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"Time of the Season" is a song by The Zombies, featured on the 1968 album Odessey and Oracle. The song was written by keyboard player Rod Argent and recorded at Abbey Road Studios in August 1967. Several other songs from Odessey and Oracle were released as singles prior to "Time of the Season." Columbia Records supported the album and its singles at the urging of new A&R Rep, Al Kooper. One of the singles Kooper pushed for was the quite-uncommercial sounding "Butcher's Tale," which he and Columbia thought might catch on as an anti-war statement, at the time a popular trend. "Time of the Season" was only released at Kooper's urging, after previous singles flopped, and made its breakthrough in 1969, over a year after the band split up, reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 early in the year.
The song's characteristics include the unique voice of lead singer Colin Blunstone, the memorable bass riff, and Rod Argent's fast-paced psychedelic improvisation. The lyrics are an archetypical depiction of the emotions surrounding the Summer of Love. It is famous for its call-and-response verses "What's your name? (What's your name?)/Who's your daddy? (Who's your daddy?)/(He rich?) Is he rich like me?". Its riffs also are similar to Ben E. King's hit single "Stand By Me".
[edit] Pop culture occurrences
- It was played during a car ride scene in the 1990 film Awakenings starring Robert De Niro and Robin Williams.
- It was played in the background in an episode of The Simpsons, more specifically episode AABF02 ("D'oh-in In the Wind") in which Homer briefly becomes a hippie.
- It was used in the season three Friends episode "The One With the Flashback." The song plays in a dream sequence where Rachel fantasizes about Chandler.
- It was also used in the South Park episode, The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka when Jimbo and Ned flashback and tell about when they met in Vietnam.
- It featured in one scene of NBC's miniseries "The '60's" (1999), albeit anachronistically, in a scene dated to late 1965.
- It was used in a 1999 Tampax commercial that takes place at Woodstock.
- It featured in one scene of Shanghai Knights.
- It was used on an episode of NBC's American Dreams, episode 3-5: "So Long, Farewell," which originally aired on Sunday, October 24, 2004.
- It was used in 2004 in the Movie "Riding the Bullet".
- It was used in the Transworld Skateboarding video "Free Your Mind".
- In 2005, Necro sampled the Song for "Who's Your Daddy?" for his Album The Sexorcist
- It was featured in the 2005 Thomas Vinterberg movie Dear Wendy, along with other Zombies songs.
- In 2006, C&C used the song in an ad campaign for Bulmers Original Cider.
- In Sprite's 2006 Sublymonal advertising campaign, a chorus of flowers with human faces performs an a capella version of the song's opening.
- During the 2006 playoffs, Shea Stadium played it as the home-team New York Mets took the field.
- It was sung by Blake Lewis, the runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol, on March 20, 2007 on the show. Its studio version was released on the American Idol official website and later included on his Blake Lewis - EP, as well as in the American Idol Season 6: The Collector's Edition, the compilation of the studio versions of song performed by the finalists of Idol.
- In 2007, it was used for the advertising campaign of Nissan Tiida in Greece.
- In 2008, it was used for the advertising campaign of Crest in México.
[edit] Cover versions
- Dave Matthews Band included the song occasionally on their 2005 Summer tour and it was consequently released on the CD and DVD Weekend on the Rocks later that year. It continues to be a crowd favorite on the road and was last performed at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV, on Friday, March 23, 2007, which was released two months later as part of the Band's Live Trax Series (Vol 9.).
- Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me - 8. Time of the Season - Big Blue Missile with Scott Weiland.
- Tanya Donelly has covered the song live touring Lovesongs for Underdogs.
- Kurt Elling covers the song in a duo with Cassandra Wilson on The Messenger
- Brooklyn hardcore hip hop rapper, Necro, sampled the song in his X-rated song "Who's Ya Daddy?".
- Ben Taylor covered the song on his album "Famous Among the Barns." This version is also featured in the opening scene of the 2008 thriller Prom Night.
- Sage Francis covered the song on his 2004 live album, Dead Poet Live Album.
- The Twilight Singers have covered the song live on at least one occasion (see video on YouTube).
- Snowden covered the song in their demo. [1].
- The rock duo Shaw Blades, Tommy Shaw of Styx and Jack Blades of Night Ranger, covered this song on their 2007 album Influences.
- Guess Who has a cover on the "Let's Go" album.
[edit] References
