This week we’re highlighting songs that were featured in the movie The Big Chill and today’s classic Big Chill song of the day is “Good Lovin'” by the Rascals, then going by their original name of the Young Rascals. The boys originally released this single in February of 1966 and it shot all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Good Lovin'” was written by Rudy Clark and Arthur Resnick. Rudy wrote or co-wrote a bevy of songs such as “Got My Mind Set On You,” originally a hit for James Ray and later covered by ex-Beatle George Harrison, and “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss),” for Betty Everett. Arthur wrote or co-wrote “Under the Boardwalk,” for the Drifters, “Yummy Yummy Yummy,” for Ohio Express, and more.
The song “Good Lovin'” was originally recorded by Lemme B. Good, although that version doesn’t matter. It was then covered, with different lyrics, by the Olympics; that version went to #81 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The story goes that Rascal Felix Cavaliere heard the Olympics’ version of “Good Lovin'” on a New York City radio station and decided it would be a good fit for his band. They recorded it on February 1, 1966, with Arif Mardin and Tom Dowd producing, then rushed it to market on February 21. (Things happened fast back then.) Even though the Rascals didn’t particularly like their performance on the recording, thinking it was a little rough around the edges, it was just what the song needed. It was, as previously noted, a number-one hit.
The Big Chill used “Good Lovin'” to underscore the scene where the Harold, Michael, Nick and Chloe characters are driving in a Jeep towards Alex and Chloe’s house in the woods. The false ending in the song is used to accentuate Chloe’s comment “Alex and I made love the night before he died. It was fantastic.”
So here’s your daily bonus video of the day, that Jeep scene from The Big Chill, with “Good Lovin'” playing in the background. “He went out with a bang, not a whimper.”
And here’s your extra special daily bonus video of the day, the Young Rascals playing “Good Lovin'” live on the March 20, 1966, episode of The Ed Sullivan Show. The cats really cooked—pay particular attention to Dino Danelli’s drumming on this one; he was one of the most dynamic drummers of that era. This is one of my favorite clips from the Sullivan show, period.
