When most people think of bands with great harmonies, they think of the Beach Boys. They hear Brian Wilson and his bandmates singing in perfect harmony on tracks like ‘Good Vibrations’ and ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’, blending their voices together seamlessly until they become almost another element of instrumentation. But the Beach Boys didn’t have a monopoly on the art of harmonies, and their pop rivals, The Beatles, would occasionally try their hand at shared vocal parts, too.
Harmonies weren’t quite as essential to the Beatles’ sound as they were to the Beach Boys. Usually, Paul McCartney or John Lennon would take up lead vocals, the choice often depending on who penned the song. McCartney sang his melancholic ‘Yesterday’ alone, Lennon helmed ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’. Of course, they would provide backing vocals for one another, but those carefully constructed harmonies were less prevalent in their sound than in their peers. When they were included, they were all the more purposeful and impactful.
But when the Beatles tried their hand at more prominent harmonies, they proved their collective talent behind a microphone matched their songwriting prowess. They tailored them to the song at hand, using their blended voices to enhance a feeling or meaning. Perhaps the finest example of this in their entire discography is ‘Good Day Sunshine’, from their experimental 1966 album, Revolver.
The record pushed into psychedelia and sampling, expanding the Beatles’ sound far beyond the pop of their earlier years. Somewhere amidst the playful ‘Yellow Submarine’ and the pioneering ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’, the band threw in a song called ‘Good Day Sunshine’. It called back to their roots in music hall and pop, with playful pianos and optimistic lyrics. “I feel good in a special way,” McCartney sings, “I’m in love and it’s a sunny day.”
The track’s goal was to create something that would fit into the “spate of summer songs” they had noticed around that time, as McCartney explained in The Lyrics: 1956 To The Present. “‘Daydream’ and ‘Summer In The City’ by The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Kinks’ ‘Sunny Afternoon’,” he explained, “I think all those came out during the same year, 1966.” The Beatles wanted to write something equally sunny.
“Both John and I had grown up while the music hall tradition was still very vibrant, so it was always in the back of our minds,” McCartney added, “There are lots of songs about the sun, and they make you happy.” With ‘Good Day Sunshine’, the Beatles certainly achieved their goal of writing something sunny, an ode to music hall that would evoke smiles on the faces of listeners.
The instrumentation and lyrics certainly contribute to the creation of this feeling, but the harmonies are perhaps the most important element. While McCartney takes on the verses alone, Lennon and Harrison join him in the choruses as they repeatedly declare, “Good day, sunshine,” in harmony. Their voices blend together seamlessly, adding power to McCartney’s words and reinforcing the joy and jubilance within them.
If McCartney had simply sang the lines alone, as he does with the verses, it would have completely changed the feeling of the song. Each time the chorus comes back around and McCartney is joined by his bandmates, it boosts the song to new heights of positivity and potency. It’s one of the finest examples of harmonies in the band’s catalogue, proving that their sparing use of the technique allowed them to truly impact those songs that did feature harmonies.
