Rufus featuring Chaka Khan – Tell Me Something Good

Great song, great music, great voice. You want funk? You want soul? You want a dirty-sounding clavinet? Step right up, Rufus has got you covered. There’s something raw and unpolished here that gives the song its character. It’s not trying to be slick. It’s lean and mean, clocking in under four minutes, and still manages to say everything it needs to say. It’s still one of my favorite AM singles of the 1970s. It would fit in today as well. 

Chaka… She’s the axis this record spins on. Her voice doesn’t so much sing the lyrics; she dominates them. Stevie Wonder brought a few songs to the studio, and she stunned her bandmates by saying she didn’t like them. She was 19 and pregnant and not in the best of moods. Stevie asked her for her astrological sign, and she said Aries. He then delivered this song, which she loved. 

Tony Maiden’s talkbox guitar gives it that extra wobble, while Kevin Murphy’s clavinet lays down a foundation so nasty you could mop the floor with it. This song came off the 1974 album Rags to Rufus.  Stevie Wonder recorded it himself in 1973 but never released it. The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard 100 and #21 in Canada in 1974. The Talk-Box, which Frampton later used, sounds great in this song.

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.

Tell Me Something Good

You ain’t got no kind of feeling inside
I got something that will sure ‘nough set your stuff on fire
You refuse to put anything before your pride
What I got something will knock all your pride aside

Tell me something good 
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
The 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 that you love me, yeah
Tell me something good 
Tell me that you like it, yeah

You ain’t got no kind of feeling inside
I got something that will sure ‘nough set your stuff on fire
You refuse to put anything before your pride
What I got something will knock all your pride aside

Tell me something good (oh, yeah, yeah)
Tell me that you love me, yeah
Tell me something good 
Tell me that you like it, yeah

Tell me something good (tell me baby baby, tell me)
Tell me that you love me, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah
Tell me something good (oh, tell me, tell me, tell me)
Tell me that you like it, yeah, yeah, don’t you like it, baby?

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

26 thoughts on “Rufus featuring Chaka Khan – Tell Me Something Good”

  2. Pingback: Rufus featuring Chaka Khan – Tell Me Something Good – MobsterTiger

  3. a great song. I’d never consciously thought of the talkbox on it, but it works well. I was very surprised when I found Rufus were basically the American Breed, like you said. Pretty big difference in sound between the two! This single, when it was out, used to be just referred to as ‘Rufus’ where I was, but with Chaka’s success later on, now I see it listed as ‘Chaka Khan’ instead. Funny how time changes perspective on things like that.

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    1. Yes….HUGE difference between this and Bend Me, Shape Me lol. I was going to liste it as Rufus…but it seems everyone uses this now and yes…you are right…they just change it to her…which I think was wrong to leave the band out.

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    1. The American Breed relation surprised me…
      That is a great way of being introduced…opening up for the Stones…thanks for the clarification.

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      2. I’ve seen it listed as just her, just Rufus, and with her name and Rufus. I didn’t think it was right with just her…but I do love her voice and attitude in this one.

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  6. There is an episode of That 70’s Show where Eric, the son, accidentally sees his parents having sex. As he stares in horror, this is the song that plays. I can’t NOT think about that when I hear the song now.

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  9. I was way to young to appreciate Rufus when I caught them opening for Jeff Beck….it was Blow by Blow time and I was there for him……but way later in life saw her on screen in the No Nukes film and wow!….and her What’s Going On is a great take on a great song…

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    1. Yea she has a huge terrific voice! I remember growing up and listening to this….wow…you saw the Blow by Blow tour…really cool.

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  10. I’m a big Rufus fan and a huge Chaka Kahn fan. (I named my English Shepherd Chaka–which is a complement.) Her range is fantastic. She’s not afraid to teeter on the limit of it, which makes listening to her exciting even when she goes AC, like with Through the Fire. Tell Me Something Good is a great introduction to Rufus and Chaka Kahn.

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    1. You just described what I like in bands…the ones that you may think they will soon run off the road but then suddenly keep it on.

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      1. Yeah, I like that too. The Band comes to mind. They did it brilliantly. Then there’s The Grateful Dead and The Stones, who varied a lot in their live performances…sometimes brilliant and sometimes not so much, but they always swung for the fences no matter how wasted they were. The Dead and The Band had a lot of moving parts…The Allman Brothers were like that too.

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      2. The Who did as well with Moon…and yes it’s really exciting and yes it does fall apart sometimes but it’s nice seeing bands push it. Now though the older bands won’t do it because probably because of ticket prices and they have done them so much.
        Oh…on a side note…did you know that Franklin had an amphitheater? Bailey and I saw Bob and Willie there last Wednesday. It’s really nice…I never knew it was there!

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      3. I had no idea. That’s cool! I looked it up and saw that it’s a new venue…only been around since 2021.
        How was the concert? I’ve never seen Bob Dylan. Willie I’ve seen many years ago in Austin. He was at the height of his game then and it was fantastic. He’s a wizard on the guitar…he played an improvisational jazz style. Fabulous.

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      4. Oh it was really good Pam. I never saw Willie before and he was just as I would have imagined…his voice was a little lower but on. Bob’s voice was the best I’ve heard it in years…he sounded like he did more in the sixtties. It was the 9th time I saw him.
        Opening acts were wonderful. Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats and Trampled By Turtles. Nathaniel just sold out Madison Square Garden in March.

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      5. Happy to hear it. You never know when you see aging acts…even iconic ones. Sometimes they perform as if they’ve never missed a beat…other times…well, it’s sad. Glad Bob and Willie still have it. 😊

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