"Pleasant Valley Sunday" is a 1967 song written by lyricist Gerry Goffin and composer Carole King. The Monkees recorded it in June 1967 in Hollywood, produced by Chip Douglas, and Colgems released it as a single in July. It later appeared on the album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. (November 1967). The single reached No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100, No. 1 in Canada, No. 2 in New Zealand and No. 11 in the UK, and it became one of the group's most successful singles, repeatedly featured in the second season of their television series.
The up-tempo pop rock arrangement has psychedelic touches, with a distinctive electric guitar intro by Michael Nesmith and a heavily reverberated fade-out. King's 1966 demo was slower and had a different bridge. Later versions include those by The Mr. T Experience (1986), The Wedding Present (1992) and Kurt Elling (2012), and the song is performed in the musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (2013). Grand Funk Railroad's "I'm Your Captain" (1970) borrows its intro.
