Tell Me Something Good

"Tell Me Something Good"

A-side label of one of US vinyl releases
Single by Rufus
from the album Rags to Rufus
B-side "Smokin' Room"
Released June 1974
Format 7" single, 12" single
Recorded 1974
Genre R&B, Soul, Funk
Length 4:36 (album)
3:30 (single)
Label ABC Records
Writer(s) Stevie Wonder
Producer(s) Stevie Wonder
Rufus singles chronology
"Feel Good"
(1973)
"Tell Me Something Good"
(1974)
"You Got the Love"
(1974)

"Tell Me Something Good" is a song by Rufus and Chaka Khan, written by Stevie Wonder and released in 1974. 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.[1] It was among the earliest hits to use the guitar talk box, by Tony Maiden.[2]

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." [3]

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.

Samples

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1974) Peak
position
Australia KMR 64
Canada RPM 21
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[4] 3
U.S. Billboard R&B 3
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[1] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1974) Rank
Australia[5] 186
Canada[6] 89
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[7] 56
U.S. Cash Box[8] 49

Cover versions

Live covers

Pop culture references

Ray Romano's character sings a variation of the song while eating his wife's braciole in the Everybody Loves Raymond episode, Debra Makes Something Good.

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", Eric walks in on his parents having sex, and the song plays every time he has recurring nightmares and thoughts of his parents.

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 thee celebrity judges ranking the best responses for a prize. It aired from 1988-89.

Many venues in the NBA, NHL, MLB, and NFL play this song when a play is under review by referees or umpires.

Personnel

source:[9]

References

  1. 1 2
  2. "Classic Soul Album Spotlight: Rufus' "Rags to Rufus@". soultrain.com. May 5, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  3. Miller, S., (2010) "Music: What Happened?" 125 Records, ISBN 0615381960, ISBN 978-0615381961
  4. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  5. "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  6. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  7. "Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  8. "Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  9. "Rufus – "Tell Me Something Good" b/w "Smokin' Room"". internetfm.com. March 18, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
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