| "Time of the Season" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Zombies | ||||
| from the album Odessey and Oracle | ||||
| B-side | "Friends of Mine" | |||
| Released | November 1968 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | Abbey Road Studios, August 1967 | |||
| Genre | Psychedelic rock, psychedelic pop | |||
| Length | 3:34 | |||
| Label | Date Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Rod Argent | |||
| The Zombies singles chronology | ||||
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"Time of the Season" is a song by The Zombies, featured on their 1968 album Odessey and Oracle. It was written by keyboard player Rod Argent and recorded at Abbey Road Studios in August 1967.
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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 early 1969, over a year after the band split up, reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 in Canada. It did not chart in the band's native Britain, although in mid-1969 it peaked at #2 on the South African hit parade.
The song's characteristics include the unique voice of lead singer Colin Blunstone, the memorable bass riff (which is similar to Ben E. King's hit "Stand By Me"), 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 such call-and-response verses as "What's your name? (What's your name?) [1] / Who's your daddy? (Who's your daddy?) / (He rich?) Is he rich like me?" (approximately fifty seconds into the track). Both stereo and monaural original releases contain vocal responses.
In 1998, Big Beat Records released a CD reissue of Odessey and Oracle containing both the original stereo and mono versions of "Time of The Season". It also featured a newly remixed alternate version containing instrumental backing underneath the vocals during the entire chorus. These instrumental backings had been mixed out on the original 1968 stereo and mono versions to create a cappella vocal sections.
"Time of The Season" is frequently used in pop culture to represent the late 1960s. In that sense, it is featured in the films 1969, Awakenings, A Walk on the Moon and Riding the Bullet, all of which depict the year of 1969. "Time of the Season" is played in the background of The Simpsons episode "D'oh-in In the Wind", in which Homer decides to follow the footsteps of his mother and become a hippie. In the South Park episodes "The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka" and "201" it is used in flashback scenes portraying the Vietnam War. It was also featured in the 2005 film Dear Wendy, it is also referenced in the final words of Dick's letter addressed to Wendy. The song was also featured on the HBO series, Big Love.
The NBC series American Dreams, which depicts the mid and late 1960s in American society, featured the song in its third season episode "So Long, Farewell". "Tell Her No" and "She's Not There", The Zombies' other major hits in the U.S., were also used in the show, the latter being included in the soundtrack of the series.
It is also common for the song to appear in romantic scenes, such as the mentioned above in the film 1969. In the Friends episode "The One With the Flashback", the song is played in a dream sequence where Rachel fantasizes about Chandler. In the final scene of the Will and Grace episode "Marry Me A Little", it is used to represent Grace's joy after getting married with Leo.
"Time of the Season" is also featured in a scene of the 1999 NBC miniseries The '60s. The usage of the song in this particular scene was rather anachronistic, since it was supposed to portray 1965. The film Shanghai Knights, which is supposed to depict 1887, also features the song.
"Time of the Season" has been featured in several TV commercials, such as a 1999 Tampax ad taking place at Woodstock. In a 2006 ad for Sprite, a chorus of flowers with human faces performs an a cappella version of the song. In that same year, it was featured in an ad for the Irish beverage Magners Irish Cider. It was also used in the advertising campaigns of Nissan Tiida in Greece in 2007 and of Crest in Mexico in 2008.
In sports, it was featured in Free Your Mind, the 16th video in the Transworld Skateboarding series. During the 2006 playoffs, the song was played in the Shea Stadium as the home-team New York Mets took the field.
The song appears on the video game Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore and DJ Hero.
The song appears in the movie The Debt released in the U.S. in August 2011.
The song is regularly played with a psychedelic video at Las Vegas' Fremont Street Experience on a four-block long Viva Vision overhead screen with a 500,000 watt sound system, the video titled Signs of Life.
In 1969, Thyme covered "Time of the Season" for A-Square records.[2] It was also covered by The Guess Who.
In 1997, "Time of the Season" was recorded by Kurt Elling and Cassandra Wilson for Elling's second album The Messenger. In the following year, The Scofflaws released an instrumental cover of the song on their fourth album "Record of Conviction". In 1999, the song was recorded by Big Blue Missile and Scott Weiland for the soundtrack of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. In 2001, it was recorded by Larry Goldings with guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Bill Stewart for Goldings' ninth album As One.
Dave Matthews Band included the song occasionally on their 2005 tour and it was consequently released on the CD/DVD Weekend on the Rocks later that year. It continues to be a crowd favorite on the road and it was performed at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on March 23, 2007. This performance was released two months later as part of Vol. 9 of the band's Live Trax series.
In 2005, hip-hop musician Necro sampled the song for the track "Who's Your Daddy?", featured in his fourth studio album The Sexorcist. Also in 2005, The Guess Who released a cover of the song in the compilation album Let's Go. In the following year, Sage Francis covered the song for his live album Dead Poet Live Album. It was also recorded by Snowden in their demo.[3]
In 2003, Ben Taylor recorded the song for his album Famous Among the Barns. In 2008 his version was featured on the soundtrack and of the opening sequence of the horror film Prom Night. Also in 2008, Ribkat sampled the song for a track performed by Beta.
On March 20, 2007, it was performed by Blake Lewis, the runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol. Its studio version was released on the show's official website and later included on his eponymous EP, as well as in the Season 6 compilation album. Also in 2007, it was recorded by Tommy Shaw (of Styx) and Jack Blades (of Night Ranger) for their album Influence.
In 2009, the song was sampled for Melanie Fiona's debut single "Give It to Me Right". Also in 2009, the song was sampled in Mook N Fair's song "Who's Your Daddy" featuring DJ Webstar.
Argent released a live version from a 1974 concert on their 1976 compilation album The Argent Anthology: A Collection Of Greatest hits.
The Dave Matthews Band covered the song on their live album Weekend on the Rocks.
A cappella group Straight No Chaser performed the song in their PBS special "Straight No Chaser: Live in New York."
| Preceded by "Dizzy" by Tommy Roe |
RPM Canadian Singles Chart number-one single March 31, 1969 |
Succeeded by "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" by The 5th Dimension |
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