This is the story of one of the songs that have been remembered: summer hit 1979, "Good Times", by Chic, has become one of the most reused songs in history. First there is this legendary bass line, trademark of the formation of Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, which has been sampled many times for over forty years.
Sampling consists in taking a piece of a song, or a bass line, guitar, voices, to recreate a song then on top. It is a process that is at the heart of the history of rap and hip-hop. "Good Times", beyond being the hit of the summer of 1979, has been sampled almost 200 times.
Sometimes, like when the student surpasses the teacher, songs that use sampling are more successful than the original. This was for example the case when the group The Sugarhill Gang took over this famous bass line from "Good Times" to make it a song released the same year, "Rapper's Delight".
An agreement with The Sugarhill Gang
A question remains, however: is sampler plagiarism? Does using a sample of a song pay homage to it? In the case of "Good Times" and "Rapper's Delight", it is even more complicated: the group has not sampled as such the song of Chic. They have indeed reproduced on bass the same iconic pattern, which is more of a replay.
You would think that the Chic group was unhappy to hear the plot of one of their biggest musical success taken over by others. But an agreement had been reached at the time. Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards are recognized as the authors of the piece. Master of disco / funk, the immense Nile Rodgers even plays "Rapper's Delight" when he is in concert.