Sunny Afternoon
A tax-burdened aristocrat lounges through the summer, and the Kinks reach number one.
The Kinks, from Face to Face (1966)
- Written by
- Ray Davies
- Released
- 3 June 1966
- Length
- 3:36
- Album
- Face to Face
Ray Davies wrote the song in the voice of an aristocrat weighed down by tax under Harold Wilson's Labour government. It was recorded on 13 May 1966 at Pye Studios under Talmy, with Ray on twelve-string acoustic guitar, Nicky Hopkins on piano and melodica and Rasa Davies on backing vocals. It was released on 3 June 1966 and went to number one in Britain from 7 July for two weeks. In America it reached number 14.
Afterlife
Covers include versions by Jimmy Buffett, the Stereophonics, Michael McDonald and Nellie McKay. A West End musical called Sunny Afternoon opened at Hampstead Theatre in April 2014. Setlist.fm logs 200 performances.
Covers and versions
- Jimmy Buffett
- Stereophonics
- Michael McDonald
- Nellie McKay
More songs by The Kinks
You Really Got Me, Waterloo Sunset, Lola, Days, All Day and All of the Night, Come Dancing, Celluloid Heroes, Victoria
Sources
- Sunny Afternoon, Wikipedia
- The Kinks song statistics, setlist.fm
- The Kinks, Wikipedia