Good Day Sunshine

"Good Day Sunshine" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album Revolver. It was written mainly by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Leonard Bernstein praised the song for its construction in a 1967 CBS News documentary.[2] Richie Unterberger of AllMusic said the song "radiates optimism and good vibes".[3] Ian MacDonald said it is "superbly sung by McCartney and exquisitely produced by George Martin and his team" and that it shows the Beatles "at their effortless best".[4]

"Good Day Sunshine"
Cover of the Northern Songs sheet music (licensed to Sonora Musikförlag)
Song by the Beatles
from the album Revolver
Released5 August 1966
Recorded8 June 1966
StudioEMI, London
GenreRock, psychedelia[1]
Length2:09
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)Lennon–McCartney
Producer(s)George Martin

Recording
The 1996 US jukebox single release of the song, as the B-side to "Here, There and Everywhere"

The song was recorded on 8 June 1966, with overdubs added the following day.[5][2] McCartney sang the lead vocal and played piano, accompanied by Ringo Starr on drums, and then overdubbed the bass guitar.[4] Music critic Ian MacDonald was unsure if John Lennon played guitar on the track;[4] in his description of the recording sessions for the song, Mark Lewisohn did not mention a guitar track.[5] Lennon and George Harrison add harmony vocals during the choruses. Lennon can be barely heard repeating "she feels good" after McCartney at 1:27. [5] George Martin played the piano solo, recorded with the tape recorder running slower than usual[5][4] and thus in the released version the solo sounds faster than it was actually played. When it was mixed in mono, the drums accidentally played during the fadeout. The stereo mix repaired the mistake.

Like "She Said She Said", the song closes with an imitative canon in the voices.

Influence

McCartney said that he was influenced by the Lovin' Spoonful: the song's "old-timey vaudevillian feel" particularly recalls the Spoonful's hit "Daydream", to which "Good Day Sunshine" bears some harmonic resemblance.[3]

Cover versions
  • The Tremeloes recorded a version later in 1966, their second single after parting company from Brian Poole and their first after signing with CBS, though it was not a hit. It was also included on their debut post-Poole album, Here Come The Tremeloes, and several subsequent compilations.
  • Claudine Longet recorded a version in 1967 for her album The Look of Love (A&M SP-4129) and also released it as a single. The single peaked at #100 on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart[6] and #36 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart.
  • Gloria Loring for her 1968 debut album Today (MGM SE-4499).
  • Four King Cousins for their 1968 album Introducing the Four King Cousins (Capitol ST-2990).
  • The Arbors for their 1969 album Featuring: I Can't Quit Her - The Letter (Date TES 4017).
  • Lulu for her 1970 album Melody Fair (Atco SD33-330).
  • McCartney re-recorded the song himself in 1984 for the soundtrack to his film Give My Regards to Broad Street.
  • A cover of the song was used in the episode "D.J.'s Very First Horse" on the American sitcom Full House.
  • In 2016 Robbie Williams sang it in the eponymous episode 4a of Beat Bugs.

Personnel
Personnel per Ian MacDonald[4] except where noted

(*) MacDonald was unsure if Lennon played guitar on the track.[4]

Notes
  1. Simonelli 2013, p. 103: "Sunshine symbolized beauty, happiness and strength, and was a continually recurring theme in psychedelic music – the Beatles' 'Good Day Sunshine' ... being [one of the] examples."
  2. Dowlding 1989.
  3. Unterberger 2009.
  4. MacDonald 2005, p. 209.
  5. Lewisohn 1988, pp. 82–83.
  6. Allmusic 2009.

References
  • "The Look of Love: Charts and Awards". Allmusic. 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
  • Dowlding, William J (1989). Beatlesongs. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-68229-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Fries, Colin, ed. (30 November 2009). "Chronology of Wakeup Calls" (PDF). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 June 2010.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico. ISBN 1-84413-828-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Simonelli, David (2013). Working Class Heroes: Rock Music and British Society in the 1960s and 1970s. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. ISBN 978-0739170519.
  • Unterberger, Richie (2009). "Review of "Good Day Sunshine"". Allmusic. Retrieved 22 February 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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