As a Mel Brooks fan I've always been impressed that his musical instincts were as keen as his comic instincts. He wrote all the comic songs in
Blazing Saddles, High Anxiety and of course the Broadway version of
The Producers. But this particular song amazes me for one noteworthy reason. Brooks made this rap parody for his film
History Of the World Part 1, in which he takes the voice of King Louis XVI, in 1981. This came extraordinarily soon after the first real marketplace presence of rap music on Sugar Hill Records. "It's Good To Be The King" came out the same year Blondie hit the charts with "Rapture," and most incredibly,
nearly one full year before Grandmaster Flash released "The Message." Rap was still a very new thing, and Brooks wasted no time jumping on it for comedic effect. Nowadays, of course, we have will.i.am for that.
Incidentally, I had no idea this movie was the origin for the saying "It's good to be the king." I thought it had to be mentioned at some point earlier. God, Tom Petty even made a song out of it.
Mel Brooks invented this ish, y'all.
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