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.
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. It also made the Top 10 in the United Kingdom, where the song reached number 7 on the British single chart.
"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. 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.

Composition

Toward the end of the song, Withers holds a note for 18 seconds. 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" 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

Weekly charts

Chart Peak
position
-
UK Singles Chart 4
UK Singles Chart 92

Year-end charts

Certifications

The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. version

The song was covered by The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. featuring Michelle Visage and was included on the 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 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. This version also reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart.

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; this version reached number 81 on the UK Singles Chart.

Soundtrack appearances