I’m into Something Good (Song)
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| “I’m into Something Good” | |
|---|---|
| |
| Single by Herman’s Hermits | |
| from the album Herman’s Hermits | |
| B-side | “Your Hand in Mine” |
| Released | 7 August 1964 (UK) September 1964 (US) |
| Recorded | De Lane Lea Studios, London, 26 July 1964 |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 2:25 |
| Label | MGM Records K13280 (US) Columbia DB 7338 (UK) |
| Composer(s) | Carole King |
| Lyricist(s) | Gerry Goffin |
| Producer(s) | Mickie Most |
| Herman’s Hermits singles chronology | |
| “I’m into Something Good“ (1964) “Show Me Girl“ (1964) | |
“I’m into Something Good” is a song composed by Gerry Goffin (lyrics) and Carole King (music) and made famous by Herman’s Hermits. The song was originally recorded (as “I’m into Somethin’ Good“) by Cookies member Earl-Jean on Colpix Records in 1964. Her version entered the U.S. Cash Box Top 100 charts in the US on 4 July 1964 and spent eight weeks there, reaching a high of number 42 on 15 August 1964, and number 38 Billboard.
Chart history
Earl-Jean/The Cookies
On 26 July 1964, Herman’s Hermits recorded the song as their debut single. It reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on 30 September 1964, staying there for two weeks. The song peaked at number 13 in the US later that year and number 7 in Canada. The ‘A’ section of the song follows a twelve-bar blues structure.
This Herman’s Hermits’ release, during the peak of the British Invasion, occurred at a time when Brill Building songwriters like Goffin and King in this case, found themselves in danger of obsolescence, as most of the British groups wrote their own material. The song has since been featured in films such as The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue, and Ouija: Origin of Evil. The song was also featured in the season 5 episode “Road to Rupert” of Family Guy.
Carole King has said that in writing the song, she was inspired by Brian Wilson: “I make no bones about it, that song was influenced by Brian’s music”.
Chart history
Herman’s Hermits
| Chart (1964–65) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 11 |
| Canada RPM Top Singles | 7 |
| Ireland (IRMA) | 1 |
| New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade) | 7 |
| Sweden | 5 |
| UK | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 13 |
| U.S. Cashbox Top 100 | 7 |
Personnel (Herman’s Hermits)
- Peter Noone – vocals
- Derek Leckenby – lead guitar
- Keith Hopwood – rhythm guitar
- Karl Green – bass
- Barry Whitwam – drums
Cover versions
The song was featured in the 1988 film The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!. From its inclusion in the soundtrack, a solo version by Herman’s Hermits frontman Peter Noone climbed the adult contemporary chart that year.
The song was featured in the 1997 film The Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue, in the opening credits and also when the Master puts the WFC 11-12-55 into Radio and turns him on.
Brian Wilson covered the song, which features Carole King, and it is included in the Best Buy edition of his 2008 album, That Lucky Old Sun.
The Bird and the Bee covered the song and released it as a single in March 2010. Their version was also included on the soundtrack for the film, Valentine’s Day and television Love Bites show season 1 episode 6 “TMI.”
This song was featured on the television sitcom The Partridge Family in 1973, with lead vocals by David Cassidy. This cover version, produced by Wes Farrell, appeared twice during the fourth season. However, it was never officially released on either vinyl or CD.
Another version was recorded as part of The Langley Schools Music Project in 1976.
Using the title “Something Good”, Marianne Faithfull covered the song on her 2002 album Kissin Time. It featured Billy Corgan as a guest musician.
The song was included on the CD release of Janis Siegel‘s 1982 album, Experiment in White.
In 2020, the famous party band The Gypsy Queens recorded the song as the first single of their album Reminiscing with Friends (2022), in Los Angeles, at The Village Studios, Featuring the original Herman’s Hermits lead singer Peter Noone, and produced by multiple Grammy winner producer Larry Klein. It was released 12 February 2021, under the label Sonico Productions.
In 2021, the animated series F Is for Family featured an unpracticed rendition of the song in season 5, episode 2.
Football song
The song, with adapted lyrics, has been adopted as an anthem by fans of Manchester United F.C., F.C. United of Manchester, Portsmouth F.C. and Coventry City F.C.
Herman’s Hermits performance credits
Barry Whitwam has stated that the Hermits themselves played on the track, not Jimmy Page, since Mickie Most and former lead singer “Herman” (Peter Noone) had implied otherwise after having lost the rights to the band’s name. Whitwam further states, in regard to exaggerations of songs on which they supposedly did not play:
“Everything he says is that it was Jimmy Page, and Jimmy Page probably can’t remember any of the songs that he played. If you look at our top ten in America, “I’m into Something Good”, it was us. All Hermits. There was only a piano added on. That was on a two-track machine, so we played at the same time. That got to number thirteen. “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat”, there were no other instruments. That got to number two. “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” got to number one. “I’m Henry the VIII”. Number one. “A Must to Avoid”. Number eight. “Listen People”. “Leaning on the Lamppost”. That’s six in the top ten with Jimmy Page or anybody else not involved! Another seventy of the tracks on the albums is only the Hermits. I think I worked it out, and I think in only thirty percent of all the songs ever recorded, the Hermits didn’t do the backing, but the Hermits were always on the vocals doing the harmonies. So he’s trying to discredit us, saying that we didn’t have anything to do with anything.”
Herman’s Hermits (Album)
| Herman’s Hermits | |
|---|---|
| |
| Studio album by Herman’s Hermits | |
| Released | 13 February 1965 (US) September 1965 (UK) |
| Recorded | 1964 |
| Studio | Kingsway Recording Studio, London |
| Genre | Beat, pop |
| Length | 30:13 (UK release) |
| Label | MGM (US) Columbia (UK) |
| Producer | Mickie Most |
| Herman’s Hermits British chronology | |
| Hermania (1965) Herman’s Hermits (1965) Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter (1965) | |
| Herman’s Hermits American chronology | |
| Herman’s Hermits (1965) Herman’s Hermits on Tour (1965) | |
| Singles from Herman’s Hermits (US only) | |
| “I’m into Something Good“ Released: September 1964 “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter“ Released: April 1965 | |
Herman’s Hermits (sometimes called Introducing Herman’s Hermits) is the debut album of the band Herman’s Hermits, first issued in 1965. As was typical of the time, the album’s contents were different on the UK and US releases. UK albums tended not to include singles. The US edition of the album is sometimes called Introducing Herman’s Hermits – a title used on the back cover and the record label but not on the front cover.
Background
The success of Herman’s Hermits’ first single “I’m into Something Good” – a number one in the UK and no. 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100 – led to the US release of their first album in February 1965. In April 1965, with both “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat” and the Hermits’ cover of “Silhouettes” simultaneously in the singles charts – both would appear on the band’s second US album Herman’s Hermits on Tour – MGM released “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter”. The single’s no. 12 debut on the Hot 100 was the decade’s third highest (behind the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” and “Get Back“), and it took just three weeks to reach number one. The album climbed to no. 2 on the Billboard album chart in the week in which the Hermits had three singles in the national Top 20. The LP then spent four consecutive weeks at no. 2, three of them overlapping with the three-week run of “Mrs. Brown” at number one on the singles chart. The album, which failed to get to number one because of the soundtrack to the 1964 film Mary Poppins, remained on the chart for 40 weeks.
The album was not released in the UK until September 1965. The UK version – which featured both “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” and “I’m Henery VIII, I Am” (with spelling variation) – peaked at no. 16 and spent just two weeks on the chart.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
| Record Mirror | |
| Uncut | |
In his retrospective review of the album’s release, Richie Unterberger for AllMusic gave the album a modest response by saying, “Since those are the first songs on the album, it’s a letdown thereafter, since the oldies aren’t very creative or (in comparison to the better British Invasion groups) forcefully performed, and the pop numbers sound like filler Merseybeat.”
Album covers
There are three different covers for the US album. Original covers indicate “Including Their Hit Single ‘I’m into Something Good'”. When “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” was issued as a single, a yellow sticker was added to the cover, incorrectly reading “Featuring ‘Mrs. Brown You Have a Lovely Daughter'”. Once the latter became a no. 1 hit, the sticker was eliminated and the cover was changed to read, with correct title, “Including ‘Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter”.
Track listing
UK version
Side one
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Heartbeat“ | Bob Montgomery, Norman Petty | 2:52 |
| 2. | “Travellin’ Light“ | Roy C. Bennett, Sid Tepper | 2:36 |
|---|
| 3. | “I’ll Never Dance Again“ | Mike Anthony, Barry Mann | 3:30 |
|---|
| 4. | “Walkin’ with My Angel” | Gerry Goffin, Carole King | 2:24 |
|---|
| 5. | “(I Gotta) Dream On” | Gary Gordon | 2:07 |
|---|
| 6. | “I Wonder” | Richard Pearson | 2:10 |
|---|
Side two
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “For Your Love“ | Graham Gouldman | 2:28 |
| 2. | “Don’t Try to Hurt Me” | Keith Hopwood | 2:08 |
|---|
| 3. | “Tell Me Baby” | Hopwood, Derek Leckenby | 2:16 |
|---|
| 4. | “I’m Henery VIII, I Am“ | Fred Murray, Robert Patrick Weston | 1:53 |
|---|
US version
Side one
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “I’m into Something Good“ | Gerry Goffin, Carole King | 2:31 |
| 4. | “I Wonder” | Richard Pearson | 2:06 |
|---|
| 5. | “Sea Cruise“ | Huey “Piano” Smith | 2:08 |
|---|
| 6. | “Walkin’ with My Angel” | Goffin, King | 2:19 |
|---|
Side two
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Show Me Girl“ | Goffin, King | 2:34 |
| 3. | “Mother-in-Law“ | Allen Toussaint | 2:21 |
|---|
| 4. | “Your Hand in Mine” | Harvey Lisberg, Charles Silverman | 2:00 |
|---|
| 5. | “I Know Why” | Derek Leckenby, Silverman | 2:03 |
|---|
| 6. | “Thinking of You” | Pearson, John Wright | 2:03 |
|---|
Personnel
Herman’s Hermits
- Peter Noone – vocals
- Derek Leckenby – lead guitar
- Keith Hopwood – rhythm guitar
- Karl Green – bass
- Barry Whitwam – drums
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