How Good It Is
334 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 23 ratingsEvery week I choose a song from the 50s through the 80s and dive into its history, the story behind the song and other items of interest. Find more stuff at www.howgooditis.com
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Episodes
13--MacArthur Park
November 11, 2017 00:00 - 15 minutes - 14.1 MBLove it or hate it, Richard Harris' song from 1968 certainly seems to create some strong reactions. Here's the story behind the song, and how (as it turns out) one woman inspired three different hit songs from the same writer, and another one in Europe.
Episode 12: El Paso by Marty Robbins
November 04, 2017 04:03 - 10 minutes - 9.84 MBThe original promo 45, showing the edited A side. The full-length song is the B. In the late 1950s, Marty Robbins, who was commuting hundreds of miles between his home in Phoenix and various gigs in Texas, frequently passed through the town of El Paso on his journeys to and fro. The town inspired him to write a cinematic-level song with nine verses and three bridges—and no chorus. Plus, it clocked in at four minutes and forty seconds. Despite all this, or perhaps because of it, the song clim...
12–El Paso
November 04, 2017 04:00 - 9.84 MBLet us turn back the clock to 1959, when Marty Robbins put a small town in a corner of Texas on everyone's mental map.
12--El Paso
November 04, 2017 00:00 - 10 minutes - 9.84 MBLet us turn back the clock to 1959, when Marty Robbins put a small town in a corner of Texas on everyone's mental map.
11–Failing Upward
October 28, 2017 06:20 - 8.47 MBEverybody goofs now and then. That's why they put erasers on pencils. But once in awhile someone makes a mistake that's so good, you just have to leave it alone. This week we look at four songs with mistakes that the artists chose to retain because they thought it made the song better.
Episode 11: Failing Upward
October 28, 2017 05:56 - 9 minutes - 8.47 MBHey, everybody makes a mistake now and then. That's why they put erasers on pencils, am I right? But once in awhile, someone will make a mistake that manages to enhance rather than detract ("Eminence Front," I'm looking at you.). And that's where we're going this week: we'll look at four songs that had mistakes in them where the artists made a conscious decision to keep the error in place because it actually makes the song a little bit better. And, as usual, you can listen to the show via ...
11--Failing Upward
October 28, 2017 00:00 - 9 minutes - 8.47 MBEverybody goofs now and then. That's why they put erasers on pencils. But once in awhile someone makes a mistake that's so good, you just have to leave it alone. This week we look at four songs with mistakes that the artists chose to retain because they thought it made the song better.
10–Free Bird
October 20, 2017 05:07 - 14.2 MBToday we're commemorating the 40th anniversary of the plane crash that killed several members of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd and their manager with a look at the song that became their signature tune.
10--Free Bird
October 20, 2017 00:00 - 15 minutes - 14.2 MBToday we're commemorating the 40th anniversary of the plane crash that killed several members of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd and their manager with a look at the song that became their signature tune.
Episode 9: Under the Covers
October 13, 2017 05:41 - 12 minutes - 11 MBThis week we're going to dive into famous songs that were recorded by other artists first. Some of them you're going to know about because practically everybody knows about them, but I think there will be a few surprises in there. I know that one of them came as a pretty big surprise to me! If you hit me up on Twitter and ask real pretty, I may tell you which Stevie Wonder song I was talking about. As ever, you have a few listening options: Either your favorite podcatcher (iTunes, Castbo...
9–Under the Covers
October 13, 2017 04:53 - 11 MBThis week's episode takes a look at a bunch of songs that are covers of other artists' work. Some of them I guarantee you know, others I'm sure will come as a surprise.
9--Under the Covers
October 13, 2017 00:00 - 11 minutes - 11 MBThis week's episode takes a look at a bunch of songs that are covers of other artists' work. Some of them I guarantee you know, others I'm sure will come as a surprise.
Episode 8: Like a Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan
October 06, 2017 05:11 - 12 minutes - 11.7 MBThis was the song that heralded the Dylan Goes Electric era, and when he first played it live at the 1965 Newport Music Festival, he was met with boos and charges that he'd sold out, or was somehow a "traitor" to his folk roots. But Bob Dylan stuck to his guns, and "Like a Rolling Stone" became, and remains, his biggest single ever. This is the picture sleeve of the 45. If it hadn't been for a quartet from Liverpool and their obvious cry for Help!, it probably would have gone all the way t...
8–Like a Rolling Stone
October 06, 2017 04:51 - 11.7 MBThis week, Dylan Goes Electric and changes the face of Rock and Roll.
8--Like a Rolling Stone
October 06, 2017 00:00 - 12 minutes - 11.7 MBThis week, Dylan Goes Electric and changes the face of Rock and Roll.
Episode 7: Tequila by The Champs
September 30, 2017 03:58 - 8 minutes - 7.79 MBThis was the A side of the record, remember. This week we're taking a look at a song that was never meant to be a hit. In fact, it wouldn't even have appeared on a record if some musicians hadn't been hanging around when someone realized that the record he'd been working on didn't have a B side. So he rounded up whomever he could find and fortunately, the saxophone player had a tune he'd been fooling around with for a little while, plus he had a fondness for a certain beverage from South of...
7–Tequila
September 30, 2017 03:33 - 7.79 MBThis time around we're looking at the first band to hit the #1 spot on the chart with an instrumental as their debut song. ¡Es bueno!
7--Tequila
September 30, 2017 00:00 - 8 minutes - 7.79 MBThis time around we're looking at the first band to hit the #1 spot on the chart with an instrumental as their debut song. ¡Es bueno!
Episode 6: This Song by George Harrison
September 22, 2017 04:56 - 12 minutes - 11 MBThis is the original sleeve that the record came in. I still have mine, though not quite in this condition. In the mid 1970s, George Harrison was having a rough time of it. He was still embroiled in the lawsuit over "My Sweet Lord", he was tangled up in other legal issues caused by his breakup with his business manager, his album Extra Texture had taken a beating by the critics, and to top it all off, while recording Thirty Three and 1/3 he was struck with hepatitis and couldn't work for most...
6–This Song
September 22, 2017 04:35 - 11 MBThis week we take a look at the lawsuit that plagued George Harrison for the better part of the 70s, and the hit single that resulted from all the turmoil.
6--This Song
September 22, 2017 00:00 - 11 minutes - 11 MBThis week we take a look at the lawsuit that plagued George Harrison for the better part of the 70s, and the hit single that resulted from all the turmoil.
Episode 5: In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins
September 15, 2017 04:01 - 11 minutes - 10.5 MBWait, Phil Collins did what? He drowned a guy? Uh...no. He humiliated a coward? No. He shamed someone from his childhood? Also, no. Many stories swirl around the meaning of Phil Collins' breakout hit from 1981, and so many of them aren't true. Collins was in a world of hurt following the breakup of his first marriage, and he channeled a lot of that energy into writing the Face Value album. This week I go into that a little bit (but only a little bit; it gets kind of tawdry), plus I talk a...
5–In The Air Tonight
September 15, 2017 04:00 - 15.8 MBToday we take a look at the real story behind Phil Collins' breakout hit and the secret to the way his drums sound.
5--In The Air Tonight
September 15, 2017 00:00 - 11 minutes - 15.8 MBToday we take a look at the real story behind Phil Collins' breakout hit and the secret to the way his drums sound.
Episode 4: Get Together
September 08, 2017 04:01 - 11 minutes - 10.5 MBOne of several labels used for the 45 of this song. I think this was the retail version of the original release, based on what the promo label looks like. Chester ("Chet") Powers was a musician who was well-known in the café scenes on both coasts, and certainly had his influence on other musicians. He's also known for being a member of the band Quicksilver Messenger Service. But for all that, he only wrote one song that was any kind of a commercial success, and that was after a virtual parad...
4: Get Together
September 08, 2017 04:00 - 10.5 MBThis week we're going to check out a song that was recorded many times but became a hit only once...two years after that recording was made.
Episode 3: The Buckinghams’ Greatest Hits
September 01, 2017 04:23 - 10 minutes - 9.85 MBClick here for a transcript of this week's show. This week, we're taking a look at the Buckinghams, a Chicago-based group which had five big hits, all of which charted in a single year, after which they practically disappeared off the charts. For thirty years I harbored a suspicion that most of their hits were all about the same person, so I did a little research to find out what the story was. And, of course, the answer practically dropped into my lap. As usual, if you haven't subscribed...
3: The Buckinghams’ Greatest Hits
September 01, 2017 04:23 - 9.85 MBThis week we're diving into a band whose hits all charted during a single year, after which they practically disappeared. And we'll meet the woman responsible for 80% of them.
3: The Buckinghams' Greatest Hits
September 01, 2017 00:00 - 10 minutes - 9.85 MBThis week we're diving into a band whose hits all charted during a single year, after which they practically disappeared. And we'll meet the woman responsible for 80% of them.
Episode 2: Sukiyaki by Kyu Sakamoto
August 25, 2017 04:01 - 15 minutes - 14.2 MBThis is the sleeve for the Danish release of the record. Click here for a transcript of this episode. For Episode 2, we take a journey to Japan and look into an international hit from a day when I was about four months old. I'll tell you about: What ALL the lyrics to the song mean The political turmoil that led to a song about lost love Whatever happened to Kyu Sakamoto, anyway? Why I need to apologize to my wife Your favorite podcatcher should have this song by now, but just in ...
Episode 2: Sukiyaki
August 25, 2017 03:20 - 14.2 MBThis week we dive into a Japanese-language tune that took the world by storm and dominated the charts for three weeks in June of 1964.
Episode 1: I’m Not In Love by 10cc
August 18, 2017 04:55 - 10 minutes - 9.83 MBClick here for a transcript of this episode. In our premiere episode, we take a look at 10cc's biggest hit, "I'm Not In Love". We'll talk about: What does that title mean, anyway? Where did that ethereal sound come from? What's the story behind the band's name? Your RSS feed should have the post by now, but you can always listen to it right here: I think we can all tell that it's been several years since I've been behind a microphone. It gets better, I swear. Some of the sources be...
Episode 1: I’m Not In Love
August 18, 2017 04:47 - 9.61 MBThe debut episode takes a look at 10cc's breakout hit from 1975.
Episode 1: I'm Not In Love
August 18, 2017 00:00 - 10 minutes - 9.61 MBThe debut episode takes a look at 10cc's breakout hit from 1975.