Release of the single

The single was originally released in early 1987 as a white label 12" single on Ahead of Our Time Records, with only 500 copies pressed for sale. However, as the song started to pick up some popularity, more copies were pressed, again on the 12" vinyl single.

Song background

The track was built entirely around various samples. The song started with the sampled line "Say kids, what time is it?" from the theme song to the children's television show Howdy Doody, from which the song took its title. The song sampled many hip hop, funk and soul tracks as well.

Coldcut would later gain more popularity in the music scene with their remix of the Eric B. & Rakim song "Paid in Full", which also incorporated the use of various samples. It also used the "Goodnight, kids" sample originally sampled from Howdy Doody,^[1] previously used by Coldcut on "Say Kids What Time Is It?"

Influence

Shortly after the release of sample-built records such as "Say Kids What Time Is It?", the popularity of sample-built tracks began to emerge. The tracks "Pump Up the Volume" by M|A|R|R|S and "Theme from S'Express" by S'Express, which both similarly incorporated the sample style of "Say Kids What Time Is It?", both peaked at #1 on the UK Singles Chart. Coldcut themselves, still incorporating their sampling style, experienced more success with singles such as "Doctorin' the House".