"Singing a Song in the Morning" (originally titled "Religious Experience") was the first solo single released by

Kevin Ayers Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely assoc ...

, one of the founding members of the band

Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–196 ...

. It was issued three months after Ayers' debut solo LP ''

Joy of a Toy ''Joy of a Toy'' is the debut solo album of Kevin Ayers, a founding member of Soft Machine. He is accompanied on the LP by pianist and arranger David Bedford as well as his erstwhile Soft Machine colleagues Robert Wyatt and Mike Ratledge, and ...

'', and the artist was credited on the record label as Kevin Ayers and the Whole World. Although the song was not included on the original ''Joy of a Toy'' album, the single's B-side, "Eleanor's Cake (Which Ate Her)", was on the album. Accompanying Ayers were three members of the band

Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

—cousins David and Richard Sinclair, and Richard Coughlan.

Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...

, recently departed from

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

, played guitar on the session, but his part was left off the mix of the 1970 single. Members of Soft Machine had recorded on Barrett's first solo album, ''

The Madcap Laughs ''The Madcap Laughs'' is the debut solo album by the English singer-songwriter Syd Barrett. It was recorded after Barrett had left Pink Floyd in April 1968. The album had a chequered recording history, with work beginning in mid-1968, but the b ...

''. It was around this time that Barrett recorded the guitar part for Ayers on this track. The version with Barrett was first issued on the 2003 expanded reissue of ''Joy of a Toy''. However, the track listing confused the take featuring Barrett with another unused version which also featured on the CD - The take with Barrett playing was listed as the one without and vice versa (The takes without Barrett have only 2 guitars - Acoustic and 12 string electric. The version with Barrett has a third guitar - A six string electric - playing along) Part of the lyrics of "Singing a Song in the Morning" were adapted by

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...

in the composition "Moon in June", a suite which appeared on ''

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

'', the

album released in June 1970.

Track listing

All tracks written by

. #"Singing a Song in the Morning" #"Eleanor's Cake (Which Ate Her)"

Personnel

– Guitars and Vocals * David Sinclair – Organ, Mellotron *

Richard Sinclair Richard Stephen Sinclair (born 6 June 1948) is an English progressive rock bassist, guitarist, and vocalist who has been a member of several bands of the Canterbury scene. Biography Born in Canterbury, England, both his father (Dick Sinclair) ...

– Bass *

Richard Coughlan Richard Coughlan (2 September 1947 – 1 December 2013) was an English musician, best known as the drummer and percussionist of the Canterbury scene progressive rock band Caravan. He was one of the founding members of Caravan in 1968 and remain ...

– Drums *

The Ladybirds The Ladybirds were a British female vocal harmony trio, most famous for their appearances on ''The Benny Hill Show''. They participated in over 60 episodes between 1968 and 1991. In addition, they were long-standing backing singers to many est ...

– Backing Vocals *

– Guitar

References

Kevin Ayers songs 1970 debut singles Songs written by Kevin Ayers Syd Barrett 1970 songs Harvest Records singles {{1970s-single-stub