"Good Lovin is a song written by

Rudy Clark Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch po ...

and Arthur Resnick that was a #1 hit single for the Young Rascals in 1966.

Original version

The song was first recorded by Lemme B. Good (stage name of singer

Limmie Snell Limmie Frank Snell, Jr. (October 4, 1948 – May 27, 1986) was an American soul singer, born in Dalton, Alabama, United States. He grew up in Canton, Ohio, and attended McKinley Senior High School, but did not graduate. According to anot ...

) in March 1965 and written by

. The following month it was recorded with different lyrics by R&B artists The Olympics, produced by

Jerry Ragovoy Jordan "Jerry" Ragovoy (September 4, 1930 – July 13, 2011) was an American songwriter and record producer. His best-known composition " Time Is on My Side" (written under the pseudonym of Norman Meade) was made famous by the Rolling Stones, alt ...

; this version reached #81 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart.

The Young Rascals' version

The tale has been told that Rascal

Felix Cavaliere Felix Cavaliere (born November 29, 1942) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and keyboard player for the Young Rascals. Although he was a member of Joey Dee and the Starliters, known fo ...

heard The Olympics' recording on a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

radio station and the group added it to their concert repertoire, using the same lyrics and virtually the same arrangement as The Olympics' version. Co-producer

Tom Dowd Thomas John Dowd (October 20, 1925 – October 27, 2002) was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multitrack recording method. Dowd worked on a veritable "who's who" of recordings ...

captured this live feel on their 1966 recording, even though the group did not think the performance held together well. "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. "Good Lovin is one of

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

, and was ranked #333 on

Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

list. Writer Dave Marsh placed it at #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."

Other versions

British group Brian Poole and

the Tremeloes The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, England. They initially found success in the British Invasion era with lead singer Brian Poole, scoring a UK chart-topper in 1963 with "Do You Love Me". After Poole's departu ...

released their version in 1965, before the Young Rascals single. In June 1965,

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are conside ...

recorded a live version for the radio program '' Top Gear''.

Tommy James and the Shondells Tommy James and the Shondells are an American pop rock/psychedelic rock band, formed in Niles, Michigan, in 1964. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. – " Hanky Panky" (July 1966, their only RIAA Certified Gold record) and "Crimson and Clo ...

released a version on their 1966 album ''Hanky Panky''. Gilberto Cruz Sextet covered the song for their LP ''The Groovy Sounds'', the first LP recorded by Cotique Records, a label founded by George Goldner for

salsa music Salsa music is a style of Latin American music. Because most of the basic musical components predate the labeling of salsa, there have been many controversies regarding its origin. Most songs considered as salsa are primarily based on son montu ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

and funk.

The Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vi ...

recorded a cover of the song for the album '' The Third Reich 'n Roll'' as a part of "Hitler was a Vegetarian".

Mary Wells Mary Esther Wells (May 13, 1943 – July 26, 1992) was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s. Along with The Supremes, The Miracles, The Temptations, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and ...

included her version of the song on her 1966 album '' The Two Sides of Mary Wells''. "Good Lovin was the title song of a 2008 album by Australian singer David Campbell. A popular version was by the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

, who made it a workhorse of their concert rotation, appearing almost every year from 1969 on. It was sung in their early years during the 1960s by

Ron "Pigpen" McKernan Ronald Charles McKernan (September 8, 1945 – March 8, 1973), known as Pigpen, was an American musician. He was a founding member of the San Francisco band the Grateful Dead and played in the group from 1965 to 1972. McKernan grew up he ...

and later by

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, ...

. The Weir rendition was recorded for the group's 1978 '' Shakedown Street'' album and came in for a good amount of criticism: ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' said it "feature aimless ensemble work and vocals that Bob Weir should never have attempted." On November 11, 1978, the Grateful Dead performed it on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

''.

John Paul Young John Inglis Young, OAM (born 21 June 1950), known professionally as John Paul Young, is a Scottish-born Australian pop singer who had his 1978 worldwide hit with " Love Is in the Air". His career was boosted by regular appearances as a performe ...

covered the song on his album '' The Singer'' (1981).

Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American folk and jazz singer. He is known for his vocal techniques, such as singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in pitch—for example, sustaining a melody while also ra ...

recorded a version for his '' Simple Pleasures'' album in 1988.

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

performed a version in 2009 at the London Calling: Live in Hyde Park concert.

Film and television appearances

The Rascals' "Good Lovin was used in 1983 the film '' The Big Chill''. The false ending was used for dramatic effect, in which the character Chloe says about the character who committed suicide, while the song is playing in the background.. A cover of the song "Good Lovin was used in 1988 the film '' Salsa''. On the May 21, 2018, episode of reality television singing competition show '' The Voice'', Team Alicia (Keys) member

Britton Buchanan The fourteenth season of the American reality '' The Voice'' premiered on February 26, 2018, on NBC. Adam Levine and Blake Shelton returned for their fourteenth season as coaches. Meanwhile, Alicia Keys returned for her third season after a one-sea ...

performed the song as his cover performance during the finale. His performance charted in the top ten on iTunes and contributed to his second-place finish behind Team Kelly (Clarkson) finalist Brynn Cartelli.

References Reference is a relationship between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to ''refer to'' the second object. It is called a '' name'' ...

{{authority control 1965 singles 1966 singles Songs written by Rudy Clark Songs written by Artie Resnick The Olympics (band) songs The Rascals songs Grateful Dead songs Tommy James and the Shondells songs Hanson (band) songs Song recordings produced by Arif Mardin Song recordings produced by Tom Dowd Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Atlantic Records singles Decca Records singles 1965 songs