Goodbye Girl

Album: Goodbye Girl (1977)
Charted: 15
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Songfacts®:

  • This was the theme song to the popular 1977 Neil Simon play The Goodbye Girl, which starred Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason (Simon's wife at the time). The song is about falling in love with an untrusting woman who's been hurt before. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Mike - Santa Barbara, CA
  • Gates was lead singer of the group Bread. He released this tune as a solo single and it peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. To capitalize on that success, Gates put an album together that featured material from his first two solo albums mixed with some new material and made this tune his title track. However, the album flopped only reaching #165 and Gates never again entered the Top 20 of the singles chart.
  • The song was covered by Pakistani-English singer-songwriter Rumer as the third single from her 2011 debut album Seasons Of My Soul.

Comments: 12

  • Gale Rice from NcTakes me back to my first year at college. So many loves, so many goodbyes.
  • Edith O'neil-page from Huntington, VtFirst heard this song on a date with my soon to be husband and bought the dvd when it became available and watch 3-4 times a year. We still love it.
  • Don from Sevierville, TnI cannot stand this song - it reminds me too much of girls who put me in the "friend zone".
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn March 4th 1993, the Broadway musical 'The Goodbye Girl', starring Bernadette Peters & Martin Short, debut at the Marquis Theater in New York City, it ran for 188 performances...
    The played for based the 1977 movie of the same name...
    And exactly fifteen years earlier on March 4th, 1978 the movie’s theme song was at #30 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart...
    {See next two posts below}.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn February 11th 1978, David Gates performed "Goodbye Girl" on the ABC-TV program 'American Bandstand'...
    At the time the song was at #43 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; and on April 9th, 1978 it would peaked at #15 for 2 weeks {See next post below}...
    As mentioned above; the movie starred Richard Dreyfuss, and he would win the Oscar for 'Best Actor' {Marsha Mason was nominated for 'Best Actress', lost to Diane Keaton for 'Annie Hall'}.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn December 11th 1977, "Goodbye Girl"* by David Gates entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #93; and 17 weeks later on April 9th, 1978 it peaked at #15 {for 2 weeks} and spent almost a half-year on the Top 100 {24 weeks}...
    As a solo artist he had six other Top 100 records; "Clouds" {#47 in 1973}, "Sail Around the World" {#50 in 1973}, "Never Let Her Go" {#29 in 1975", "Took the Last Train" {#30 in 1978}, "Where Does the Lovin' Go" {#46 in 1980}, and "Take Me now" {#62 in 1981}...
    * A nice birthday gift; "Goodbye Girl" entered the Top 100 on David Gates' 37th birthday; he was born on December 11th, 1940.
  • David from Honolulu, HiA beautiful song by David Gates! He is among my favorite top ten of singer/songwriters. Such a superb array of melodies & lyrics! I wish David was still active today. We need songwriters like him now.
  • Brent from Idaho Falls, IdI loved this song from the moment it played at the end of the movie. I was 17 and with my first love. She is long gone, but I continue to love this song. David Gates wrote a wonderful song!
  • Louis Rodriguez from Lancaster, CaDavid is a prolific song writer, one of the many songs that he has written is titled "Popsicles and Icicles by the Murmaids. It was a top ten record in 1963
  • Mitch from Indy, InHootie and the Blowfish did a good cover of this song.
  • Dave from Des Moines, IaExcellent song, very haunting
  • Nick from Pepperell, MaSO this is the song that goes "Goodbye girl now your home at last"
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