"There Was a Time" was recorded in June 1967 during a live performance at the Apollo Theater in a medley with "Let Yourself Go" and "I Feel All Right", and was first released November 1967 in edited form as the B-side of the single "I Can't Stand Myself (When You Touch Me)".
[4] The medley was also edited into two tracks which began the B-side of the 1969 King album It's a Mother retitled "The Little Groove Maker Me."
Brown made additional recordings of "There Was a Time" with the acoustic jazz combo the Dee Felice Trio for his 1969 album Gettin' Down to It, and with the Louie Bellson big band for 1970's Soul on Top, in a performance cut from the original LP release but restored for its 2004 CD reissue.
In a famous incident, Michael Jackson and Prince performed the song while sharing the stage with Brown and his band at Los Angeles' Beverly Theater in 1983.
[8] Other artists who have recorded the song include Gene Chandler, Eddie Harris, and The Blue Sky Boys.