"Got a New Love" by Good Question

Song#:  3686

Date:  10/22/1988

Debut:  94

Peak:  86

Weeks:  5

Genre:  R&B, Dance-Pop

Pop Bits:  This duo from Philly consisted of brothers Marc and Sean Douglas. Their dance-pop sounds along with their fashionable looks got the attention of Prince's Paisley Park Records who ended up signing the brothers. Typically, Prince would have some involvement with the albums/artists on his label. He would either write/produce tracks or at minimum hand a song over to the artists. However, it seems like the Good Question album was the first on Paisley Park that Prince had no involvement. The duo basically worked up a self-titled debut album themselves along with songwriter/producer Rick Neigher. This first single was issued out and it would catch on in the clubs and reach #1 on the Dance chart. The attention there helped the song cross over to Pop where it hung around the bottom of the chart for just over a month. It also got to #51 R&B. A second singled failed to chart. With those results, the album came and went to little notice and that left the duo off the Paisley Park roster.

ReduxReview:  These guys were like Milli Vanilli before Milli Vanilli came along. Good Question's debut came out just a few months before MV's first single hit it big early in '89. The artists were similar in that each was made up of a duo of good looking guys who were slinging out catchy dance-pop tunes. Of course there was one obvious difference in that Good Question actually wrote and sang their songs. This chugging first single was a pretty good tune that did well in clubs, but for some reason it didn't catch on in a more mainstream way. It wasn't going to be a Top 10 hit, but it could have done better on the chart. In a way, it would have been really interesting if this song became a big hit as it could have set up a rivalry with Milli Vanilli. Alas, I don't think the duo got a lot of promo from Paisley Park and with Prince not having any involvement, the project sort of floundered and flopped. The LP had some hooky, fun tracks, but the lyrics certainly left a lot to be desired. The potential was there, I just think they needed better direction.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  Just before the release of their second single "Listen to Your Heart," Good Question made one of their first national TV appearances on the debut episode of a new late night talk/comedy show. Camp Midnite first aired on the USA Network on January 6, 1989. The show, which combined sketches with interviews and musical guests, was a product of Dick Clark Productions and was hosted by Dick Wilson, a radio personality from Kansas City, Missouri. Guests on the first show were John Stamos, Dick Clark, Richard Belzer, Walter Koenig and Cyndi Lapuer (via phone). The musical guest was Good Question. In the brief interview following their performance of "Listen to Your Heart," it was alluded to that the brothers grew up separately and didn't have much contact until after their teen years. Their love of music brought them closer together and they eventually decided to up and leave Philly for L.A. in search of stardom. They got hooked up with Rick Neigher who helped them write songs and get demos together. When those tapes were shopped around, Paisley Park bit and the duo secured a record deal. Camp Midnite did about as well as Good Question. After 26 episodes, the show was cancelled and pretty much faded into obscurity.

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