Good Times Bite the Dust

This evening Alice Cooper wasn't on, so I listened to some Pandora radio.  Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" came on, and I thought it would be a great song to write about.  So, I did some research and found out that the bass line was inspired by the bass line to "Good Times" by Chic.  Turns out that the bass player from Queen and the bass player from Chic spent some time together in the studio.  There was a bit of controversy in the press, too, because the press claimed that Chic "ripped off" the bass line from Queen, when in actuality Chic's song came first.  "Good Times" was released in 1979, and "Another One Bites the Dust" was released in 1980.  Nevertheless, both are terrific tunes.  I may eventually talk about some Queen songs later on, because they are really, really artful and amazing.  Freddie Mercury had a voice like none other.

Clams on the halfshell

...and roller skates

So, back to Chic.  Nile Rodgers is one of the most recognizable names in music.  He went on to have an extremely fruitful career as a record producer, working with Madonna, Diana Ross, David Bowie, and Duran Duran to name a few.  He and bassist Bernard Edwards formed the group Chic back in the 70s.  Supposedly, this song is about the happier times of the 1970s and its roller disco days.  Turns out that the bass line of "Good Times" was sampled in tons of songs.  There is a huge list on songfacts.com--check it out.  In the meantime, I can't help but groove to this song no matter what the decade.  That is what happens when you pair an awesome bass line with lyrics that exclaim, "Good times!  These-are-the-good times!  Leave-your-cares-behind!  These-are-the-good times!"  Woo!  Yeah!  This song has to make you feel like getting up and dancing, or roller skating, or just bustin' whatever kind of move you want.  I still have no idea what "clams on the half shell and roller skates" means...