| "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 U.S. picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by the Lovin' Spoonful | ||||
| B-side | "My Gal" | |||
| Released | November 1965 | |||
| Studio | Bell Sound, New York City | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:29 | |||
| Label | Kama Sutra | |||
| Songwriter(s) | John Sebastian, Steve Boone | |||
| Producer(s) | Erik Jacobsen | |||
| The Lovin' Spoonful singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio | ||||
| "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" on YouTube | ||||
"You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" is a song by the 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 Lovin' 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".