[8] Lennon and George Harrison had attended the Lovin' Spoonful's concert at the Marquee in London in April 1966;[10][11] the Beatles and members of the Rolling Stones soon lauded them as the "hot new group".
[14] Musicologist Alan Pollack likens the musical form to that of a folk ballad with a pop element made explicit through the intro, instrumental passage and coda.
[17] Author Mark Prendergast likens the ending to that of "I Want to Tell You", saying that where the latter closes with an uplifting Indian devotional quality, "Good Day Sunshine" features a "raga-like edge to its vocal climax".
[22][nb 2] The Beatles rehearsed "Good Day Sunshine" extensively in the studio on 8 June 1966, before recording three full takes of the basic track.
[36][37] In Britain, EMI gradually distributed Revolver's songs to radio stations throughout July, preparing listeners for the more sophisticated sounds and techniques adopted by the Beatles.
[41][nb 4] Pattie Boyd, Harrison's wife, recalled holidaying on the French Riviera while the Beatles were away on tour, and giving local DJs an acetate of the song to play in the nightclubs she and her fellow model Zouzou visited there.
[16] It followed Time magazine's recognition of London as the "Swinging City" of international youth culture, a phenomenon in which the Beatles played a principal role,[44] and coincided with an atmosphere of national celebration.
[45] According to author Howard Sounes: "The sun seemed to shine every day during the summer of 1966; English music and youth style was applauded; the England soccer team won the World Cup; and the Beatles' Revolver was the soundtrack album of the season.
"[47] Writing in Crawdaddy!, Paul Williams commented, "The impact of the Lovin' Spoonful on British groups is excellent evidence of how alive rock 'n' roll is today; everyone learns from everyone else and the music just keeps getting better."
"[48] "Good Day Sunshine" was one of the few songs that the Kinks' Ray Davies enthused about[49] when invited to give a rundown of Revolver in Disc and Music Echo.
[8] When presenting the CBS News documentary Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution in April 1967, Bernstein praised "Good Day Sunshine" for its rhythmic surprises and key changes, citing these as examples of why the Beatles' music was superior to most of their contemporaries' work.
He highlights the group's harmony singing as "some of their most uplifting", particularly over the fadeout, where the vocal effect suggests that "the good vibes ... will not end when the record does, but echo around the skies indefinitely".
[31] Mark Hertsgaard cites "Good Day Sunshine" as an example of how "one of the best things about the Beatles' music is it makes you happy", and he deems it "a song whose joy is irresistible".
[53] Writing in Barry Miles's The Beatles Diary, Peter Doggett describes the track as "Simple, effective and stunning" and "the ideal complement to the darker Revolver songs".
He called them "musically derivative and emotionally forced" and, along with "Yellow Submarine", the three Revolver tracks that provide a welcome lightening of the album's austere mood but "tear its fabric a little bit".
[56] That McCartney's songwriting on Revolver retained elements recognisable as both adult-oriented pop and reflective of the new psychedelic aesthetic ensured that his songs were the most widely covered.
Beatles biographer Robert Rodriguez views this as surprising, given that McCartney's songs "Here, There and Everywhere", "Good Day Sunshine" and "Got to Get You into My Life" "were all the stuff from which hit singles are made", yet only the last of the three was immediately successful when covered by another artist.
[66] In 1974, after Harrison withdrew permission for the use of his 1969 song "Here Comes the Sun" in the stage musical John, Paul, George, Ringo ... and Bert, the producers replaced it with "Good Day Sunshine".
[67] In 2016 Robbie Williams sang it in the "Good Day Sunshine" episode of Beat Bugs,[68] a children's animated TV series based on the Beatles' songs.