Peak
10
Weeks
20
Score
2,425
Chart Year
1966
Scores & Rankings
Chart Performance
Peak Position10
Peak DateJan 22, 1966
Weeks at Peak1
Weeks Charted20
Weeks in Top 409
Weeks in Top 101
Weeks at #20
Weeks at #10
Scoring
Summary Calc721
Weekly Calc1,704
Total Score2,425
Rankings
Year Ranking#83
Decade Ranking#606
Billboard Year#75
Top 5000#5,597
Details
- Album
- Daydream
- Label
- Kama Sutra Records
- Genre
- Sunshine Pop
- Media Type
- 45s
- Duration
- 2:29
- Composer(s)
- John B. Sebastian;Steve Boone
- Entered Chart
- Nov 27, 1965
- Peak Date
- Jan 22, 1966
- Released
- November 1965
- Recorded
- Unknown
- Catalog #
- Kama Sutra 205
- B-Side
- My Gal
Music Video
Notes
"You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" is a song by the Canadian-American folk-rock band the Lovin' Spoonful. Written by John Sebastian and Steve Boone, it was issued on a non-album single in November 1965. The song was the Spoonful's second-consecutive single to enter the top ten in the United States, peaking at number ten. It was later included on the band's second album, Daydream, released in March 1966. Boone's initial inspiration for the song was a remark he made on a date with Nurit Wilde. He began the piece as a basic melodic figure on the piano, but he appealed to Sebastian for help in finishing the song, marking the first of several compositions on which the pair collaborated. The finished recording employs a complex vocal arrangement devised by Jerry Yester, which later inspired Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys in composing his 1966 song "God Only Knows".
You didn't have to be so nice I would have liked you anyway If you had just looked once or twice And gone upon your quiet way Today I said the time was right for me to follow you I knew I'd find you in a day or two And it's true You came upon a quiet day You simply seemed to take your place I knew that it would be that way The minute that I saw your face And when we've had a few more days (When we've had a few more days) I wonder if I'll get to say (Wonder if I'll get to say) You didn't have to be so nice (Be so nice) I would have liked you anyway (Would have liked) Today I said the time was right for me to follow you (Today, said that the time was right to follow you) I knew I'd find you in a day or two (I knew that I would find you in a day or two) And it's true You didn't have to be so nice (Didn't have to be so nice) I would have liked you anyway (Would have liked you anyway) If you had just looked once or twice (Once or twice) And gone upon your quiet way (Quiet way)
Chart History (20 weeks)
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nov 27, 1965 | 75 | 51 |
| 2 | Dec 4, 1965 | 56 | 70 |
| 3 | Dec 11, 1965 | 39 | 87 |
| 4 | Dec 18, 1965 | 30 | 96 |
| 5 | Dec 25, 1965 | 23 | 103 |
| 6 | Jan 1, 1966 | 21 | 105 |
| 7 | Jan 8, 1966 | 16 | 110 |
| 8 | Jan 15, 1966 | 12 | 114 |
| 9 | Jan 22, 1966 | 10 | 116 |
| 10 | Jan 29, 1966 | 17 | 109 |
| 11 | Feb 5, 1966 | 25 | 101 |
| 12 | Feb 12, 1966 | 41 | 85 |
| 13 | Feb 19, 1966 | 46 | 80 |
| 14 | Feb 26, 1966 | 48 | 78 |
| 15 | Mar 5, 1966 | 50 | 76 |
| 16 | Mar 12, 1966 | 56 | 70 |
| 17 | Mar 19, 1966 | 58 | 68 |
| 18 | Mar 26, 1966 | 57 | 69 |
| 19 | Apr 2, 1966 | 66 | 60 |
| 20 | Apr 9, 1966 | 70 | 56 |