Lovely Day

Lovely Day appeared on Bill Withers’s 1977 album Menagerie. Its gently buoyant rhythm and direct expression of affection offer a brighter counterpart to the spare, troubled mood of Ain’t No Sunshine.

Withers holds the centre of the arrangement with an unforced vocal, while the bass line and rhythm guitar keep the groove moving underneath him. The long sustained notes in the refrain gradually turn a simple melodic idea into the recording’s main event.

This page presents the original studio recording. Continue with Bill Withers’s other recordings to hear how his plainspoken singing works across ballads, soul and funk.