Tell Me Something Good

"Tell Me Something Good" is a song by Rufus, written by Stevie Wonder and released in 1974. This was the first and only hit credited to Rufus. Since her powerful vocals were clearly the focus of the group, they became known as Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan for their next album.[2] 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.[3] It was among the earliest hits to use the guitar talk box, by Tony Maiden.[4]

"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"
ReleasedJune 1974
Recorded1974
GenreFunk[1]
Length4:36 (album version)
3:30 (single version)
LabelABC Records
Songwriter(s)Stevie Wonder
Producer(s)Bob Monaco and Rufus
Rufus singles chronology
"Feel Good"
(1973)		 "Tell Me Something Good"
(1974)		 "You Got the Love"
(1974)
Official audio
"Tell Me Something Good" on YouTube

Production

The record was produced by the band with Bob Monaco.[5]

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."[6]

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."[7]

The band played the song on the television show Soul Train, when producer and host Don Cornelius, who knew the band from Chicago and who was a good friend of their drummer Andre Fischer, allowed them to perform three songs, rather than the customary two. The band brought the Tower of Power horn section with them.[8][9]

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

Personnel
  • 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
Chart performance for "Tell Me Something Good" (Ewan McVicar version)
Chart (2021–2022) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[23] 12
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[24] 34
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[25] 89
UK Singles (OCC)[26] 15
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[27] 49

Certifications
Certifications for "Tell Me Something Good"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Other versions and sampling

References
  1. Big Gigantic (September 20, 2016). "The 30 Best Funk Songs Ever". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  2. "Tell Me Something Good by Rufus - Songfacts". Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  3. "Top 100 1974-08-31". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  4. "Classic Soul Album Spotlight: Rufus' "Rags to Rufus@". soultrain.com. May 5, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  5. "Remembering Bob Monaco". 2 August 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  6. Miller, S., (2010) "Music: What Happened?" 125 Records, ISBN 0615381960, ISBN 978-0615381961
  7. Elias, Jason. "Rags to Rufus Review". AllMusic. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  8. Danois, Ericka Blount (August 1, 2013). Love, Peace and Soul: Behind the Scenes of America's Favorite Dance Show Soul Train: Classic Moments. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781480363991. Retrieved May 26, 2019 – via Google Books.
  9. MyRhythmNSoulTV (April 23, 2014). "Rufus ft Chaka Khan - Tell Me Something Good (Soul Train 1974)". Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2019 – via YouTube.
  10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 261. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  12. "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  13. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. July 17, 2013. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  14. "Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  15. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - Year End (1974)". Billboard.com. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  16. "Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  17. "Rufus – "Tell Me Something Good" b/w "Smokin' Room"". internetfm.com. March 18, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  18. "K103's Tell Me Something Good". 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  19. "Ewan Mcvicar Kicks Off Summer Season With The Release of "Tell Me Something Good"". RaverRafting.com. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  20. "Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  21. "Adele's Easy On Me scoops third week at Number 1". Official Charts. November 5, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  22. "British certifications – Ewan Mcvicar – Tell Me Something Good". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  23. "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  24. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 2, 2022" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  25. "Ewan McVicar – Tell Me Something Good" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  26. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  27. "Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Chart: Week of February 26, 2022". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  28. "British single certifications – Ewan McVicar – Tell Me Something Good". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  29. Ciccariello-Maher, George; St. Andrews, Jeff (2010). "Between Macks and Panthers: Hip Hop in Oakland and San Francisco". In Hess, Mickey (ed.). Hip Hop in America: A Regional Guide, Volume 1: East Coast and West Coast. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press. p. 280. ISBN 9780313343230.
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