards
Rufus won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus for the song at the 17th Annual Grammy Awards in 1975.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Personnel
Popular culture references
- BET cable network aired and produced a phone-in game show named after the song (which was also the theme song). Julie Rogers hosted this show which was a short-lived, live call-in game show where home viewers have to answer one question of the day that was followed by panel of three celebrity judges ranking the best responses for a prize. It aired from 1988 to 1989.
- On Will & Grace, Karen tells Jack that this is the song to which she and Stan make love. She then walks in on her husband cheating on her with the same song playing. Closed captioning for that episode incorrectly credits the song to Sly and the Family Stone.
- In That '70s Show, in the episode "Water Tower" (June 14, 1999), Eric walks in on his parents having sex to the song and it plays every time he has recurring nightmares and thoughts of his parents. It also plays on his radio.
- Ray Romano's character sings in a variation of the song while eating his wife's braciole in the Everybody Loves Raymond season 4 episode 18, "Debra Makes Something Good" (February 28, 2000).
- New York radio station WCBS-FM had a show in the morning named after the song (which was also the theme song). The host told the listeners about a positive true event that happened that day. The Bobby Bones Show also has a segment named after the song.[18]
- The song is featured in the season 3 finale of Titans. After Dick Grayson, Connor, and Gar Logan defeat Jonathan Crane, Dick calls Barbara Gordon and asks her to “tell him something good.” Bruce Wayne's computer mistakes this request for Dick telling it to play the song, which leads into a montage of the aftermath of the Titans’ heroism.
Ewan McVicar version
In 2021, Scottish DJ and producer Ewan McVicar released a dance version of the song on Trick Records which was licensed to Ministry of Sound. It reached the UK Singles Chart in September 2021,[19] entering the top 40 of the chart dated October 15–21, 2021.[20] On 5 November 2021, the song had reached number 15.[21] It was certified gold by the BPI in 2022.[22] It also reached No. 12 in Ireland, No. 34 on the Dutch Top 40 and No. 49 on the US Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
Charts
Certifications
Other versions and sampling
External links
Notes and References
- The 30 Best Funk Songs Ever . https://web.archive.org/web/20190401044326/https://www.billboard.com/photos/7511389/best-funk-songs-of-all-time-dance-music . . . . September 20, 2016 . April 1, 2019 . October 4, 2021 . live.
- Book: Precious and Few - Pop Music in the Early '70s. Don. Breithaupt. Jeff. Breithaupt. October 15, 1996. I Am Woman: Feminist Pop. 96. St. Martin's Griffin. 031214704X.
- Web site: Tell Me Something Good by Rufus - Songfacts. 21 July 2023.
- Web site: Top 100 1974-08-31 . . December 30, 2015 .
- Web site: Classic Soul Album Spotlight: Rufus' "Rags to Rufus@. May 5, 2014. soultrain.com. October 10, 2016.
- Web site: Remembering Bob Monaco. 2 August 2009. September 3, 2017.
- Miller, S., (2010) "Music: What Happened?" 125 Records,,
- Web site: Rags to Rufus Review. Elias. Jason. AllMusic. January 16, 2019.
- Web site: Tell Me Something Good - Rufus | The Midnight Special. www.youtube.com.
- Web site: Lights, Camera, Backbeat - Search. www.lightscamerabackbeat.com.
- Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 261.
- Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 -
- Web site: Australian Chart Book . Austchartbook.com.au . October 10, 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160305064644/http://www.austchartbook.com.au/ . March 5, 2016 .
- Web site: Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada . Bac-lac.gc.ca . July 17, 2013 . October 10, 2016.
- Web site: Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974 . Musicoutfitters.com . October 10, 2016.
- Web site: Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974 . Musicoutfitters.com . October 10, 2016.
- Web site: Rufus – "Tell Me Something Good" b/w "Smokin' Room". March 18, 2015 . internetfm.com . October 10, 2016.
- Web site: K103's Tell Me Something Good . 2019 . 26 May 2019.
- Web site: Ewan Mcvicar Kicks Off Summer Season With The Release of "Tell Me Something Good". 5 July 2021. RaverRafting.com. 9 May 2022.
- Web site: Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company. Officialcharts.com. 9 May 2022.
- Web site: November 5, 2021. Adele's Easy On Me scoops third week at Number 1. November 6, 2021. Official Charts. en.
- United Kingdom. Ewan Mcvicar. Tell Me Something Good. April 9, 2022. 17699-5790-1.
- Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Chart: Week of February 26, 2022. Billboard. February 23, 2022. subscription.
- Book: Ciccariello-Maher. George. St. Andrews. Jeff. Between Macks and Panthers: Hip Hop in Oakland and San Francisco. https://books.google.com/books?id=XkCncJ7j744C&q=%22tell+me+something+good%22+%22Mac+dre%22&pg=PA280. Hip Hop in America: A Regional Guide, Volume 1: East Coast and West Coast. Hess. Mickey. 280. Santa Barbara, CA. Greenwood Press. 2010. 9780313343230.