August 18, 1979 –
Chic’s single Good Times was their second single to go to No.1 on the Billboard Charts, on this date. The song has become one of the most sampled tunes in music history, most notably in hip hop music.
Nile Rodgers of Chic knew that his song was a block party favorite, but he didn’t hear the single Rapper’s Delight until he was in a club and the DJ played it. He vigorously objected to the use of his song as the track for another, and threatened legal action. Rather than fight it, Sugarhill Records settled with Chic and awarded them full composer credit, so Bernard Edwards and Rodgers are listed as the only songwriters on Rapper’s Delight. With no lawsuit, there was no precedent set for sampling, and artists began incorporating tracks from other songs with impunity throughout the ‘80s. It was Gilbert O’ Sullivan whose 1991 lawsuit against Biz Markie finally established the legal ruling that samples must be cleared.
The Haus of Dcaligari 