84. Lovely Day by Bill Withers

"Lovely Day" by Bill Withers

Written by Bill Withers and Skip Scarborough
Produced by Bill Withers and Clarence McDonald
Released on Menagerie (December 1977)
Released as single on December 21, 1977
Peaked at #30 on Billboard Hot 100
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I remember when I first heard this song. It is a clear memory for me, but I'm having trouble finding any record of it online. Spike Lee directed a short film for The Concert for New York City. Wikipedia says it was called "Come Rain or Come Shine," and I distinctly remember "Lovely Day" by Bill Withers being the soundtrack. However, I cannot find that video anywhere online, and I cannot find any description of the video (besides the title and length). Now I'm worried that maybe it was some other video made for some other purpose made by some other person that used this song. Because I haven't been able to double check if that short film is the one I'm remembering, I'm starting to doubt my memory of the event. Memory can be a tricky thing, especially in the days we live in, where it seems like you can always just check online somewhere to find the answer.

I love and have always loved learning useless trivia. It's part of who I am. It's one of my few strengths. Every Christmas one of the gifts that I received from my parents was that year's World Almanac. I loved those things. They were full of information that I couldn't easily find anywhere else. I'd get to see which athletes had moved up the career statistical leader boards, which countries and cities were the most populous, and learn some history. It was awesome. The internet then put all of that information at my fingertips. My phone always has one tab dedicated to sports-reference.com. As much as I love having so much readily available to me, now I expect to have access to everything all the time. When the answer can't be found, it stresses me out. Now I don't always trust myself or my memory if I can't double check it online.

As annoying and frustrating as this can be sometimes, here's what I do know: I had never heard this song until I heard it on TV in my early 20's. Whether it was during The Concert for New York City or some other TV special doesn't really matter. Sometimes it bums me out to think about how I spent so long without this song in my life. It demonstrates the fractured nature of music. Had I been listening to 104.9 instead of 94.7 for most of my youth, I'd probably be lamenting how it took me so long to hear "Wish You Were Here" instead.

"Lovely Day" is a joyously brilliant song, and Bill Withers is a brilliant songwriter and performer. Bill Withers is probably most famous for writing "Lean On Me," which is an incredible song in its own right. About 15 years ago, a friend of mine and I were trying to figure out what could be considered the greatest melody of all time. While "Lean On Me" does not contain the greatest melody of all time (that's probably "Vincent" by Don MacLean), it struck me during our conversation how brilliant it is in its simplicity. It's just an ascending and descending scale. Bill Withers took those simple notes, added heartfelt lyrics, and made a timeless song of hope and reassurance.

"Lovely Day," meanwhile, is a song of pure joy and gladness, and that is what makes it my favorite Bill Withers song. While there are sad songs that I love, sometimes I need pure joy shot directly into my veins, and "Lovely Day" can deliver that every time. That is why...

Right now, "Lovely Day" by Bill Withers is (probably) my 84th favorite song of all time.