Daylight (Bobby Womack song)

"Daylight"
Single by Bobby Womack
from the album Safety Zone
B-side	Trust Me (7")
Released	January 1976 (7")
Format	7", 12"
Recorded	Wally Heider Recording Studios
Genre	R&B, soul
Length	3:15 (7"), 3:29 (12")
Label	United Artists
Songwriter(s)	Bobby Womack, Harold Payne
Producer(s)	David Rubinson
Bobby Womack singles chronology
"It's All Over Now" (1975) "Daylight" (1976) "Where There's a Will, There's a Way" (1976)
"It's All Over Now" (1975) "Daylight" (1976) "Where There's a Will, There's a Way" (1976)

"Daylight" is a R&B song recorded by American recording artist Bobby Womack for his 1975 album Safety Zone: written by Womack with lyricist Harold Payne, "Daylight" was issued as a single to reach #5 on Billboard's Hot Soul Singles chart in the spring of 1976.

Background

Harold Payne would recall that his brother Larry Payne met up with Womack when the latter was in San Francisco to record the Safety Zone album: Larry Payne ran the pop culture magazine Where It's At which had recently profiled Womack who was resultantly receptive when Larry Payne recommended the singer meet with Larry Payne's aspiring songwriter brother Harold Payne. After receiving a call from Larry Payne, Harold Payne flew from Los Angeles to San Francisco and met with Womack at the Wally Heider Recording Studios where after hashing over musical ideas with Harold Payne, Womack devised a rhythm track: Harold Payne then completed the lyric for "Daylight" at his home in Los Angeles which he describes as "a notorious party house" - "the lyric took on the story of what went on at the house and it meshed well with what Bobby had in mind."^[1] Produced by David Rubinson - with Wah Wah Watson as associate producer - "Daylight" featured background vocals by the Pointer Sisters. "Daylight" inaugurated a long songwriting collaboration between Bobby Womack and Harold Payne which extended to Womack's final album: The Bravest Man in the Universe (2012).

Kelly Rowland version

"Daylight"
Single by Kelly Rowland featuring Gym Class Heroes
from the album Ms. Kelly (Deluxe Edition) and Ms. Kelly: Diva Deluxe
Released	March 4, 2008
Format	Digital download vinyl single CD single
Recorded	October 2007; London, England; Fresh Kills (New York City, New York)
Genre	R&B hip hop
Length	3:33
Label	Columbia Music World
Songwriter(s)	Bobby Womack Harold Payne
Producer(s)	S*A*M & Sluggo
Kelly Rowland singles chronology
"Work" (2008) "Daylight" (2008) "No Future in the Past" (2008)
"Work" (2008) "Daylight" (2008) "No Future in the Past" (2008)
Travis McCoy singles chronology
"Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)" (2006) Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)2006 "Daylight" (2008) Daylight2008 "Coconut Juice" (2008) Coconut Juice2008

Recording

In 2007, the song was re-recorded by American recording arist Kelly Rowland along with Travis McCoy , front man of the indie hip-hop band Gym Class Heroes, for the soundtrack of French comedy film Asterix at the Olympic Games. Co-produced by S*A*M & Sluggo, it was released as the lead single from Rowland's re-release album Ms. Kelly: Diva Deluxe, with a release date of March 2008 for the United States, May 2008 for the United Kingdom and August 1 for German-speaking Europe.^[2] It reached the top-twenty of the UK Singles Chart.

Rowland recorded "Daylight" circa October 2007 in London, while she was in the United Kingdom promoting the release of Ms. Kelly. Although she "had a great time recording it,"^[3] Rowland has stated that she felt actually nervous about meeting with Travis McCoy in the studio: "When we got into the studio it was just magic together and I'm happy that it was because you always wonder how a collaboration is going to come out," she said,^[4] noting the song her favorite addition to Ms. Kelly: Diva Deluxe. Stating her reasons for choosing to work with Travis, she told noted British R&B songwriter Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul: "I love the fact that Gym Class Heroes' music and sound is something different and eclectic. I figured me and Travis together would be an unusual tyepa duo. And I'm really happy I trusted my instincts. Because it turned out to be a really cool, different type of collaboration. To me Travis is like a rapper-slash-poet-slash-rocker, and our combination really worked!"^[5] Actually recorded for the soundtrack for Asterix at the Olympic Games (2008), Rowland was so satisfied with the track, she wanted to include on the Diva Deluxe re-release and release it as a single as well: "I love doing collaborations – it's always good to do something that's out the box."^[6]

Music video

The video for "Daylight" was filmed in November 2007; and was directed by Jeremy Rall and produced by Gina Leonard for Siblings Inc. and shot in New York City, New York, just ten blocks from the Empire State Building. A seven-seconds snippet of the video premiered on NBC's Clash of the Choirs. The clip shows Rowland among a bunch of people in a party scene alongside Travis McCoy. About shooting, Rowland said: "Shooting the music video for the song was hilarious, with Travis especially. He looked so funny and cute when he was riding a weird modified-bicycle in the middle of the bustling city."^[3] The other members of Gym Class Heroes make cameos in the video.

The full video finally premiered on Vivement Dimanche in France on January 6, 2008 including clips from the Asterix film. Stateside, the video premiered on MySpace on January 17, excluding the Asterix clips; the same day it also premiered on BET's 106 & Park as the 'New Joint' of the day. In the United Kingdom, the "Daylight" video premiered on music channel Bubble Hits on March 19, 2008.

Commercial performance

"Daylight" charted at number thirty-six in the United Kingdom based on download sales. Upon its physical release of "Daylight" on May 5, 2008, the song climbed over twenty-two places to number fourteen, the largest climber within the UK Singles Chart top-forty that week. "Daylight" became Rowland's eighth consecutive top-twenty hit there, although it was not as successful as the first two singles from Ms. Kelly, "Like This" and "Work", both of which peaked inside the top-five.

Formats and track listings

US digital single

1. "Daylight" (Album Version) – 3:34

US digital remix EP

1. "Daylight" (Hex Hector remix) – 8:30
2. "Daylight" (Maurice Joshua Nu Soul remix) – 5:27
3. "Daylight" (Karmatronic remix) – 6:58
4. "Daylight" (Loze Daze remix) – 6:11
5. "Daylight" (Dan McKie Nightlight dub mix) – 5:41

UK CD single

1. "Daylight" (Album Version) – 3:33
2. "Daylight" (Joey Negro Radio Edit – with Rap) – 3:29

UK Promo CD

1. "Daylight" (Album Version) – 3:33
2. "Daylight" (No Rap Version) – 3:30

UK Remix Promo CD

1. "Daylight" (Joey Negro Club Mix)
2. "Daylight" (Joey Negro Radio Edit – with Rap) – 3:29
3. "Daylight" (Joey Negro Radio Edit)
4. "Daylight" (Joey Negro Rodox Dub)
5. "Daylight" (Joey Negro Urban Mix)
6. "Daylight" (Karmatronic Club Mix) – 6:59
7. "Daylight" (Original Version) – 3:33

Charts

Release history

Other versions

"Daylight" was recorded by Vicki Sue Robinson for her self-titled 1976 album release from which it was issued as lead single reaching #63 on the Billboard Hot 100 (#91 R&B). The song has also been recorded by Leon Russell and Mary Russell (album Wedding Album - the track was produced by Bobby Womack), and also by Black Slate (album Midnight/ 2013). Candy Dulfer performs the song with Chance Howard (vocals) during her concerts when the two are together.

References