"Sunshine Day" is a song recorded by British progressive rock group Jethro Tull and released as the

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

of the group's debut single. It was recorded on 6-7 January 1968 at CBS Studios in London, and the single released on 16 February 1968 by

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

, in the UK only. The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

, "Aeroplane", was recorded on 22 October 1967 at

EMI Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music co ...

, London, under the artist name "John Evan Band". Both tracks were produced by

Derek Lawrence Derek John Lawrence (16 November 1941 – 13 May 2020) was an English record producer, famous for his work for Joe Meek's Outlaws, Deep Purple, Flash, Machiavel and Wishbone Ash. Lawrence came in contact with Meek circa at the end of 1963, ...

, who is also credited with purposely designating the band as ''Jethro Toe''. Apparently, he did not like the name "Jethro Tull". "Sunshine Day" was written by

Mick Abrahams Michael Timothy Abrahams (born 7 April 1943) is an English guitarist and band leader, best known for being the original guitarist for Jethro Tull from 1967 to 1968 and the frontman for Blodwyn Pig. Jethro Tull Abrahams was born in Luton, ...

, who joined the band in late 1967. The composers of "Aeroplane" were

Ian Anderson Ian Scott Anderson (born 10 August 1947) is a British musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work as the lead vocalist, flautist, acoustic guitarist and leader of the British rock band Jethro Tull. He is a multi-instrumentalist ...

and "Len Barnard", the latter a pseudonym for Tull bass player

Glenn Cornick Glenn Douglas Barnard Cornick (23 April 1947 – 28 August 2014) was an English bass guitarist, best known as the original bassist for the British rock band Jethro Tull from 1967 to 1970. ''Rolling Stone'' has called his playing with Tull as ...

(born Glenn Douglas Barnard Cornick). The release sold close to one hundred copies, mostly to friends and relatives. Jethro Tull would begin recording their first album, ''

This Was ''This Was'' is the debut studio album by the British rock band Jethro Tull, released in October 1968. Recorded at a cost of £1200, it is the only Jethro Tull album with guitarist Mick Abrahams, who was a major influence for the sound and mu ...

'', in June 1968.

Personnel

;Jethro Tull (credited as 'Jethro Toe') *

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of th ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

– vocals,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

Clive Bunker Clive William Bunker (born 30 December 1946) is a British drummer. Bunker is best known as the original drummer of the rock band Jethro Tull, playing in the band from 1967 until 1971. Never a self-professed technical drummer, Bunker engag ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

;Additional personnel *

- producer * Mike Ross - engineer

Recorded appearances

*''Rare Tracks'' (1975) *''

20 Years of Jethro Tull ''20 Years of Jethro Tull'' is a 1988 boxed set which spans the first twenty years of Jethro Tull. It was issued as five LPs: ''Radio Archives'', ''Rare Tracks'', ''Flawed Gems'', ''Other Sides of Tull'', and ''The Essential Tull''. It was sim ...

'' (1988) *''25 Very Rare Masters from the Sixties'' (1996) *''1968: The Soundtrack'' (2004) *''Real Life Permanent Dreams: A Cornucopia of British Psychedlia 1965-1970'' (2007) *''Spirit of Joy: Tales from the Polydor Underground 1967-1974'' (2008)

References

External links

Sunshine Day at discogs
{{Jethro Tull 1968 debut singles Jethro Tull (band) songs 1968 songs MGM Records singles