As a record collector, I went out and hunted down a lot of my favorites but obviously came nowhere near getting them all. These are some of the favorites that I didn’t own at the time.
“Tell Me Something Good” is a Funk song by Rufus, written by Stevie Wonder and released in June of 1974. This was the bands only hit under the name Rufus as they became known as Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan for their next album. The single was a hit in the United States, peaking at number three on both the Billboard Hot 100,
the US Billboard R&B Chart, and spent one week at number one on the Cash Box Top 100. Wonder had recorded the song himself on December 13, 1973 but never released it giving it to Rufus. Around this time, Wonder was turning many of his best songs over to female singers with otherworldly voices.
I started singing the way I would have worked through it… and he [Stevie Wonder] said, ‘No, no, no, sing it like THIS!”
Chaka Khan
Rufus evolved from a group called The American Breed, who had a hit with “Bend Me, Shape Me.” They took their name from a column in Popular Mechanics magazine called “Ask Rufus,” later shortened to Rufus when Chaka Khan joined the band in 1972. A wah-wah pedal was used on the guitar, but that’s not what created the distorted “tell me” vocal in the chorus.
That was done with a talkbox[1], an electronic device that allows the guitarist to “talk” by modulating sounds made through a tube that goes from his mouth to the device and into the output of the guitar’s amp. The record was produced by the band with Bob Monaco and had “Smokin’ Room” on the B-side.
Peter Frampton made the talkbox famous on the live versions of his hits “Show Me The Way” and “Do You Feel Like I Do?”
Personnel
- Chaka Khan – lead vocals, background vocals
- Ron Stockert – vocals, keyboards
- Kevin Murphy – organ, Hohner clavinet
- Nate Morgan (uncredited) – keyboards
- Al Ciner – guitar
- Tony Maiden (uncredited) – guitar, talk box
- Dennis Belfield – bass, background vocals
- André Fischer – drums, percussion
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. The “Tell Me Something Good” single version runs 3:30 while the album version is 4:36. It was included, as well a the B-side” on Rufus’ 2nd studio LP Rags to Rufus.
Tell Me Something Good - by Rufus (written by Stevie Wonder)
You ain't got no kind of feeling inside
I got something that'll sure 'nough set your stuff on fire
You refuse to put anything before your pride, yeah
Well, what I go will knock all your pride aside
Tell me something good, yeah
Tell me that you love me, yeah
Tell me something good
Tell me that you like it, yeah
"Got no time," is what you're known to say
I'll make you wish there was forty eight hours to each day, yeah
Your problem is you ain't been loved like you should
What I got to give will sure 'nough do you good
Tell me something good
(Tell me, tell me, tell me)
Tell me that you love me, yeah
Tell me something good
(Tell me, tell me, tell me)
Tell me that you like it, yeah
You ain't got no kind of feeling inside
I got something that sure 'nough sets your stuff on fire
You refuse to put anything before your pride, mmh
Well, what I got will knock your pride aside
Tell me something good (oh, yeah, yeah)
Tell me that you love me, yeah
Tell me something good (oh, baby, baby, baby, yeah)
Tell me that you like it, yeah (you gots to)
Tell me something good (ohh, tell me, baby, tell me)
Tell me that you love me, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Tell me something good (ohh, tell me, tell me, tell me)
Tell me that you like it, yeah, yeah, don't you like it, baby?
Tell me something good
Footnotes
- A talk box is an effects unit that allows musicians to modify the sound of a musical instrument by shaping the frequency content of the sound and to apply speech sounds (in the same way as singing) onto the sounds of the instrument. Typically, a talk box directs sound from the instrument into the musician’s mouth by means of a plastic tube adjacent to a vocal microphone. The musician controls the modification of the instrument’s sound by changing the shape of the mouth, “vocalizing” the instrument’s output into a microphone. [Back]
Further Reading
Sources
- “Tell Me Something Good” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tell_Me_Something_Good
- “Tell Me Something Good by Rufus” https://www.songfacts.com/facts/rufus/tell-me-something-good
- “Tell Me Something Good – Rufus” https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858922003/
- “Rufus – Tell Me Something Good” https://www.discogs.com/release/1133629-Rufus-Tell-Me-Something-Good
- “Rufus” https://www.allmusic.com/artist/rufus-mn0000302685
