Sunday Will Never Be The Same by Spanky & Our Gang

Album: Spanky and Our Gang (1967)

Charted: 9

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Songfacts®:

This song has a very joyful and upbeat melody, but the lyrics are quite painful, as the singer has lost her man and is left with just memories. The song was written by Terry Cashman and Gene Pistilli. Terry Cashman told Songfacts in a 2009 interview: "Gene actually worked for me. One day he came into the office, and he had this chord progression he came up with. Most simple rock and roll chord progressions in the key of G would be G to E minor to A minor to D. And Gene came in with a change which was instead of going from G to E minor, he went to E major, and instead of going to an A minor – the typical rock and roll kind of thing – he went to an A major, so it made it sound different. And when he played it for me, I started singing this melody to it. And you know, it made me think of a girlfriend that I had a few years before. We used to walk in the park on Sundays, and that whole story became the idea for the song because she left him, and the love affair was over, that Sunday, that special day would never be the same. We wrote the song very quickly. That song Gene and I wrote and Tommy West helped us with the demo, and we did a really, really good demo of the song.

I was the head of the publishing company, so my job was to take the songs that we had made around to the various producers. I sent it to Lou Adler at Dunhill Records, which was associated with ABC for the Mamas and Papas. He said, 'Hey, this is a great song.' But John Philips, is doing mostly his own songs right now. So, okay, fine. The Left Banke sounded to me also like a group that could do this song, but they passed on it. And then with nobody in mind I went to a producer named Jerry Ross, who was a very hot producer. He had produced 'Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie' for Jay and the Techniques, and '98.6' with an artist called Keif. So I played him the demo, and after about 16 bars he took the needle off the vinyl, and he said, 'Has anybody else heard this song?' And I said, 'Well, Lou Adler turned it down for Mamas and Papas, and Left Banke turned it down.' And he said, 'Well, don't play it for anybody else. I have this great group.' And he played me a demo of a record that Spanky & Our Gang had done, and they had all these vocal harmonies. A couple of months later he cut the song, and it was a smash hit. It was something that really put me on the map in terms of the music industry."
This was originally written as a ballad, which is how the demo was recorded. Says Cashman: "They changed it, and they added the vocal, 'Ba-da-da-da-da,' which was a great hook."

Comments: 15

Egon from NyAt the time this song came out, I had in fact lost the love of my life, which has only become clearer with the passage of 57 years since then. When i hear it now, I feel an ineffable sadness, loss of love, loss of youth, two things that can never be regained. Music has a unique ability to evoke such emotions in us.
Baby Boomer from Msthis was so classic and so good brings back many memories of the sound of the 1960's. Covid-19 as much as it sux, allowed me to bring out some albums from the past and really feel the sounds of my teen years.----Great
Alex Kije from New York City, Mostly Thanks a million for this story! Can you also talk about the technical specs of the recording? Like audio processing? It is phenomenal that all the words can be heard distinctly. So like can you describe EQ, multi-tracking, mics and mic placement. What studio? Thanks for much! Tov!
David from San Francisco CalifThis is a great song that brings back those days. A song is like a book with many stories and this song has many good stories. David (sparky) Avis 2019
Richard from TampaI remember this song coming on the radio and thought immediately it was sad, but fit in somehow for the times we were living through. There was this girl I new slightly who was madly in love with her childhood sweetheart. They were inseparable since third grade. But he went off to VietNam to fight in the war… and never returned. A casualty of the war. From that day forwards she never went with any other guy and remained alone for the rest of her life…
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn July 1, 1967, Dick Clark interviewed, via telephone, Elaine 'Spanky' McFarlane on his ABC-TV network Saturday-afternoon program 'American Bandstand'...
At the time "Sunday Will Never Be The Same" was at #16 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; the week before it had peak at #9 {for 1 week}, and it spent 8 weeks on the Top 100...
It reached #7 on the Canadian RPM Singles chart...
Between 1967 and 1969 the group had nine records on the Top 100 chart; "Sunday Will Never Be The Same" was their only Top 10 record...
They did have two Top 20 records; "Lazy Day" {#14 in 1967} and "Like To Get To Know You" {#17 in 1968}.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn June 10th 1967, Spanky and Our Gang performed at the 'The Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival’ in Marin County, California...
At the time the sextet's debut charted record, "Sunday Will Never Be the Same", was at #14 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; eight days later it would peak at #9 {for 1 week}...
{See second post below}.
Adele from Long IslandEven though this song mourns better days, it brings me back to happy moments as a child in the 60's . These days I realize that Sundays will never be the same. Great song on so many levels!
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn June 18th 1967, Spanky and Our Gang performed "Sunday Will Never Be The Same" on the CBS-TV program 'The Ed Sullivan Show'...
One month earlier on May 14th, 1967 it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #98; and on that day they appeared on the 'Sullivan' show it peaked at #9 (for 1 week) and spent 8 weeks on the Top 100...
Between 1967 and 1969 the group had nine Top 100 records; their next biggest hit was "Lazy Day", it reached #14...
'Tanya the Elephant' also appeared on the same 'Sullivan' show!!!
Lead singer Elaine 'Spanky' McFarlane celebrated her 25th birthday the day after this appearance on the 'Sullivan' show, her birth date was June 19th, 1942.
Don from Willoughby, OhHas anyone noticed that the song, Will You Be Staying After Sunday? by The Peppermint Rainbow sounds like, Sunday Will Never Be The Same?.
Will You Be Staying After Sunday? charted at 32 in 1969. Also, The Peppermint Rainbow was discovered by Mama Cass, of the Mamas and Papas.
And as the first songfacts stated "I sent it to Lou Adler at Dunhill Records, which was associated with ABC for the Mamas and Papas. He said, 'Hey, this is a great song.' But John Philips, is doing mostly his own songs right now".
Can't help but wonder how much, Sunday Will Never Be The Same had to do with, Will You Be Staying After Sunday?.
Camille from Toronto, OhThe sound of Spanky McFarlane's voice pierced through my heart when I was a young child less than 10 years old, listening to the music my parents played on the car radio as I rode along in the back seat. I wanted to BE Spanky just because of the sound of her voice. And maybe just a little bit because she had such a cool nickname. Now a middle aged adult, the music of Spanky and Our Gang always evokes those wonderful, innocent, carefree days of my youth.
Ramon Avila from Orlando, FlThis song brings back memories of my Jr. High School back in Mission,Tx.
Ramon, Orlando,Fl.
Pete from Hopkinton, RiThere are strings playing in the background. Does anyone know how that was done?
Charles Hollingswort from Leeds, Al"98.6" was sung by Keith not Keif. His real name is James Barry Keefer and "98.6" was on Mercury Records #72639 released in 1966.
Reed from New Ulm, MnGreat melody in this song. Always liked this one.

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