Good Times Bad Times
Vorlage:About Vorlage:Infobox single "Good Times Bad Times" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, featured as the opening track on their 1969 debut album Led Zeppelin.
For the lead guitar solo, guitarist Jimmy Page passed his Telecaster guitar through a Leslie speaker to create a swirling effect.[1][2] This type of speaker contains a rotating paddle and was designed for Hammond organ. However, guitars could be used with it. George Harrison and Eric Clapton employed this technique on the Cream song "Badge", and Harrison used it in several of The Beatles' recordings.[3] In an interview he gave to Guitar World magazine in 1993, Page explained that:
Page, also the band's producer, placed microphones all over the recording studio to capture a live sound when this song was recorded.
This song is also notable for drummer John Bonham's repeated use of a series of two sixteenth-note triplets on a single bass drum, an effect many subsequent rock drummers have imitated, and as well as keeping the hi-hat playing quarter notes throughout almost the entire song with his left foot. Bonham had reportedly developed this technique after listening to Vanilla Fudge. He was unaware that drummer Carmine Appice was actually playing on a double bass set. As Page has stated:
Bass player John Paul Jones has also remarked on his own contribution to the track:
Jones says that the riff he wrote for this song was the most difficult one he ever wrote.[4]
"Good Times Bad Times" was rarely played live at Led Zeppelin concerts in its entirety. In a few instances in 1969 it was used as an introduction to "Communication Breakdown". It also appeared in almost complete form within the "Communication Breakdown" medley performed at the LA Forum on 4 September 1970, where it included a bass solo by John Paul Jones (as can be heard on the Led Zeppelin bootleg recording Live On Blueberry Hill), and several "Whole Lotta Love' medleys in 1971. It was also the opening song for Led Zeppelin's reunion show at the O2 Arena, London on 10 December 2007.
The song is played in the film, The Fighter. This is one of the rare occasions where the band's songs are used in films.
Accolades
Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
Blender | United States | "The 1001 Greatest Songs to Download Right Now!"[5] | 2003 | * |
(*) designates unordered lists.
Formats and tracklistings
1969 7" single (UK: Atlantic 584269, US/New Zealand: Atlantic 45-2613, Australia: Atlantic AK 2914, Canada: Atlantic AT 2613X, France: Atlantic 650 153, Germany: Atlantic ATL 70369, Greece: Atlantic 255 002, Italy: Atlantic ATL NP 03117, Japan: Nihon Gramophone DT-1105, Philippines: Atlantic 45-3734, Sweden: Atlantic ATL 70.369)
- A. "Good Times Bad Times" (Bonham, Jones, Page) 2:47
- B. "Communication Breakdown" (Page, Plant) 2:28
1969 7" single (South Africa: Atlantic ATS410)
- A. "Good Times Bad Times" (Bonham, Jones, Page) 2:47
- B. "Black Mountain Side" (Page) 2:12
1969 7" EP (Mexico: Atlantic EPA 1577)
- A1. "Good Times Bad Times" (Bonham, Jones, Page) 2:47
- A2. "Communication Breakdown" (Page, Plant) 2:28
- B. "Dazed and Confused" (Page) 6:26
1972 7" EP (Argentina: Music Hall 186)
- A1. "Good Times Bad Times" (Bonham, Jones, Page) 2:47
- A2. "Communication Breakdown" (Page, Plant) 2:28
- B1. "Roundabout"* (Anderson, Howe) 3:27
- B2. "Long Distance Runaround"* (Anderson) 3:30
Notes:
(*) B-side by Yes
Chart positions
Led Zeppelin single
Chart (1969) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canadian RPM Top 100 Chart[6] | 64 |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [7] | 80 |
US Cash Box Top 100 [8] | 66 |
US Record World 100 Top Pops[9] | 65 |
Japanese Singles Chart[10] | 84 |
Dutch Singles Chart[11] | 17 |
Personnel
- Robert Plant - vocals
- Jimmy Page - guitars and backing vocals.
- John Paul Jones - bass guitar and backing vocals.
- John Bonham - drums and backing vocals
Cover versions
Vorlage:Col-begin Vorlage:Col-2
- Aerosmith (at Nipmuc Regional Middle/High School at their first gig)
- 1988: Nuclear Assault (Survive)
- 1989: The Dalai Lamas (The Song Retains the Name)
- 1993: Dread Zeppelin (Hot & Spicy Beanburger)
- 1995: Cracker (Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin)
- 1998: Candlebox (Live In Boston: Mama Kins [live bootleg])
- 1999: Carl Weathersby (Whole Lotta Blues: Songs of Led Zeppelin)
- 2000: Billy Joel (Brief live cover)
- 2002: Axxis (The Music Remains the Same: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin)
- 2002: The Section (The String Quartet Tribute to Led Zeppelin)
- 2002: Bug Funny Foundation (The Electronic Tribute to Led Zeppelin)
- 2003: Phish (Live Phish Volume 20 [recorded live 29 December 1994])
- 2004: Joe Lesté (Stairway to Rock: (Not Just) a Led Zeppelin Tribute)
- 2004: Robert Randolph and the Family Band (Bonnaroo: That Tent [live bootleg])
- 2005: Tracy G (Hip Hop Tribute to Led Zeppelin)
- 2006: Studio 99 (Led Zeppelin: A Tribute)
- 2006: Bustle In Your Hedgerow (Live at Abbey Pub, 8.6.06)
- 2008: Eric Bloom (Led Box: The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Tribute)
- 2009: The Opposables (The Hideout 5/23/09)
- 2009: Ben Harper and Relentless 7 (Unreleased, also played at live shows)
- 2009: Root Mean Square (Unreleased)
Godsmack cover
The heavy metal band Godsmack covered the song in 2007, for their album, Good Times, Bad Times... Ten Years of Godsmack. It was the only song on the album to be newly released as a single and gained moderate radio airplay on US rock stations. A music video was also created for the Godsmack version of the song, featuring live footage.
Godsmack Single
Billboard (North America)
Year | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|
2007 | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 8 |
2007 | Modern Rock Tracks | 28 |
2007 | Billboard Hot 100 | 124 |
Sources
- Lewis, Dave (2004) The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9
- Welch, Chris (1998) Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song, ISBN 1-56025-818-7
References
External links
Vorlage:Led Zeppelin album Vorlage:Led Zeppelin Vorlage:Godsmack
- ↑ Dave Lewis (1994), The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9
- ↑ Steven Rosen, 1977 Jimmy Page Interview, Modern Guitars, 25 May 2007 (originally published in the July 1977, issue of Guitar Player magazine).
- ↑ Abbey Road
- ↑ David Fricke, Q&A: John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stone, 24 January 2008.
- ↑ The 1001 Greatest Songs to Download Right Now! - 2003. In: Blender. Abgerufen am 10. Februar 2009.
- ↑ RPM Singles Chart - 14 April 1969. In: RPM. Abgerufen am 19. Januar 2009.
- ↑ Hot 100 Singles - 19 April 1969. In: Billboard. Abgerufen am 19. Januar 2009. (Seite nicht mehr abrufbar, festgestellt im Oktober 2010.)
- ↑ Top 100 Singles - 26 April 1969. In: Cash Box. Abgerufen am 19. Januar 2009.
- ↑ Top 100 for 1969 - April 1969. In: Record World. Abgerufen am 19. Januar 2009. (Seite nicht mehr abrufbar, festgestellt im November 2010.)
- ↑ Top 100 Singles - 5 June 1969. In: Oricon. Abgerufen am 19. Januar 2009.
- ↑ Top 100 Singles - 21 June 1969. In: dutchcharts.nl. Abgerufen am 19. Januar 2009.