April Special Series - Lovely Day

In this edition of April Special Series, I am featuring "Lovely Day" by Bill Withers.

I am familiar with "Lovely Day," but until recently never listened to the song in full.  So.  Remember my love for commercial jingles?

This commercial is advertising American Family Insurance, but you would never know based on Jennifer Hudson's surprise appearance to Atlanta street musician, Alex Guthrie.  The unsuspecting and certainly unplanned "duet" as would be considered is priceless, leaving viewers wanting more from the song than knowing more about American Family Insurance.

This commercial aired for quite some time and left me wanting to hear "Lovely Day" in full.  I, then, downloaded "Lovely Day" on iTunes.

In this post, outside of the sentimental jingle, I thought I would delve briefly into the background of Bill Withers - creator of "Lovely Day."

Bill Withers is an American singer-songwriter and musician known not just for "Lovely Day" but also "Lean on Me," "Ain't No Sunshine," "Just the Two of Us," and many more.

Bill Withers' s music is classified under the genres of Soul, R&B, Smooth Soul, Blues, and Funk.

Bill Withers recorded 8 studio albums and one live album. 

A further background about Bill Withers can be found on Wikipedia. 

Critical acclaim -

- NAACP Image Award - Male Singer of the Year (1972)

- Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Song - 

"Ain't No Sunshine" (1971)

- Grammy Award for Best New Artist nomination (1972)

- Grammy Award  for Best Rhythm & Blues Song - 

"Just the Two of Us" (1981)*

*Award shared with songwriters Ralph MacDonald & William Salter

- Grammy Award for Song of the Year nomination - 

"Just the Two of Us" (1982)

- Grammy Award for Record of the Year nomination - 

"Just the Two of Us" (1982)

- Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance nomination -

"In the Name of Love" (1984)

- Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Song - 

"Lean on Me" (1987)

Honors -

- Honorary Doctorate from Mountain State University (2002)

- Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee (2005)

- ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Heritage Award (2006)

- Inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame (2007)

- Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2015)

On this Monday in April, have a lovely day.