Lovely Day

Quality 0.50 · 1 view · Updated 2 months ago

1977 single by Bill Withers

title: "Lovely Day" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1977-songs", "1977-singles", "1988-singles", "1992-singles", "bill-withers-songs", "central-line-(band)-songs", "songs-written-by-bill-withers", "songs-written-by-skip-scarborough", "columbia-records-singles", "american-funk-songs", "arista-records-singles", "number-one-singles-in-france"] description: "1977 single by Bill Withers" topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovely_Day" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 1977 single by Bill Withers ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]

FieldValue
nameLovely Day
imageLovely day by bill withers side-B late 1970s reissue.png
altside-B label by Columbia Records
captionSide B of the late-1970s US reissue
typesingle
artistBill Withers
albumMenagerie
B-sideIt Ain't Because of Me Baby
released
labelColumbia
prev_titleClose to Me
prev_year1977
next_titleLovely Night for Dancing
next_year1978
misc
::

| name = Lovely Day | image = Lovely day by bill withers side-B late 1970s reissue.png | alt = side-B label by Columbia Records | caption = Side B of the late-1970s US reissue | type = single | artist = Bill Withers | album = Menagerie | B-side = It Ain't Because of Me Baby | released = | recorded = | studio = | genre =

  • R&B
  • soul
  • funk
  • disco | length =
  • 3:46 (single version)
  • 4:15 (album version) | label = Columbia | writer =
  • Bill Withers
  • Skip Scarborough | producer =
  • Bill Withers
  • Clarence McDonald | prev_title = Close to Me | prev_year = 1977 | next_title = Lovely Night for Dancing | next_year = 1978 | misc = "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 by Columbia Records, and appears on Withers's sixth album, Menagerie (1977). Withers holds a sustained note towards the end that, at 18 seconds, is one of the longest ever recorded on an American pop song. The song was listed at No. 402 on *Rolling Stone*s "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time" in 2021.

Recording

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 high E note for 18 seconds, the longest of any top 40 hit in the United States.

History

Released as a single in late 1977, "Lovely Day" peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard R&B chart and at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1978. Outside of the United States, "Lovely Day" peaked within the top ten of the charts in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number seven on the UK Singles 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 on the UK Singles Chart, while a remix done by Ben Liebrand, named the "Sunshine Mix", peaked within the top 10 in 1988, peaking at number four on the UK Singles Chart. 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, again in 1999 for a Gap commercial directed by Hype Williams, and yet again in 2020 in ads for Good Morning Football on NFL Network, an Allstate insurance TV commercial, as well as an ad for Pandora Jewelers. On January 20, 2021, the song was performed by Demi Lovato, with backing vocals from Lin-Manuel Miranda and several frontline healthcare workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as a part of the entertainment broadcast entitled Celebrating America following the inauguration of President Joe Biden.

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

::data[format=table] | Chart (1977–1978) | Peak position | |---|---| | url=http://tsort.info/music/yr1978.htm |title=Songs from the Year 1978 |website=Tsort.info |access-date=October 12, 2016}} | 18 | | Belgium (Ultratop) | 11 | | Canada Top Singles (RPM) | 23 | | Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM) | 44 | | France (IFOP) | 1 | | Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) | 24 | | Netherlands (Single Top 100) | 24 | | UK Singles (OCC) | 7 | | US Billboard Hot 100 | 30 | | US R&B Singles (Billboard) | 6 | | US Easy Listening (Billboard) | 25 | | US Cash Box Top 100 | 23 | ::

::data[format=table] | Chart (1987–88) | Peak position | |---|---| | | | | UK Singles (OCC) (remix) | 4 | | UK Singles (OCC) (original) | 92 | ::

Year-end charts

::data[format=table]

Chart (1978)Rank
Canada (RPM)173
UK Singles (OCC)85
::

::data[format=table]

Chart (1988)Rank
UK Singles (OCC)38
::

Certifications

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

| name = It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day | cover = Lovely_Day_(song).jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. | album = The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album | released = 1992 | recorded = | studio = | venue = | genre = | length = 4:47 | label = Arista | writer = | producer = | prev_title = | prev_year = | next_title = | next_year = | misc =

The song was covered by American R&B and dance music group 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, starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. This mostly rap version was titled "It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day" and was produced by Robert Clivillés, David Cole and Ricky Crespo. It reached number 34 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 44 on the Billboard R&B chart, in addition to spending three weeks atop the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in December 1992 and January 1993. The song also reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart, number one on the UK Club Chart and number two on the European Dance Radio Chart.

Critical reception

J.D. Considine from The Baltimore Sun remarked the "funk revisionism" of "It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day". In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote, "It's not the first time in recent years that the Bill Withers classic has had a chart outing, a remixed version having made the Top 10 in September 1988. The new version, however, is as far removed from this as can be and may just have enough novelty value not to be detracted by the cries of sacrilege from the purists." Parry Gettelman from Orlando Sentinel viewed it as "a throwaway dance track".

Charles Aaron for Spin said, "Clivilles & Cole's effortlessly escapist, double 12-inch extravaganza of house gimmicks is worth its price on packaging alone (the jacket could inspire a master's thesis). "Movin' the Crowd Club Mix" reintroduces Seduction's Michelle Visage, who boasts a breathy, offhand rhyme style, as if she's kickin' it in a fitting room at Bloomingdale's. The sample codes are less than fresh — Deee-Lite's 'What Is Love?', Soul II Soul's 'Get a Life', and a horn blast from Sly's 'You Can Make It If You Try' — but together, they construct quite a club ethos."

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single and was later made available by VEVO on YouTube in 2014. It had generated more than 2.3 million views as of early 2024.

Charts

Weekly charts

::data[format=table title="Weekly chart performance for "It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day" by the S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M."] | Chart (1992–1993) | Peak position | Australia (ARIA) | Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) | Europe (European Dance Radio) | Europe (European Hit Radio) | Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade) | UK Dance (Music Week) | UK Club Chart (Music Week) | US Billboard Hot 100 | US Hot Dance Club Play (Billboard) | US Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard) | US Cash Box Top 100 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 90 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 58 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 25 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 34 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 31 | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::

Year-end charts

::data[format=table title="Year-end chart performance for "It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day" by the S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M."]

Chart (1992)PositionUK Club Chart (Music Week)
29
::

Other versions

"Lovely Day" has been covered and sampled numerous times since Withers' original recording. Among the most notable is one by British pop group Central Line, appearing on their 1983 album Choice; this version reached number 81 on the UK Singles Chart. In 1998, Kirk Franklin interpolated the single in his song "Gonna Be a Lovely Day" from his fifth album The Nu Nation Project. In 2010, LL Cool J sampled the song in his single "LLovely Day".

Soundtrack appearances

  • 2010: The song is featured in the film 127 Hours during the scene where 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.

References

References

  1. "VIDEO: DEMI LOVATO COVERS BILL WITHERS’ “LOVELY DAY” – BillWithers.com".
  2. (September 15, 2021). "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
  3. (April 3, 2020). "Lean On Me singer Bill Withers dies at 81".
  4. [[Joel Whitburn. Whitburn, Joel]] (1996). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
  5. "Bill Withers - Full Official Chart History".
  6. (January 20, 2021). "Demi Lovato Belts Out Uplifting Performance of 'Lovely Day' on 'Celebrating America' TV Special". CBS Studios Inc.
  7. "Demi Lovato & Healthcare Workers Sing 'Lovely Day' at 'Celebrating America'". Billboard Media, LLC.
  8. "Songs from the Year 1978".
  9. (July 17, 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada".
  10. (February 10, 2015). "Cash Box Top 100 2/11/78".
  11. "lovely+day | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company".
  12. (July 17, 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada".
  13. "Top 100 1978 - UK Music Charts".
  14. (1991). "BPI YearBook 1989/90". [[British Phonographic Industry]].
  15. (December 26, 1992). "Dance Songs: Top Dance Music Chart".
  16. "Soul System - Full Official Chart History".
  17. [[J.D. Considine. Considine, J.D.]] (1992). "Soundtrack – ''The Bodyguard''". ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'' – via ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]''. (December 4, 1992).
  18. Masterton, James. (January 10, 1993). "Week Ending January 16th 1993".
  19. Gettelman, Parry (December 4, 1992). "The Bodyguard Soundtrack". ''[[Orlando Sentinel]]''.
  20. [[Charles Aaron. Aaron, Charles]]. "Singles". ''[[Spin (magazine). Spin]]''. March 1993.
  21. (February 21, 2014). "S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. - It's Gonna Be A Lovely Day". [[YouTube]].
  22. {{cite Ryan
  23. (February 13, 1993). "Eurochart Hot 100".
  24. (February 20, 1993). "European Dance Radio".
  25. (February 13, 1993). "EHR Top 40".
  26. (January 16, 1993). "Top 60 Dance Singles".
  27. (December 25, 1993). "''RM'' Club Chart Number Ones Of 93".
  28. (January 16, 1993). "Hot Dance Music: Maxi-Singles Sales".
  29. (January 30, 1993). "Top 100 Pop Singles".
  30. (December 26, 1992). "The Record Mirror Club Chart 92".
  31. "Central Line - Full Official Chart History".
  32. (2 July 2010). "New Music: LL Cool J "LLovely Day"".
  33. Grimm, Becca. (October 29, 2010). "Sigur Rós, Bill Withers, Many More Featured on 127 Hours Soundtrack".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

1977-songs1977-singles1988-singles1992-singlesbill-withers-songscentral-line-(band)-songssongs-written-by-bill-witherssongs-written-by-skip-scarboroughcolumbia-records-singlesamerican-funk-songsarista-records-singlesnumber-one-singles-in-france