Song of the Day 5/10: Bill Withers, “Lovely Day”

Been waiting for months for a day like this, and I don’t mean just the weather.

This 1977 smooth soul classic was Bill Withers’ last Top 40 solo single. Though it only reached No. 30 on the Hot 100, it scored much better on the R&B chart (No. 6) and marked Withers’ first appearance in the Top 40 since his 1972 blockbuster “Still Bill” sent “Lean on Me” to No. 1 and “Use Me” to No. 2.

Fun fact: The 18-second note Withers holds toward the end of the song is thought to be the longest on a Top 40 record.

Lots of people have covered the song, but the only interesting reinterpretation has been by pop-rockers Maroon 5, in a collaboration with Withers himself, for the soundtrack of the 2006 box-office bomb “Hoot.”