One Fine Day (song)

For Jakatta's song with the same name, see Joey Negro#Jakatta. For the David Byrne and Brian Eno song of the same name, see Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. For the Hayley Westenra recording of the same name adapted from Puccini's Madame Butterfly, see Celtic Treasure .

"One Fine Day"
Single by The Chiffons
from the album One Fine Day
B-side	"Why Am I So Shy"
Released	May 1963
Format	45 rpm record
Genre	Pop
Length	2:07
Label	Laurie Records
Writer(s)	Carole King, Gerry Goffin
Producer	the Tokens
The Chiffons singles chronology
"Lucky Me" (1963) "One Fine Day" (1963) "A Love So Fine" (1963)

"One Fine Day" is a popular song by songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King which was a hit in the summer of 1963 for girl group The Chiffons and has subsequently been covered by numerous artists.

Overview

Goffin and King were inspired by the title of the aria Un bel di from the Puccini opera Madama Butterfly. Intended for Little Eva, "One Fine Day" was prepped as a demo by Goffin and King with King providing a guide vocal but - despite a propulsive piano riff courtesy of King - Goffin and King were unable to construct a viable arrangement and eventually gave up, passing the song to the Tokens who had recently produced the #1 hit "He's So Fine" by the Chiffons for whom it was thought another "fine" song had hit potential. The piano work by King (whose vocal was erased) was retained for the Chiffons' recording and King attended the session at which the Chiffons recorded their vocals. However the Tokens radically re-worked the Goffin/King demo of "One Fine Day" for the Chiffons' version; Gerry Goffin would comment that the Tokens "really earned their production credit".^[1]

"One Fine Day" by the Chiffons reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100: its R&B chart peak was #6. The single was an international hit charting in the UK (#29),^[2] France (#18),^[3] and New Zealand (#6).^[4]

The Chiffons' placing two "fine" songs in the Top Ten motivated the Tokens to especially prep the group's next single "A Love So Fine" which only managed a #40 peak.

The Chiffons' "One Fine Day" was ranked #460 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.^[5]

Other versions

"One Fine Day"
Single by Carole King
from the album Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King
B-side	"Recipients of History"
Released	May 1980
Format	45 rpm record
Genre	Pop
Length	2:30
Label	Capitol
Writer(s)	Carole King, Gerry Goffin
Producer	Carole King, Mark Hallman
Carole King singles chronology
"Time Gone By" (1979) "One Fine Day" (1980) "Oh No Not My Baby" (1980)

"One Fine Day" has been recorded by a diverse array of artists including Susie Allanson, the Carpenters as part of the oldies medley on their album Now and Then, Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods, Even in Blackouts, Kids Incorporated, David Lasley, Natalie Merchant (to serve as theme song for the 1996 film One Fine Day), the Mountain Goats, Aaron Neville, the Nylons, Cliff Richard and S Club Juniors.

The Mindbenders cut a version which served as the B-side of their #28 UK hit "Can't Live With You (Can't Live Without You)" (1966).

In 1967 Ken Sparkes, then a dee jay at 3AK Radio in Melbourne, recorded a version of "One Fine Day" which that March reached the Melbourne hit parade at #49, ranking at #86 on the chart for Australia.

The first remake of "One Fine Day" to chart in the US was that by veteran cabaret singer Julie Budd whose disco version - credited to Julie - reached #93 in 1976; Budd's only charting track, "One Fine Day" was produced by top '60s producer Herb Bernstein.

"One Fine Day" next charted in the autumn of 1979 for Rita Coolidge whose version, prominently featuring Michael McDonald, reached #66 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #15 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart. Coolidge's version of "One Fine Day" also reached #68 in Australia.

Carole King herself had the first major hit remake of her composition when her version of "One Fine Day" reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1980, the track's parent album being Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King which mostly comprised King's renditions of Pop classics she'd co-written with Gerry Goffin. King's version of the "One Fine Day", which ranked at #73 on Billboard's list of the top 100 hits of 1980,^[6] was to be her final Hot 100 appearance.

One Fine Day served as title cut for a 2005 release by Sandy Posey on which she returned to the countrypolitan sound of her own '60s successes via covers of classic Pop hits.

Soundtrack appearances

The 1996 romcom entitled One Fine Day featured as its theme an acoustic-style remake of the Chiffons' hit by Natalie Merchant, with the Chiffons' original also being featured in the film's soundtrack. The Chiffons' version has made numerous other soundtrack appearances including Fingers (1978), The Hollywood Knights (1980), The Flamingo Kid (1984), Desperately Seeking Susan (the track's classic piano riff opens the film) (1985), A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988), The Joy Luck Club (1993), Riding in Cars with Boys (2001), The Wedding Date (2005), And When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007) and Flipped (2010). The song is also featured in The Simpsons episode Bart the Murderer.^[7]

The version of "One Fine Day" by Julie Budd is featured in the film The Driver (1978).

References

1. ^ Emerson, Ken (2005). Always Magic in the Air: The Bomp and Brilliance of the Brill Building Era. New York, New York: Viking. pp. 190. ISBN 0670034568. 
2. ^ Chart Stats – Chiffons – One Fine Day, from www.chartstats.com; retrieved 2009-06-29
3. ^ InfoDisc: "C"
4. ^ Lever Hit Parade 1963
5. ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". RollingStone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6596305/one_fine_day/1. Retrieved 2009-06-03. 
6. ^ http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1980.htm
7. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2906425/