I've always considered it a "feel good" Bobby 2nd set closer like Lovelight and Around and Around. I like it as an "uplifting closer" more than those 2 songs (but less than Sugar Magnolia or Not Fade Away which are also popular closers).
I did not know until I just visited Dead.net that it was originally performed in the 60's and sung by Pigpen (with a few versions sung by Jerry). Good Lovin' was also shelved from 1970-1976 (when they dusted it off and put Bobby on lead vocals).
The song was originally penned by Rudy Clark and Arthur Resnick and performed by The Young Rascals. This is the version that most people are familiar with (and also the one that is played in a hilarious fishing scene of the movie Joe Versus the Volcano). A Grateful Dead studio version was released on Shakedown Street in 1978.
Bobby Going Falsetto
Good Lovin' has an almost '50's rock vibe to it and so it was inevitable that Bobby would use it as an opportunity to go falsetto and do some of his "barbershop quartet" style high pitched singing. A lot of Deadheads refer to this as "Bobby cheesing out."
Bobby would also use the song as a platform to "hold court" and give an "inspirational rap" somewhat like a gospel preacher during the song, saying things like "you know that you need it and you know that I need it too, c'mon everybody and give each other some good lovin!" Pretty amusing stuff.
A few times in 1987, the band would interpolate La Bamba into Good Lovin' - with Jerry singing La Bamba. This is a formula for an especially great Good Lovin', and I've embedded a youtube into the blog post at the bottom where you can hear and see the band play it (thanks to LoloYodel for posting that footage).
Good Lovin' Song Rating on a Scale of 1-10: 8.7
Disclaimer: This is part of my blog that reviews all things Grateful Dead for fun. Music is a beautiful thing because it is so personal and subjective, so keep in mind that this is one man's opinion.
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