"Sunday Morning" is a song by The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...

. It is the opening track on their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico. 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 & Nico. It was requested by Tom Wilson, who thought the album needed another song with lead vocals by Nico

Nico

Nico was a German singer, lyricist, composer, musician, fashion model, and actress, who initially rose to fame as a Warhol Superstar in the 1960s...

 with the potential to be a successful single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

. 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 American rock band The Velvet Underground, written by Lou Reed. It was first released on their 1967 debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico....

".

Wilson brought the band into a New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 recording studio in November. The song was written with Nico's voice in mind by Lou Reed

Lou Reed

Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...

 and John Cale

John Cale

John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....

 on a Sunday morning. The band previously performed it live with Nico singing lead, but when it came time to record it, Lou Reed

Lou Reed

Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...

  sang the lead vocal. 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. The song's prominent use of celesta

Celesta

The celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...

 was the idea of John Cale

John Cale

John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock 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 musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
  
   – lead vocals, lead guitar
  Lead guitar
  Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
  
  
• John Cale
  John Cale
  John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
  
   – celesta
  Celesta
  The celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
  
  , viola
  Viola
  The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
  
  , piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  
• 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 vocals.-Biography:...
  
   – bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• 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.- The Velvet Underground :...
  
   – percussion
  Percussion instrument
  A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
  
  
• Nico
  Nico
  Nico was a German singer, lyricist, composer, musician, fashion model, and actress, who initially rose to fame as a Warhol Superstar in the 1960s...
  
   – backing vocals

Cover versions

"Sunday Morning" has been covered

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 by various bands, including Bettie Serveert

Bettie Serveert

Bettie Serveert are a Dutch indie-rock band. Their name translates to "Bettie Serves", or "Service to Bettie", which is the title of a book written by Dutch tennis player Betty Stöve, who made it to the Wimbledon ladies singles final in 1977.-Genesis:...

, Beck

Beck

Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...

, 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. This underground Saturday night house music event ran from 1989 to 1994, at The Zap Club in Brighton.He is also now also playing full time in...

 & Nick Cave

Nick Cave

Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...

, Nina Hagen

Nina Hagen

Nina Hagen is a German singer and actress.-Early years:Hagen was born as Catharina Hagen in the former East Berlin, East Germany, the daughter of Hans Hagen , a scriptwriter, and Eva-Maria Hagen, an actress and singer...

, James

James (band)

James are a British rock band from Manchester, England. They formed in 1982 and were active throughout the 1980s, but most successful during the 1990s. Their hit singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", and "She's a Star" as well as their American College Radio hit "Laid"...

, Oh-OK

Oh-OK

Oh-OK was an American musical group from Athens, Georgia formed in 1981 with singer/lyricist Linda Hopper, bassist/vocalist/lyricist Lynda Stipe, and drummer David Pierce. Other members later included drummer David McNair and guitarist Matthew Sweet. The trio began practicing together at parties in...

, Elizabeth Cook

Elizabeth Cook

Elizabeth Cook is an American country music singer who made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry on March 17, 2000. She has released five albums to date. Balls was produced by Rodney Crowell, and nine of the album's 11 tracks were written or co-written by Elizabeth – including the single "Sometimes It...

, NY Loose, The Feelies

The Feelies

The Feelies are a rock band from Haledon, New Jersey. They formed in 1976 and disbanded in 1992 having released four albums. The band reunited in 2008 and most recently released an album in 2011....

, 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...

, The Queers

The Queers

The Queers are a punk band formed in 1981 by Portsmouth, New Hampshire native Joe King . The band originally broke up in 1984, but reformed with Joe Queer and a new line-up in 1986. In 1990, the band signed with Shakin' Street Records and released their first album Grow Up...

, Strawberry Switchblade

Strawberry Switchblade

Strawberry Switchblade was a female pop rock band formed in Scotland in 1981 by Jill Bryson and Rose McDowall, best known for their song "Since Yesterday" in 1985.-Before being signed:...

, and Matthew Sweet

Matthew Sweet

Sidney Matthew Sweet is an American alternative rock/power pop musician. He was part of the burgeoning 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 American vocalist, guitarist and actress. She is best known as a member of the all-female pop band The Bangles.-Early life:...

.

The song has also been covered by Belle & Sebastian

Belle & Sebastian

Belle and Sebastian are an indie pop band formed in Glasgow in January 1996. Belle and Sebastian are often compared with influential indie bands such as The Smiths, as well as classic acts such as Love, Bob Dylan and Nick Drake. The name Belle & Sebastian comes from Belle et Sébastien, a 1965...

 during live shows. A live version recorded by Oh-OK

Oh-OK

Oh-OK was an American musical group from Athens, Georgia formed in 1981 with singer/lyricist Linda Hopper, bassist/vocalist/lyricist Lynda Stipe, and drummer David Pierce. Other members later included drummer David McNair and guitarist Matthew Sweet. The trio began practicing together at parties in...

 is compiled on The Complete Recordings

The Complete Recordings (Oh-OK album)

The Complete Recordings is a compilation album for Oh-OK released by Collector's Choice Music on June 24, 2002. The compilation includes all of the band's previous releases as well as a live set from 1984—shortly before the group broke up....

.

The chord progression

Chord progression

A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...

 is used in Kramer's "Don't Come Around

Songs from the Pink Death

Songs from the Pink Death is a 1998 album by Kramer. The album features backup musicians including drummer Damon Krukowski of Galaxie 500 and guitarist Sean Eden of Luna...

", which includes the lyric, "I love this song," presumably referring to the Velvet Underground song rather than the Kramer song.