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"Good Time"
Single by American Spring
from the album Spring
B-side	"Sweet Mountain"
Released	May 1, 1972
Recorded	1970–1972
Studio	Beach Boys Studio, Los Angeles
Length	2:49
Label	United Artists
Songwriter(s)	Brian Wilson, Al Jardine
Producer(s)	Brian Wilson, Stephen Desper
American Spring singles chronology
"Now That Everything's Been Said" (1971) "Good Time" (1972) "Shyin' Away" (1973)

"Good Time" is a song by American pop music duo American Spring from their 1972 album Spring. It was written by Brian Wilson and Al Jardine originally for the Beach Boys' album Sunflower (1970). In 1972, Spring released "Good Time" as their second single, recording their voices atop the Beach Boys' instrumental track. In 1977, the Beach Boys released their original version of the song on the album The Beach Boys Love You.

Background

Jardine commented, "I co-wrote 'Good Time' with Brian; that's a typical Brian track. It was really a lot of fun doing that."

Recording

Sunflower sessions

The basic track for "Good Time" was first recorded by the Beach Boys on January 7, 1970 at Brian Wilson's home studio with horns and strings overdubbed at a later date. David Sandler remembers that when the session players arrived to Wilson's home, "he went to his office and wrote horn charts while talking to me. It was an amazing horn line, with this overriding French horn riff, and he did the whole thing while having a conversation with me." The track was included on the provisional track listing for Add Some Music, but when that album and Reverberation were reconfigured by Warner Bros. Records into Sunflower, "Good Time" was not included.

During the tracking session for "Good Time", Brian or Bruce Johnston segued into a piano rendition of the Beatles' "You Never Give Me Your Money". Johnston could not remember who played the Beatles' song when approached for comment. In 2021, the recording was included as a track on the compilation Feel Flows.

Spring version

In the second quarter of 1972, Marilyn Wilson of American Spring overdubbed a lead vocal atop the backing track and backing vocals from The Beach Boys' 1970 session with further work done by producers Brian Wilson, David Sandler and Stephen Desper. This version of "Good Time" was issued as a single on May 1, 1972 and was later included on their début album Spring.

Love You version

The Beach Boys released an unadorned version of the original 1970 take of "Good Time" on their 1977 album The Beach Boys Love You. Wilson explained that he recycled the song for Love You because Spring had sold poorly, and he thought, "Maybe the exposure to that song to people might be good. Why waste a song?" Since the recording of "Good Time", Wilson's voice had deteriorated significantly, making it the only track on Love You in which his singing is not coarse.

References

1. Diken, Dennis; Buck, Peter (2000). 15 Big Ones/Love You (booklet). The Beach Boys. California: Capitol Records. p. 2. 72435-27945-2-2.
2. Badman 2004, p. 369.
3. Badman, Keith (2004). The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band, on Stage and in the Studio. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-818-6.
4. Carlin, Peter Ames (2006). Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Rodale. ISBN 978-1-59486-320-2.
5. White, Timothy (2000). Sunflower/Surf's Up (Media notes). The Beach Boys. California: Capitol Records. 72435-27945-2-2.
6. Chidester, Brian (March 7, 2014). "Busy Doin' Somethin': Uncovering Brian Wilson's Lost Bedroom Tapes". Paste. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
7. Sisario, Ben (September 2, 2021). "The 1970s Brought Change to the Beach Boys. A New Boxed Set Celebrates It". The New York Times.
8. Doe, Andrew G. (2012). "GIGS72". Retrieved October 26, 2012.
9. Viglione, Joe. "Spring – Spring : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
10. Kempke, D. Erik (August 15, 2000). "The Beach Boys: 15 Big Ones/Love You : Album Reviews". Pitchfork Media Inc. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
11. Wilson, Brian (May 1977). "I'm a Pooper, Not a Buzzer". Crawdaddy!. p. 63.
12. Schinder, Scott (2007). "The Beach Boys". In Schinder, Scott; Schwartz, Andy (eds.). Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever. Greenwood Press. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-313-33845-8.

External links

• Good Time (2019 Mix) on YouTube
• Good Time (Backing Vocals Excerpt) on YouTube
• Good Time (Session Intro, Track & Backing Vocals) on YouTube
• You Never Give Me Your Money on YouTube

• 1972 songs
• The Beach Boys songs
• Songs written by Brian Wilson
• Songs written by Al Jardine
• United Artists Records singles