A Little Good News

Album: A Little Good News (1983)
Charted: 74
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song struck a cord with listeners who were exasperated with the inflation/recession cycle, crime wave, and renewed Cold War with an increasingly aggressive Soviet Union that was going on at the time. These stories were all over the news, making us wonder, Isn't there any good news to report? >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Mike - Santa Barbara, CA
  • "A Little Good News" was written by the Nashville songwriters Charlie Black, Rory Bourke and Tommy Rocco. When Bourke showed up for the session, the other two were watching The Today Show, hosted by Bryant Gumbel.

    "It was one of those periods where every story was worse than the one before," Black recalled in the Billboard Book of #1 Country Hits. "We were sitting there with that first cup of coffee and I was saying, 'Golly, have you been listening to the news? I just can't stand it anymore. It hurts to turn on the TV.'"

    In the song, they had Anne Murray wake up to find her kids watching the news; Gumbel gets a mention in the line:

    Bryant Gumbel was talkin' 'bout the fighting in Lebanon
  • "A Little Good News" was the lead single and title track from Anne Murray's 12th album. The song was a #1 Country hit in the US and her native Canada. It won the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance and the CMA for Single Of The Year. The album won the CMA for Album Of the Year.

Comments: 4

  • Lauta from Marion NcToo much pain, the Arbury Murder hurts soooooo bad. I thought of this song, nothing chabges
  • Karenr from Colorado I have always loved Anne Murry's songs and I think this is a song for today.
  • Arthur from New JerseyA number one country song that could have been number one pop. While most would consider "You Needed Me" to be her signature song, "A Little Good News" might be her best.
  • Staley from Dallas, TxI find it heartening to hear this song today, since so many of the problems mentioned in it have gone away (or at least made some progress). When I was a kid, it seemed like nothing ever changed. But when the Cold War ended, it seemed (to me at least) that history started moving again.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

90s Music Quiz 1

90s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

First question: Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson appeared in videos for what artist?

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine Band

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine BandSongwriter Interviews

Harry Wayne Casey tells the stories behind KC and The Sunshine Band hits like "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way (I Like It)," and "Give It Up."

In The Cards

In The CardsSong Writing

Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.

Matthew Wilder - "Break My Stride"

Matthew Wilder - "Break My Stride"They're Playing My Song

Wilder's hit "Break My Stride" had an unlikely inspiration: a famous record mogul who rejected it.

Richie McDonald of Lonestar

Richie McDonald of LonestarSongwriter Interviews

Richie talks about the impact of "Amazed," and how his 4-year-old son inspired another Lonestar hit.

Best Band Logos

Best Band LogosSong Writing

Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.