Where_Have_All_the_Good_Times_Gone
Where Have All the Good Times Gone
1965 single by the Kinks
"Where Have All the Good Times Gone" is a song written by Ray Davies and performed by the Kinks. It was released as the B-side to "Till the End of the Day,"[2] and then on their album The Kink Kontroversy (1965 UK, 1966 US).
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Cash Box described the single as a "raunchy, shufflin’ emotional tale of despair."[3]
Ray Davies said, "We'd been rehearsing 'Where Have All the Good Times Gone' and our tour manager at the time, who was a lot older than us, said, 'That's a song a 40-year-old would write. I don't know where you get that from.' But I was taking inspiration from older people around me. I'd been watching them in the pubs, talking about taxes and job opportunities."[4]
The song has since gained "classic" status and featured on numerous compilations. Pye Records released the track as a single in November 1973 (Pye 7N 45313 b/w "Lola"). This re-release failed to chart. Although the Kinks had performed the song live on the TV show Ready Steady Go! in 1965, it would not become a staple of their live shows until the 1970s.
The song was covered and released as a single in 1982 by Van Halen for their album Diver Down, reaching 17 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart. The song has also been covered by David Bowie.