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For example, by 1965, some British politicians and the press had begun criticizing The Beatles for their Scouse expressions and accents. So, Paul \u2013 more than any of the others \u2013 strove to use \u201cThe Queen\u2019s English.\u201d But when recording \u201cGood Day Sunshine,\u201d Davies notes, \u201c[O]n the word \u2018laugh\u2019 in the third line, I can detect Paul doing a short, flat Northern \u2018ah\u2019 just to amuse himself.\u201d (p. 166) It\u2019s a brief rebellion, but satisfying nonetheless.<\/p>\n

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Then, in the third verse, when Paul sings, \u201cI love her and she\u2019s loving me,\u201d Spignesi and Lewis suggest that this unusual wording might have been a tactful hint that the beloved is, in fact, making love to him. (p. 275) Was this intended? Only Paul knows for sure.<\/p>\n

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However, one thing that Paul clearly expressed unequivocally was the fact that there was no hidden drug allusion<\/em> in \u201cGood Day Sunshine.\u201d McCartney has readily admitted that he was referring to marijuana use in the lyrics of \u201cGot to Get You Into My Life.\u201d But repeatedly, Paul told reporters and critics alike that \u201cGood Day Sunshine\u201d is simply \u201ca very happy song.\u201d End of story.<\/p>\n

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A Fresh New Look: <\/strong><\/p>\n

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As the only journalist to tour with The Beatles from \u201cDay One to Day End\u201d of the 1964 North American Tour whilst simultaneously serving as ghost writer for George Harrison\u2019s \u201cdiary\u201d in the <\/em>Daily Express, Ivor Davis knew The Beatles quite well\u2026as a friend and companion. He also lived the exciting days of 1964 and 1965 along with them, serving as an official commentator for soccer\u2019s World Cup tournament in 1965. Ivor\u2019s \u201cinsider\u201d role gives him a unique vantage point as we discuss the Summer of 1966 and the events surrounding \u201cGood Day Sunshine.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

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Jude Southerland Kessler:<\/em><\/strong> Ivor, in Hunter Davies\u2019s book\u00a0<\/em>Beatles Lyrics, he acknowledges the influence of American folk-rock (specifically The Lovin\u2019 Spoonful\u2019s hit \u201cDaydream\u201d) on \u201cGood Day Sunshine.\u201d But Davies goes on to say that within the song, he \u201ccan hear echoes of old British Music Hall tunes, the kind [Paul\u2019s] father probably played for the whole family to sing along at Xmas.\u201d (p. 166) Having been reared in London, what echoes and sounds of the music hall do you detect in this number?<\/em><\/p>\n

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Ivor Davis:<\/strong> YES, ABSOLUTELY. So much. It\u2019s a joyful song \u2013 heralding better days to come. Don\u2019t forget Jim McCartney was a bandleader \u2013 who had relished and reveled in all that Thirties Big Band music hall stuff \u2013 which according to Angie and Ruth McCartney \u2013 not surprisingly spilled over to Paul, and without a doubt, inspired this particular piece of music.<\/p>\n

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A quick history lesson, if I may. Back in the late Forties and Fifties, major British port cities, like London \u2013 my hometown \u2013 and of course Liverpool,\u00a0were still emerging from a grim war that had flattened and left the landscape in shambles.\u00a0That was a period when because of huge food shortages, Paul and the other lads were fed on such \u201cdelicacies\u201d as atrocious egg powder \u2013 for breakfast. The powder was artificial eggs that were simply too horrible to eat. And we were all given ration books \u2013 resulting in many a hard years\u2019 nights!\u00a0And the Boys were fed cod-liver oil daily. So, times were not easy.<\/p>\n

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However, our local\u00a0\u00a0music halls were the perfect pick-me-ups, where mere working-class mortals could pay a few shillings and escape into the bosom of singers like, \u201cTwo Ton\u201d Tessie O\u2019Shea \u2013 (dubbed thus because she was an amply endowed performer \u2013 who in today\u2019s world would never have been labeled in that somewhat demeaning way). Tessie,\u00a0\u00a0by pure coincidence, shared star billing with The Beatles when they first appeared on \u201cThe Ed Sullivan Show\u201d in February l964. Music halls and of course, popular radio comedy shows like The Goon Show, were comedic balm to help soothe all our World War II wounds.\u00a0 Our happy \u201cescape hatch.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kessler:<\/em><\/strong> The Beatles\u00a0<\/em>Revolver\u00a0LP was released in August of 1966, and several Beatles music experts point out that \u201cGood Day Sunshine\u201d very aptly captured the mood of that magical summer in the UK. In fact, Spignesi and Lewis say that the song\u2019s lyrics \u201cfit the mood, fit the sound, and fit the times.\u201d What events do you recall in the Summer of \u201966 that might have inspired this bright and euphoric song?<\/em><\/p>\n

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Davis: <\/strong>In the Summer of 1966, I was invited to the Beverly Hills home of actor singer Anthony Newley and his songwriting partner Leslie Bricusse where along with film director Sir Richard Attenborough\u00a0\u00a0(Dickie to us\u2014back then) and legendary celebrity photographer Terry O\u2019Neill, we watched England win the World Cup \u2013 beating arch rivals, the Germans. Joy was everywhere, we were all euphoric!\u00a0We were 6,000 miles from England, but our joy spilled over as Britain\u00a0 celebrated revenge on those Huns \u2013 and the mood in Britain was pure ecstasy.<\/p>\n

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Kessler:<\/strong> Ivor, as a young teen, I remember listening to\u00a0Revolver\u00a0<\/em>and being hard-pressed to find a song that I could \u201clike\u201d on this strange and innovative record. I usually loved anything Lennon, but John\u2019s \u201cShe Said She Said\u201d and \u201cTomorrow Never Knows\u201d were \u201ca bridge too far\u201d for a small-town Southern girl. \u201cGood Day Sunshine\u201d seemed safer and more palatable. As a British foreign correspondent living in L.A. in 1966, what was your reaction to the songs on\u00a0Revolver<\/em>\u00a0and to \u201cGood Day Sunshine\u201d in particular?<\/p>\n

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Davis:<\/strong> \u201cGood Day Sunshine\u201d was indeed so very palatable and uplifting.\u00a0\u00a0Who amongst us, growing up in the chilly and cold climes of the British winters,\u00a0 would not welcome the warm sun to begin our day?!\u00a0\u00a0I remember that creative Beach Boys boss Brian Wilson, who was in L.A., said that the joyous song inspired him beyond belief. It was, he said, his tonic, because Brian suffered from long running severe depression, and he was quick to acknowledge that after hearing \u201cSunshine,\u201d he was uplifted and inspired \u2013 and immediately sat down to write more joyous music \u2013 such as his huge hit, \u201cGood Vibrations.\u201d And, of course, I can understand why \u201cSunshine\u201d was so much more palatable to a small-town Southern girl like you, Jude!\u00a0Only recently I learned that \u201cGood Day Sunshine\u201d was the song that was automatically played every morning for isolated residents and astronauts\u00a0living in U.S. Space Stations \u2013 high in the heavens of outer space!<\/p>\n

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Kessler:<\/strong> Now, Ivor, you\u2019re getting ready to re-release your book, The Beatles and Me on Tour<\/em><\/strong>, which covers your time with the lads in 1964 and 1965\u2026and several episodes in later years as well. I know you\u2019ve added some new material to the book and many new photos. Since we have you with us, can you give us some hints of what this new material might include? A sneak peek for your Fest Family?<\/p>\n

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Davis:<\/strong> Glad you brought that up! My 60^{th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary edition of The Beatles and Me on Tour<\/em><\/strong> contains what I think to be a wonderful potpourri of information \u2013 along with some new fabulous photographs from some of the world\u2019s leading Beatles cameramen including Henry Diltz, Harry Benson, Paul Harris, and the late Ron Joy and Curt Gunther. They captured The Beatles in ways no one else did!<\/p>\n}

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Here are a few titbits:\u00a0Paul McCartney and wife Nancy have bought a new \u201chouse\u201d in Malibu \u2013 for a cool $5 million plus \u2013 but you would never guess where it is located! I\u2019ll just say it\u2019s walking distance from Barbra Streisand and Bob Dylan\u2019s Malibu palaces.<\/p>\n

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And would you believe how I literally stumbled on this info? I speak to a bunch of world-famous celebrity entertainers, including Sting, and they told me how they were all so heavily\u00a0influenced to become stars\u2014by, of course, our very own Fab Four.<\/p>\n

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Then, there\u2019s a wonderful story about the world-famous folk singer who admits she became a \u201cBeatle groupie\u201d \u2014with her eye on John, even though her world-famous boyfriend told The Beatles to keep their hands off her! You\u2019ll enjoy that story, Jude.<\/p>\n

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Kessler:<\/strong> That sounds intriguing! So, tons of new info and photos headed our way in the new book\u2026AND we\u2019re hoping you\u2019ll be at the Chicago Fest to sign copies for each and every one of us, Ivor! Fingers crossed! Until then\u2026thank you very, very much for being with us for the \u201cGood Day Sunshine\u201d blog, and from your Fest family, sincere congratulations on your new release!<\/p>\n

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