it's a beautiful day 1979

[Dutchie]

i really dig this song. Together with California 1972 and It's OK 1976 i think these are the classical tunes that makes the beach boys such a great vocal group.

I just finised listening to the long version. Just great. I hear Al, Mike, Carl and i even hear Bruce in the chorus if i am correct.

Why was this never a hit. The lyrics, melody and harmony are just great.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“It's a Beautiful Day”
 
Single by The Beach Boys
from the album Ten Years of Harmony
Released September, 1979
Format Vinyl
Recorded Unknown
Genre Pop
Length 3 min 15 sec
Label Caribou Records
Producer Bruce Johnston
 
"It's a Beautiful Day" is a song written by Mike Love and Al Jardine for the American pop band The Beach Boys. The song was never released on an original Beach Boys album, however it was released on the soundtrack to the film Americathon and as a single during September, 1979 with the B-side of the single being "Sumahama". The single charted at #45 in the United States but never charted in the United Kingdom. The song has also been released on the Ten Years of Harmony Beach Boys compilation album.

What are yore thougts about this song. I give it a 10+

[Dutchie]

 

Beach Boys lyrics - It's A Beautiful Day
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artist: Beach Boys lyrics
title: It's A Beautiful Day


(Mike Love/Alan Jardine)

OOOOOOOOOW
Livin' down in L.A.
Such A Beautiful day

Whoa whoa
Whoa whoa

The skies are clear
It's a beautiful day in l.a.

People in motion
Our wheels movin all kind a ways

Indoors, outdoors, in the sun
There are people everywhere havin' fun, fun, fun

And when the moon and stars come out at night
We'll know what to do when we turn out the lights (turn out the lights, out the lights)

The freeways there are jammed with all kind of folks on their bikes
With fastball surfers, their all doin' their lefts and their rights

Roller skating, joggin', or a fancy bike
You can get around most anyway you really like

And when the sun is down and the stars are bright
I can hardly wait to get to hold you tight (hold you tight, hold you tight)

OOOOOOOOOOOh
Living down in L.A.
Such a Beautiful Day

Whoa, whoa
Whoa, whoa

Riding the fastlanes, and ballet in leisurely flight
People in motion the streets there a beautiful sight

In goodtimes, sunshine, you'll feel alright
We'll maybe even do an afternoon delight

You're sure to get as high as the clouds above
Participatin' in this little dance of love (dance of love, dance of love)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOW
Living down in L.A.
Such a Beautiful Day

The freeways are jammed now
The cars have disappeared from the scene

Cause' gone to work or to play
They use a whole 'nother kind of machine

OOOOOOOOOOW
Living down in L.A.
Such a beautiful day

[Mark H.]

"Americathon"  was a horrible film.  I remember going to see it at release because of "It's a Beautiful Day"....that was a mistake.

[Dutchie]

i never seen the movie but got to know about it when i bought 10 years of harmony on cd in 1992

[chris.metcalfe]

I bought the soundtrack LP and still play it occasionally. My feeling at the time (1979) was that it was better than several tracks on LA Light Album and would have made that a better album. I agree, it seems bizarre that, at a time when they were desperate for success, they threw away a very good commercial single. 

[Dancing Bear]

A good one by Mike & Al.

[Wilsonista]

It's one of the better "retro BB" tracks.

[tpesky]

I agree, it seems like they threw away a great chance to have a hit single when they needed one badly.  Why not push the single, put it on an album, for god sakes play it live!  Carl and Al sound great..Mike good (just a little too nasally) . They did the same thing with Almost Summer, giving that one to Mike and Celebration....for God Sakes they couldn't buy a hit in 78

[Sheriff John Stone]

My feeling at the time (1979) was that it was better than several tracks on LA Light Album and would have made that a better album. I agree, it seems bizarre that, at a time when they were desperate for success, they threw away a very good commercial single. 

You're absolutely right! Bizarre.

The group went from 15 songs on 15 Big Ones, to 14 songs on Love You, to 12 songs on MIU, to 10 songs on L.A. Light Album. Why not just ADD "It's A Beautiful Day" to the album? Think how much stronger it would've been to open L.A. with "It's A Beautiful Day" and THEN "Good Timin".

I agree with RobMac that "It's A Beautiful Day" has a "retro" feel to it, and L.A. was supposed to be their mature, "adult" album, but 30 years later, I'm still looking for a good reason why they closed that album with "Shortenin' Bread"....

EDIT: There is a chance "It's A Beautiful Day" was recorded AFTER the release of L.A. which would make most of my post a mute point, except for the "Shortenin' Bread" part....

[punkinhead]

ive got this on the Americathon soundtrack on vinyl....    only redeeming factor to owning it

[Andrew G. Doe]

EDIT: There is a chance "It's A Beautiful Day" was recorded AFTER the release of L.A. which would make most of my post a mute point, except for the "Shortenin' Bread" part....

June 1979, apparently - so including it on an album released three months earlier would indeed be a neat trick. 

[Sheriff John Stone]

EDIT: There is a chance "It's A Beautiful Day" was recorded AFTER the release of L.A. which would make most of my post a mute point, except for the "Shortenin' Bread" part....

June 1979, apparently - so including it on an album released three months earlier would indeed be a neat trick. 

Like I was saying, think how great it would've been to open Side B of Keeping The Summer Alive with "It's A Beautiful Day"... 

[MBE]

I think it's an OK song. A little generic sounding but a decent slice of the times. I certainly think it would have been a nice inclusion for KTSA, but it wasn't essential . I give it a 7 out of 10.

[mikeyj]

This song is pretty good. I mean it would be a weaker cut if it was released during the band's peak but considering some of the crap they had just released (eg: M.I.U., Here Comes The Night disco etc..) then I think that makes it sound even better to most peoples ears. I agree it should've been on KTSA. I think sometimes various members of the band are pretty forgetful in regards to songs they have recently released/recorded. For example Dennis saying "did we release that" in regards to Susie Cincinatti and then there's Al forgetting that Honkin' Down The Highway was released and another example is Brian forgetting that he had recorded Child of Winter despite it being recorded in the past month or so and considering Brian wasn't that active at that time compared to before, you would've thought that he could remember Child of Winter!! So maby the band forgot they even recorded IABD?

[Dutchie]

the beach boys do have a way NOT to release a hit ! They release songs as a single they think will be doing good. For example doing for SIP hot fun in the summertime instead of Laihaina aloha 

[TimeToGetAlone]

What does it for me in the song are Carl's bits in the chorus.  Being slightly late for the Light Album aside, there were many where it seems like they were short on material, had a fair amount of good stuff to give, and opted for a worse choice.  An addition of this on the two-fers would have at least been nice.  Ten Years of Harmony and the like had some good rare stuff on it but I'd rather not have to get some other tracks over again.  It's bad enough that LDC duplicates half of its content from other releases.

[Beach Boy]

I like that song, it's catchy. I think they didn't put it on KTSA because it was too old then. BTW I read on this board that "It's A Beautiful Day" was a hit in LA.

[tpesky]

But When Girls Get Together wasn't!?!?? , it was from 1970! Santa Ana Winds was from 78 (although rewritten lyrics), Endless Harmony dated back to like 73, School Days was a lame cover, and the album had what..10 songs on it?? I don't get why this couldn't have been on that album!

[petsite]

I was working for a radio station here in Houston when "It's A Beautiful Day" was handed to me from the CBS/Lorimar rep. It was a Saturday and the stations did a live remote from the ice skating rink at the Galleria (HUGE shopping complex). I cut the track to cassette (as they only had cassette and reel to reels at the rink) and drove over there. I got the jock to put it on and the kids loved it. They were skating like crazy and clapping. Good tune. And they didnt promote it. Hell, they didn't release the single until fall after the OST came out in June. They didn't release KTSA as a single either. Although (as even Carl said at the time), the production values on KTSA kinda sucked. It should have rocked like crazy instead of that piano begining. When IABD was released, the rumor was that it was gonna be on the new LP Cousins, Friends and Brothers in the spring of 1980.  At that time, it was rumored that the new LP would have a Brian side and a groups side. That didn't happen of course.

BTW, the reason that Celebration did Almost Summer is because the BB owed Warners one last LP and CBS a new one. So neither was too keen to let them release a single on MCA. Celebration had Brian (uncreditied). I just wish the production was better. Way too stripped down.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Hell, they didn't release the single until fall after the OST came out in June.

[koff] August. 

[petsite]

[koff] Thank you.

Another tidbit about Almost Summer. Mike told how he, Alan and Brian went to see the rough cut of the movie at Universal so they could write the theme song to it. After the screening, they went to the commisary to eat. True to his nature, while eating, Brian pulled a napkin out of the napkin holder, borrowed a pen from Mike and wrote the song on the napkin. He was done before he finished eating.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Ha ha what an awesome story!

[matt-zeus]

BTW, the reason that Celebration did Almost Summer is because the BB owed Warners one last LP and CBS a new one. So neither was too keen to let them release a single on MCA. Celebration had Brian (uncreditied). I just wish the production was better. Way too stripped down.

I'm not sure, I like the production on this, it fits in fine with the MIU album - it should have been on there for sure!

[MBE]

Almost Summer is pretty catchy, but the lyrics are too closely tied into the movie. In other words the chrous works but the verses are very iffy.

[Sheriff John Stone]

"Almost Summer" made my spring/summer of 1978. That song was all over the radio and to top it off, Brian appears with Mike (and Celebration) on American Bandstand wearing a creme-colored Adidas warm-up suit holding a Fender bass. Never mind that he didn't know the record well enough to lip synch it....

That was fun times to be a Beach Boys fan. An album a year, singles on the radio, Brian losing weight and touring. We were spoiled!