Ain't Nothin' Goin' On but the Rent

"Ain't Nothin' Goin' On but the Rent" is a song by American singer-songwriter Gwen Guthrie. It was released in 1986 as the lead single from her fourth album, Good to Go Lover (1986), on Polydor Records. It was both written and produced by Guthrie, becoming the biggest hit of her career, and the song's title became a semi-popular catchphrase among many women throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s.^[2] The single peaked at number five in the UK, but hit number one in New Zealand, Zimbabwe and on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play. In 1993, it was remixed and again charted in the UK, peaking at number 42. In 2005, Blender listed "Ain't Nothin' Goin' On but the Rent" at number 339 on its list of "Greatest Songs Since You Were Born".^[3]

"Ain't Nothin' Goin' On but the Rent"
Single by Gwen Guthrie
from the album Good to Go Lover
Released	1986
Genre	Dance-R&B[1]
Label	Polydor
Songwriter(s)	Gwen Guthrie
Producer(s)	Gwen Guthrie
Gwen Guthrie singles chronology
"Just for You" (1985) "Ain't Nothin' Goin' On but the Rent" (1986) "Seventh Heaven" (1986)

Critical reception

Alan Jones from Music Week gave the 1993 remix three out of five. He wrote, "A disappointing seven-inch remix by Nigel Wright is stale and one-dimensional, but the original, still sounding fresh, and a radical E-Lustrious remix are more than enough to score a hit."^[4] James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update noted, "1986 garage anthem's radical blippily thundering E-Lusirious, breezily soulful Nigel Wright Remixes, ponderously lurching Original".^[5]

Chart performance

The song charted moderately on the US pop chart (reaching number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100),^[6] but faring better on the Billboard R&B chart where it spent one week at number-one and on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart where it spent two weeks at the top.^[7] The song peaked at number one in New Zealand and Zimbabwe, and was also successful in parts of Europe, reaching number five on the UK Singles Chart.^[8] The 1993 remix reached number eight on the UK Dance Singles Chart.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1986–1987) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 75 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 28 Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[11] 40 Ireland (IRMA)[12] 6 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[13] 29 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 25 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] 1 Quebec (ADISQ)[16] 27 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 17 UK Singles (OCC)[18] 5 US Billboard Hot 100[19] 42 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[20] 1 US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[21] 3 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[22] 1 West Germany (GfK)[23] 21 Zimbabwe (ZIMA)[24] 1 Chart (1993) Peak position UK Singles (OCC) 42 UK Airplay (ERA)[25] 50 UK Dance (Music Week)[26] 8 UK Club Chart (Music Week)[27] 4

Year-end charts Chart (1986) Position UK Singles (OCC)[28] 53 Chart (1987) Position New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[29] 48

See also

• List of number-one dance singles of 1986 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B singles of 1986 (U.S.)