Good Day Sunshine
| "Good Day Sunshine" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by The Beatles from the album Revolver | ||||
| Released | 5 August 1966 | |||
| Recorded | 8 June 1966, EMI Studios, London |
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| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 2:09 | |||
| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Writer | Lennon–McCartney | |||
| Producer | George Martin | |||
| Revolver track listing | ||||
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"Good Day Sunshine" is a song by The Beatles on the 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.[1] Richie Unterberger of allmusic said the song "radiates optimism and good vibes"[2] and Ian MacDonald said it is "superbly sung by McCartney and exquisitely produced by George Martin and his team" and "displays The Beatles at their effortless best."[3]
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[edit] Recording
The song was recorded on 8 June 1966, with overdubs added the following day.[4][1] McCartney sang the lead vocal and played piano, accompanied by Ringo Starr on drums, and then overdubbed the bass guitar.[3] Music critic Ian MacDonald was unsure if John Lennon played guitar on the track;[3] in his description of the recording sessions for the song, Mark Lewisohn did not mention a guitar track.[4] Lennon and George Harrison add harmony vocals during the choruses. Lennon can be barely heard repeating "she feels good" after McCartney at 1:27. [4] George Martin played the piano solo, recorded with the tape recorder running slower than usual[4][3] and thus in the released version the solo sounds faster than it was actually played.
Like "She Said She Said" the song closes with an imitative canon in the voices.
[edit] Influences and cover versions
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.[2]
Claudine Longet recorded a version in 1967 for her album The Look of Love and also released it as a single. The single peaked at #100 on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart[5] and #36 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart.[citation needed]
Scottish singer Lulu released a version on her 1970 album Melody Fair.
McCartney re-recorded the song himself in 1984 for the soundtrack to his film, Give My Regards to Broad Street.
[edit] Cultural references
- "Good Day Sunshine" has been played as the wake-up music on multiple Space Shuttle missions.[6] McCartney played the song live to the crew of the International Space Station on 13 November 2005 in the first-ever concert link-up to the space station.[6]
- The song is played at Safeco Field, home of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners, when the retractable roof is retracted.
[edit] Personnel
- Paul McCartney – vocal, bass, piano, handclaps
- John Lennon – harmony vocal, handclaps
- George Harrison – harmony vocal, handclaps
- Ringo Starr – drums, handclaps
- George Martin – piano solo
- Personnel per Ian MacDonald[3]
MacDonald was unsure if Lennon played guitar on the track.[3]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Dowlding.
- ^ a b Unterberger 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f MacDonald 2005, p. 209.
- ^ a b c d Lewisohn 1988, pp. 82–83.
- ^ Allmusic 2009.
- ^ a b Fries 2009.
[edit] References
- "The Look of Love: Charts and Awards". Allmusic. 2009. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r67288/charts-awards/billboard-single. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- Dowlding, William J (1989). Beatlesongs. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-68229-6.
- Fries, Colin, ed. (30 November 2009). "Chronology of Wakeup Calls". National Aeronautics and Space Administration. http://history.nasa.gov/wakeup%20calls.pdf.
- Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
- MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-844-13828-3.
- Unterberger, Richie (2009). "Review of "Good Day Sunshine"". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/song/t819423. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
[edit] External links
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