"Lovely Day" is a song by American soul and R&B singer Bill Withers. Published in 1977 (see 1977 in music), the song was written by Withers and Skip Scarborough and appears on Withers' 1978 album Menagerie.
Released as a single in late 1977, "Lovely Day" peaked at #6 on the Billboard R&B chart and at #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 #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 #92, while a version done by Ben Liebrand, named the "Sunshine Mix", made the British Top 10 in 1988, rising to #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.
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.
Bill Withers – Vocals
Clarence McDonald – Keyboards
Ray Parker, Jr. – Guitar
Jerry Knight – Bass
Russ Kunkel – Drums / Shaker
Ralph MacDonald – Percussion
Charles Veal – Concert master
"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 Breaking Point; this version reached #81 on the UK Singles Chart.
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 #34 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #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 #17 on the UK Singles Chart.
Other artists who have covered the song include:
1978: American jazz guitarist Wilbert Longmire, on his album Sunny Side Up
1979: British jazz fusion group Morrissey–Mullen, on their album Cape Wrath
1985: Italian singer, Mike Francis, on his 1985 album Features.
1990: American R&B singer Sybil released a cover on her Sybilization album, and released it as a single in 1991. It failed to chart.
1992: British entertainer, Des O Connor, on his Portrait album.
1994: American gospel group Out of Eden, on their album Lovin' the Day
1998: American gospel songwriter Kirk Franklin, on his album The Nu Nation Project (titled "Gonna Be a Lovely Day")
1999: British Jazz-funk band Shakatak, on their album Magic.
2002: American contemporary gospel group Take 6, cover version from their album Beautiful World
2003: American R&B singer Luther Vandross featuring rapper Busta Rhymes, cover version from Vandross' album Dance with My Father
2006: American pop band Maroon 5, on the soundtrack to the Luke Wilson film Hoot (this version features backing vocals by Bill Withers & Kori Withers)
2006: American jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour, with American pop singer Taylor Dayne and South African singer Zamajobe, instrumental cover version from his album Smoke & Mirrors
2006: New Age/Contemporary jazz French keyboardist Philippe Saisse with his "Philippe Saisse Acoustique Trio" on the album Body and Soul Sessions.
2007: American R&B singer Diana Ross, on her album I Love You
2008: Drummer Russ Kunkel and his group Chateau Beach on the 2008 album Rivage
2008: Bassist Michael Manson, on the album Up Front
2009: American saxophonist Elan Trotman, on his album This Time Around.
2010: American R&B singer and jazz saxophonist Walter Beasley on the album Backatcha.
2011: R&B Singer Jill Scott, on the album The Original Jill Scott from the Vault, Vol. 1.
2012: Elizabeth Mitchell, used in a UK advert for DFS (British retailer)
2013: American band Robert Glasper Experiment, on the deluxe edition of their album Black Radio 2.
2013: Contemporary Christian artist The Katinas, on their 2013 album Love Chapter.
2014: English rock band alt-J, as a bonus track on their album This Is All Yours.
2012: British Post hardcore band Enter Shikari covered this song in a live session over uStream.
2017: Justin Timberlake covered the song along with "Can't Stop the Feeling!" at the 89th Academy Awards.
Samples and interpolations
1998: American rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, sampled original song on their track "Lovely Daze" from their greatest hits album
1999: American rappers Too Short, Ant Banks and Rappin' 4-Tay, working as the supergroup TWDY, sampled the original song on the track "Players Holiday"
2000: Finnish rapper Seremoniamestari sampled the original song on his track "Ihana päivä" from the album Omin sanoin
2002: British DJ's Brancaccio & Aisher, sampled the The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. cover on their track "It's Gonna Be...(A Lovely Day)" (this version reached #40 on the UK Singles Chart as well as hitting #1 on both the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. and the UK Official Dance Chart)
2004: American rappers Twista and Anthony Hamilton, sampled original song on their track "Sunshine" from Twista's album Kamikaze
2007: American rapper Swizz Beatz, sampled original song on his track "Take a Picture" from the album One Man Band Man
2007: American rapper Z-Ro, sampled original song on his track "A Lovely Day," which features Lil' Flip & Big Shasta, on the album King Of Tha Ghetto: Power
2010: American rapper LL Cool J, sampled original song on his track "LLovely Day."
2012: American musician R. Kelly heavily sampled the original song on the track, "Feelin' Single" from the Write Me Back album.
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".
2010: This song is featured in the film 127 Hours during the scene where James Franco (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.
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.
The song was used in season 13 episode 18 of animated sitcom American Dad!
