Rufus featuring Chaka Khan –“Tell Me Something Good”
From Pure Funk (compilation CD/single version)
This one is a mover and a groover. It took me awhile to figure out where to find the specific version of this song that really gets me movin’ and shakin’, but it is the version on the Pure Funk Vol. 1 compilation. (Track #9)
All the other versions I heard were still good, but they really knocked it out of the park on this specific rendition.
Chaka Khan is an amazingly talented vocalist and this song showcases her voice in the most fantastic way. I LOVE the talk box in this song, I love the power in Chaka’s vocal, I just love this song… and I love these little tid bits about this song that I ran across while looking for this specific version as well:
“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. One day, Stevie Wonder surprised the band with a song he wanted Rufus to record. Chaka didn't like it and said to him, "Thanks, but no thanks." Wonder wouldn't leave without giving the group SOMETHING. He asked for her birth sign ("Aries-Pisces") and wrote "Tell Me Something Good" on the spot. Wonder coached Chaka through the song. Chaka Khan: "I started singing the way I would have worked through it... and he said, 'No, no, no, sing it like THIS!" (thanks, Brad Wind - Miami, FL, for all above) 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, 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. Peter Frampton made the talkbox famous on the live versions of his hits "Show Me The Way" and "Do You Feel Like I Do?" This was the first and only hit credited to Rufus. Since her powerful vocals were clearly the focus of the group, they became known as Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan for their next album. In 1984, Chaka went solo.” - From Songfacts
Go see what Andy chose today
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