| Where Have All the Good Times Gone | |
| Cover: | Where Have All the Good Times Gone cover.jpg |
| Caption: | 1973 UK reissue picture sleeve |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | the Kinks |
| Album: | The Kink Kontroversy |
| A-Side: | Till the End of the Day |
| Recorded: | 3–4 November 1965 |
| Studio: | Pye, London |
| Label: | |
| Producer: | Shel Talmy |
| Chronology: | The Kinks UK |
| Prev Title: | See My Friends |
| Prev Year: | 1965 |
| Till the End of the Day | |
| Title2: | Where Have All the Good Times Gone |
| Next Title: | Dedicated Follower of Fashion |
| Next Year: | 1966 |
"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,"[1] and then on their album The Kink Kontroversy (1965 UK, 1966 US).
Cash Box described the single as a "raunchy, shufflin’ emotional tale of despair."[2]
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."[3]
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
According to band researcher Doug Hinman:
The Kinks
Additional musician