I'm Into Something Good

Album: Introducing Herman's Hermits (1964)
Charted: 1 13
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Songfacts®:

  • The prolific songwriting team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King wrote this bubbly song, which is about meeting someone new and falling into puppy love. Goffin and King wrote popular songs for The Monkees, Aretha Franklin, The Crystals and many others.
  • This was originally recorded by Earl-Jean (real name Ethel McCrea), who had been the lead singer the R&B vocal group The Cookies. Her version, titled "I'm Into Somethin' Good," peaked at #38 in the US in August 1964.

    The song became a British Invasion hit when producer Mickie Most heard Carole King's demo and decided to cover it with a new British group, Herman's Hermits. The band was fronted by 16-year-old John F. Kennedy lookalike Peter Noone, who had already appeared in the British TV soap Coronation Street. Released as the group's first single, it went to #13 in America in December 1964, but proved wildly popular on their home turf, reaching #1 in the UK in September.
  • The youthful exuberance on this track is very real, as the band was very excited to be cutting a single. "On the record you can hear the enthusiasm of this band who believe that they were going to be heard on the radio," lead singer Peter Noone said in his Songfacts interview. "When the record was on the radio, we thought we'd made it."
  • Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, both future members of Led Zeppelin, played on some Herman's Hermits songs, but not this one. Someone outside the band played the piano on this track, but other than that it was the actual band.
  • This was Herman's Hermits' only song to reach #1 in the UK, where it remains their best-known song. After it hit, the band went on tour in America with Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars and made inroads in that country, where they were welcomed as part of the British Invasion. In 1965, they had two American #1 hits: "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter" and "I'm Henry The VIII, I Am."
  • Peter Noone recorded a new version of this song for the 1988 movie The Naked Gun. Herman's Hermits recorded for Cameo/Parkway Records, which was bought by Allen Klein, who as a result owned the rights to the songs Herman's Hermits recorded for the label as well as tracks by The Animals, Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell and many others. Klein rarely allowed the songs he controlled to be used in movies.

    Before Allen Klein's death in 2009, Peter Noone explained to the Forgotten Hits newsletter how this song ended up in The Naked Gun: "They wanted to use the song in the movie. Klein declined because he knew he would have to account to somebody (e.g. Paramount). As he hates to account to anyone, because he can't cheat and lie, he had to say no. The producers and writers contacted me with their story and I said, 'I can make a copy exactly like the original and nobody will be able to tell the difference.' When it was done, we decided you couldn't tell the difference so we took off the guitar and replaced it with a whahhoo machine so Klein wouldn't say it was the original. It's a tragedy that Klein and his witless children stop all the product they control from being in movies so they can steal ALL the money. A question: Have any songs under the Klein families' control ever been used in movies, commercials, TV shows? Doesn't anyone ever wonder why? Surely there would be one Herman's Hermits song, one Animals song. One song from a Cameo / Parkway artist, one Sam Cooke song, just one, that would work in a motion picture?"
  • The hand claps on this song were done into the same microphone where Peter Noone was recording his vocal. They aren't always in time to the beat, but that's part of the appeal of the recording, as it's unrefined, but jubilant.
  • Donny Osmond recorded this when he was 13 for his second album, To You With Love, Donny, in 1971. Other artists to record it include Graham Parker and The Surfaris.
  • In late 2005, this was used in a commercial for Yogurt Blast Cheerios. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Jerro - New Alexandria, PA

Comments: 15

  • Jennifur SunI swear I hear something that sounds like an organ on this song but if it is wonder who played it, or am i wrong always makes me happy when i hear it
  • Jennifur Sun from RamonaWish I could thank Carol for this song - it is such a fun one.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn January 13th 1965, a video of Herman Hermits performing ""I'm Into something Good" was aired on the ABC-TV program 'Shindig!'...
    And twenty-seven days later on February 9th, 1965 the group performed the song on the NBC-TV program 'Hullabaloo!'...
    {See next post below}.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn February 9th 1965, Herman's Hermits performed "I'm Into Something Good" on the NBC-TV program "Hullabaloo!"...
    Four months earlier on October 11th, 1964 it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #79; and on December 6th it peaked at #13 (for 1 week) and also spent 13 weeks on the Top 100...
    I guess for Herman's Hermits the number thirteen was not an unlucky number; for their next nine releases all made the Top 10 and two reached #1 ("Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter" for 3 weeks in 1965 and "I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am" for 1 week, also in 1965)...
    "This Door Swings Both Ways" broke the string of Top 10 hits, it reached #12.
  • Jack from Lucerne Valley, CaHerman's Hermits never recorded for Cameo-Parkway. They, and the Animals, were on M-G-M in America, Columbia in Britain. Klein obtained their music in a deal seperate from Cameo-Parkway.
  • Murray from Liverpool, England, EnglandSorry to have to repeat myself, but in the official UK charts, "Will you (still) love me tomorrow" was NOT a No1 in the UK - it only got to No. 3!!!
  • Dill from Alexandria, VaToo bad about the jerk who won't allow the records into movies. But all these people saying they can't listen without thinking of The Naked Gun -- maybe it's a better thing that some of the great records are NOT in certain crappy movies.
    (Naked Gun was good, though.)
  • Murray from Liverpool, England, EnglandVictor - no, "Will You (Still) Love Me Tomorrow" only got to No 3 in the UK charts. I have the official UK chart book here that confirms this. And Kelli, they sung like that because that's how they spoke - they were English, from Manchester. Nothing is more annoying than British singers putting on fake American accents!
  • Tony from Red Deer, AbIt almost pains to say it, but one the BEST versions of this I have ever heard was performed by, of all people, David Cassidy and the Partridge Family!
  • Mike from Hueytown , AlYeah I always think of the Naked gun movie too. What a goofy, cheesy song hahahahaha
  • Edward Pearce from Ashford, Kent, EnglandRegarding Victor's comment questioning if this was Goffin and King's only UK number one hit, as a songwriting team they were prolific writers of hit songs, but no others topped the UK charts. The Shirelles hit "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" did top the American charts but only reached #4 in the UK. The closest they have come to repeating this feat was probably in 1988 when Kylie Minogue's cover of 'The Loco-Motion' peaked at #2.
  • James from Vidalia, GaThis song was also used in the Leslie Nielson film "Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad" in a scene with Priscilla Presley that looks like a music video. I always think of that movie every time I hear it.
  • Teresa from Mechelen, BelgiumA very good song, I also like "A must to avoid" and other songs of Herman Hermits. Carol King and Gerry Goffin have written many beautiful songs, like "Every breath I take" for Gene Pitney produced by Phil Spector. You can find this song on the "Back to Mono" cd-box of
    Phil Spector.
  • Kelli from Cedar Rapids, IaHermans Hermits always exaggerated their English accents for affect...it's very irritating.
  • Victor from Haworth, EnglandI assume you mean it was Hermans Hermits only Number 1 hit in the UK. Carol King and Gerry Goffin had over 80 UK chart hits within a prolific 5 years. Many of them were No1s, starting with the Shirelles, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow".
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