Good Day Sunshine

Good Day Sunshine is a song on, the 1966 album, Revolver. It was written by Paul McCartney, with help from John Lennon, and credited to Lennon/McCartney. Leonard Bernstein praised the song for its construction in a 1967 CBS News documentary. Richie Unterberger of allmusic said the song "radiates optimism and good vibes" 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."

Recording
The song was recorded at Abbey Road 8 June 1966, with overdubs added the following day. McCartney sang the lead vocal and also played bass guitar and piano accompanied by Ringo Starr on drums. Music critic Ian MacDonald was unsure if John Lennon played guitar on the track; in his description of the recording sessions for the song, Mark Lewisohn did not mention a guitar track. Lennon and George Harrison add harmony vocals during the choruses. George Martin played the piano solo, recorded with the tape recorder running slower than usual 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.

Influences and cover version
McCartney said that he was influenced by The Lovin' Spoonful: the song's "old-timey vaudevillian feel" particularly recalls the Spoonful's big hit "Daydream" to which it also shows some harmonic resemblance.

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 and #36 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart.

Cultural references

 * "Good Day Sunshine" has been played as the wake-up music on multiple Space Shuttle missions. 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.
 * The song is also played at Safeco Field, home of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners, when the retractable roof is retracted.

Credits

 * Paul McCartney – bass guitar, piano, handclaps, lead vocal
 * John Lennon – harmony vocals, guitar, handclaps, harmony vocal
 * George Harrison – handclaps, harmony vocal
 * Ringo Starr – drums, handclaps
 * George Martin – piano
 * Personnel per Ian MacDonald

MacDonald was unsure if Lennon played guitar on the track.