Lovely Day

"Lovely Day" is a song by American soul and R&B singer Bill Withers. Written by Withers and Skip Scarborough, it was released on December 21, 1977, and appears on Withers' 1977 album Menagerie.

For other uses, see Lovely Day (disambiguation).

"Lovely Day"
Single by Bill Withers
from the album Menagerie
B-side"It Ain't Because of Me Baby"
ReleasedDecember 21, 1977
Recorded1977
Genre
Length3:46 (single version)
4:15 (album version)
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Bill Withers
Skip Scarborough
Producer(s)Bill Withers
Clarence McDonald
Bill Withers singles chronology
"Close to Me"
(1977)		 "Lovely Day"
(1977)		 "Lovely Night for Dancing"
(1978)
Audio sample
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The song is notable for Withers' sustained note towards the end, which, at 18 seconds long, is one of the longest ever recorded on an American pop song.

History

Released as a single in late 1977, "Lovely Day" peaked at number 6 on the Billboard R&B chart and at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US in early 1978.[1] It also made the Top 10 in the United Kingdom, where the song reached number 7 on the British single chart.[2]

"Lovely Day" has been re-released as a single in the United Kingdom at least twice since the song's first chart run; in 1987 the original version charted again at number 92, while a remix done by Ben Liebrand, named the "Sunshine Mix", made the British Top 10 in 1988, rising to number 4.[2] This remix resulted in renewed enthusiasm for the Withers original, which incurred a surge in airplay into the early 1990s and came to firmly overshadow the radio presence of Liebrand's version. Public interest was again piqued in 1995, when "Lovely Day" was used in adverts for Tetley tea and again in 1999 for a Gap commercial directed by Hype Williams.

Producer Clarence McDonald also arranged the original 1977 version of the song and played keyboards. Guitars were played by Ray Parker Jr., Jerry Knight played bass, and Russ Kunkel played drums.[3]

Composition

Toward the end of the song, Withers holds a note for 18 seconds.[4] This is believed to be the second-longest note in UK chart history; Morten Harket of A-ha's 20-second note in "Summer Moved On" (2000) is the longest. Withers' note is sustained in chest voice, whereas Harket utilizes the falsetto range. The former remains the longest of any Top 40 hit in the United States. Some claim Freddy Curci of the band Sheriff holds the final falsetto note of "When I'm with You", a number one song in the U.S. in 1989, for about 20 seconds, although his voice seems to transform into a sound effect, created in the studio.

Personnel

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[14] Platinum 70,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[15] Platinum 1,000,000

sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. version
"It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day"
Single by The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. featuring Michelle Visage
from the album The Bodyguard (soundtrack)
Released1992
GenreSoul, Dance-Pop, R&B, Rap, Hip-Hop
Length4:47
LabelArista
Songwriter(s)Bill Withers
Skip Scarborough
Robert Clivillés
David Cole
Tommy Never
Michelle Visage
Producer(s)Clivillés, Cole, Ricky Crespo

The song was covered by The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. featuring Michelle Visage and was included on the soundtrack to the 1992 film The Bodyguard. This mostly rap version was titled "It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day". It reached number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart[1] and number 44 on the Billboard R&B chart, in addition to spending three weeks atop the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in December 1992 and January 1993.[16] This version also reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart.[17]

Covers

"Lovely Day" has been covered and sampled numerous times since Withers' original recording. These alternate versions of the song span many different musical genres, including R&B, pop, jazz, gospel, dance, and rap.

British pop group Central Line covered the song on their 1983 album Choice;[18] this version reached number 81 on the UK Singles Chart.[19]

Soundtrack appearances
  • 1980: This song is heard in the TV series "Great Railway Journeys of the World"- Season 1, Episode 2 "Coast to Coast".[20]
  • 2000: The original song appears at the beginning of the 8th episode named "The Whole Truth" in the first season of the TV series Ed (TV series) (2000–2004).
  • 2006: American feature/comedy film School for Scoundrels.
  • 2010: The song is featured in the film 127 Hours during the scene where James Franco (as Aron Ralston) on the second day of his horrific ordeal, makes a pulley to (unsuccessfully) release the rock trapping his arm. This song also features in the soundtrack of the movie.[21]
  • 2011: The song is featured in the film I Don't Know How She Does It.
  • 2016: The song is featured towards the end of the animated film The Secret Life of Pets, when all of the pets return home in time to greet their owners.
  • 2016: The song was used in season 13 episode 18 of animated sitcom American Dad!
  • 2017: The song is featured towards the end of the 2nd episode named "Make Them Birds Fly" in the first season of the FX crime drama TV series Snowfall.
  • 2017: The song is used multiple times in the second season premiere of the CBS law drama Bull, titled "School for Scandal".
  • 2019: The song is featured at the beginning of episode 1 of Ricky Gervais' Netflix series After Life.[22]

See also
  • List of number-one dance hits (United States)
  • List of number-one dance hits (UK)

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
  2. "Bill Withers - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  3. "Bill Withers - Menagerie (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  4. "Lean On Me singer Bill Withers dies at 81". BBC News Online. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  5. "Songs from the Year 1978". Tsort.info. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  6. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  7. "Cash Box Top 100 2/11/78". February 10, 2015.
  8. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Lovely Day". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  9. "lovely+day | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  10. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  11. "Top 100 1978 - UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  12. "Billboard Top 100 - 1978". Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  13. Scaping, Peter, ed. (1991). "Top 100 Singles: 1988". BPI YearBook 1989/90. London, England: British Phonographic Industry. pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-0-9061-5410-6.
  14. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2020 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  15. "British single certifications – Bill Withers – Lovely Day". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  16. "Dance Songs: Top Dance Music Chart". Billboard. 1992-12-26. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  17. "Soul System - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  18. Central Line - Choice (1983) album at Discogs
  19. "Central Line - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  20. Coast to Coast, retrieved 2020-04-06
  21. Grimm, Becca (2010-10-29). "Sigur Rós, Bill Withers, Many More Featured on 127 Hours Soundtrack". Paste Magazine.
  22. ""After Life" Episode #1.1 (TV Episode 2019) - IMDb" – via m.imdb.com.
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