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Sunday Morning (The Velvet Underground song)

 

 
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Sunday Morning (The Velvet Underground song)
 
 
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"Sunday Morning" is a song by The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground was an American Rock music band first active, in various incarnations, from 1965 to 1973. Their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists....
. It is the opening track on their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground and Nico
The Velvet Underground and Nico

The Velvet Underground & Nico is the debut album by experimental rock band The Velvet Underground and vocal collaborator Nico. It was originally released in March 1967 by Verve Records....
. It was also released as a single in 1966 with "Femme Fatale
Femme Fatale (song)

"Femme Fatale" is a song by The Velvet Underground from their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico. At producer Andy Warhol's request, band frontman Lou Reed wrote the song about Warhol superstar Edie Sedgwick....
".

ate 1966, "Sunday Morning" was the final song to be recorded for The Velvet Underground and Nico. It was requested by Tom Wilson, who thought the album needed another song with lead vocals by Nico
Nico

Christa P?ffgen was a German musician, Model , actress, and Warhol Superstar who is best known by her stage name Nico. She is renowned for both her tenure in The Velvet Underground and for her work as a solo artist....
 with the potential to be a successful single
Single (music)

In the record industry, a single is a song usually used from a current or upcoming album to promote the album. Singles are distributed through a number of ways; originally, they were packaged as "single" records with one or two other songs and sold before the release of the album....
.






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"Sunday Morning" is a song by The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground was an American Rock music band first active, in various incarnations, from 1965 to 1973. Their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists....
. It is the opening track on their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground and Nico
The Velvet Underground and Nico

The Velvet Underground & Nico is the debut album by experimental rock band The Velvet Underground and vocal collaborator Nico. It was originally released in March 1967 by Verve Records....
. It was also released as a single in 1966 with "Femme Fatale
Femme Fatale (song)

"Femme Fatale" is a song by The Velvet Underground from their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico. At producer Andy Warhol's request, band frontman Lou Reed wrote the song about Warhol superstar Edie Sedgwick....
".

Recording

In late 1966, "Sunday Morning" was the final song to be recorded for The Velvet Underground and Nico. It was requested by Tom Wilson, who thought the album needed another song with lead vocals by Nico
Nico

Christa P?ffgen was a German musician, Model , actress, and Warhol Superstar who is best known by her stage name Nico. She is renowned for both her tenure in The Velvet Underground and for her work as a solo artist....
 with the potential to be a successful single
Single (music)

In the record industry, a single is a song usually used from a current or upcoming album to promote the album. Singles are distributed through a number of ways; originally, they were packaged as "single" records with one or two other songs and sold before the release of the album....
. The song was written with Nico's voice in mind by Lou Reed
Lou Reed

Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock music musician best known as the guitarist, Singing and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground as well as a successful solo artist whose career has spanned several decades....
 and John Cale
John Cale

John Davies Cale , better known as John Cale, is a Welsh people musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the rock & roll band The Velvet Underground....
 on, in fact, a Sunday morning. Before being recorded, the band performed it live with Nico singing lead.

Wilson brought the band into a New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 recording studio in November. At the last minute, Reed declared that he would sing lead vocals himself, which was received with great resistance from Paul Morrissey
Paul Morrissey

Paul Morrissey is an American film director.Paul Morrissey became associated with Andy Warhol, who inspired a new, more bold, avant-garde and provocative direction in Morrissey's filmmaking....
, the band's manager, who thought Reed's voice was far less marketable than Nico's. Nico would instead sing backing vocals on the song.

Aiming to create a hit for the album, "Sunday Morning" features noticeably more lush and professional production than the rest of the songs on the album. In fact, the song's inclusion on the album seems to be an afterthought — the final master tape of side one of the album shows "Sunday Morning" only penciled in before "I'm Waiting for the Man
I'm Waiting for the Man

"I'm Waiting for the Man" is a song by the United States Rock music band The Velvet Underground, written by Lou Reed. It was first released on their 1967 debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico....
".

The song's prominent use of celesta
Celesta

The celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard instrument. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box ....
 was the idea of John Cale
John Cale

John Davies Cale , better known as John Cale, is a Welsh people musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the rock & roll band The Velvet Underground....
, who noticed the instrument in the studio and decided to use it for the song.

Personnel

  • Lou Reed
    Lou Reed

    Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock music musician best known as the guitarist, Singing and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground as well as a successful solo artist whose career has spanned several decades....
     – lead vocals, lead guitar
    Lead guitar

    Lead guitar refers to the use of a guitar to perform melody lines, fill , and guitar solos within a song structure.In rock music, heavy metal music, blues, jazz and fusion bands and some pop music contexts as well as others, the lead guitar lines are usually supported by a second guitarist who plays rhythm guitar, which consists of accompan...
  • John Cale
    John Cale

    John Davies Cale , better known as John Cale, is a Welsh people musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the rock & roll band The Velvet Underground....
     – celesta
    Celesta

    The celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard instrument. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box ....
    , viola
    Viola

    The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.The casual observer may mistake the viola for the violin because of their similarity in size, closeness in pitch range , and nearly identical playing position....
  • Sterling Morrison
    Sterling Morrison

    Holmes Sterling Morrison, Jr. was one of the founding members of the rock group The Velvet Underground, usually playing electric guitar, occasionally bass guitar, and singing Backing vocalist....
     – bass guitar
    Bass guitar

    The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
  • Maureen Tucker
    Maureen Tucker

    Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker is a musician best known for having been the drummer for the rock group The Velvet Underground....
     – percussion
    Percussion instrument

    A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration....
  • Nico
    Nico

    Christa P?ffgen was a German musician, Model , actress, and Warhol Superstar who is best known by her stage name Nico. She is renowned for both her tenure in The Velvet Underground and for her work as a solo artist....
     – backing vocals


Cover versions

"Sunday Morning" has been covered
Cover version

In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition of a previously recorded, commercially released song.In its current use, it can sometimes have a pejorative meaning — implying that the original recording should be regarded as the definitive version, usually in the sense of an "authentic" rendition, and all...
 by various bands, including Bettie Serveert
Bettie Serveert

Bettie Serveert are a Netherlands indie-rock band. Their name translates to "Bettie Serves," and is taken from a Dutch television program, hosted by Dutch tennis player Betty St?ve, who made it to the Wimbledon Championships Ladies singles final in 1977....
, Chris Coco
Chris Coco

Chris Coco is a club/radio DJ, producer and music critic.As a club DJ, he is perhaps best known as the resident, at the hugely popular Coco Club....
 & Nick Cave
Nick Cave

Nicholas Edward Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, Painting, and occasional film actor. He is best known for his work in the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984 in music, who have become critically acclaimed for their fascination with American roots music....
, Nina Hagen
Nina Hagen

Nina Hagen is a singer from East Berlin, Germany....
, James
James (band)

James are an England Rock music band from Manchester. They formed in 1981 and were active throughout the 80s, but most successful during the 90s....
, Oh-OK
Oh-OK

Oh-OK was an American musical group, based around Linda Hopper and Lynda Stipe. Other members included drummers David McNair , David Pierce and guitarist Matthew Sweet....
, Elizabeth Cook
Elizabeth Cook

Elizabeth Cook is an United States country music singer who made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry on March 17, 2000. She has released four albums to date....
, NY Loose, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England. OMD record for Virgin Records ....
, The Queers
The Queers

The Queers are an United States pop punk band formed in 1982 by Portsmouth, New Hampshire native Joe King . Supposedly, the name 'Queers' was used simply to poke fun at what he called the "Art Fag" community in New Hampshire....
, and Matthew Sweet
Matthew Sweet

Sidney Matthew Sweet is an United States alternative rock/power pop musician. He was part of the burgeoning Music of Athens, Georgia music scene in the early and mid-1980s before gaining commercial success during the early 1990s....
 & Susanna Hoffs
Susanna Hoffs

Susanna Lee Hoffs is an United States vocalist, guitarist and actress best known as a member of the all-female pop band The Bangles....
. The song has also been covered by Belle & Sebastian
Belle & Sebastian

Belle and Sebastian are an indie pop band formed in Glasgow, Scotland in January 1996. They are one of the best-known Scottish bands and are one of the most celebrated groups of the 1990s in music....
 and Beck
Beck

Beck Hansen is an United States musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist known by the stage name Beck. With a pop art collage of musical styles, oblique and irony lyrics, and postmodern arrangements incorporating sample , drum machines, live instrumentation and sound effects, Beck has been hailed by critics and the public...
 during live shows.