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Sunshine Superman (song)

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"Sunshine Superman"
Single by Donovan
from the album Sunshine Superman
B-side"The Trip"
Released1 July 1966 (1966-07-01)
Recorded19 December 1965 (1965-12-19)[1]
StudioEMI, London
Genre
Length
  • 3:15 (single/album version)
  • 4:34 (full-length version)
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)Donovan
Producer(s)Mickie Most
Donovan singles chronology
"Remember the Alamo"
(1966) 		"Sunshine Superman"
(1966) 		"Mellow Yellow"
(1967)

"Sunshine Superman" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released as a single in the United States through Epic Records (Epic 5–10045) in July 1966, but due to a contractual dispute the United Kingdom release was delayed until December 1966, where it appeared on Donovan's previous label, Pye Records (Pye 7N 17241). The single was backed with "The Trip" on both the US and UK releases. It has been described as "[one of the] classics of the era",[9] and as "the quintessential bright summer sing along".[10][11]

"Sunshine Superman" reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States (Donovan's only single to do so) and subsequently became the title track of his third album.[12] When finally released in the UK, it reached No. 2. A different mix of "The Trip" (without harmonica) is also included in the album. The single version of "Sunshine Superman" was edited down from its original four-and-a-half minutes to just over three, and this version was also used on the album; the full-length version made its debut on the Donovan's Greatest Hits LP in 1969.

Musical style

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Recorded on 19 December 1965,[1] the song "has a claim to be the first psychedelic rock record ever recorded" according to The Guardian.[13] It was arranged by two jazz musicians, pianist John Cameron and Spike Heatley, who played double bass. John Paul Jones, who would also act as an arranger on some Donovan sessions for producer Mickie Most, played electric bass. Session guitarist Jimmy Page (The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin) played lead guitar, employing an innovative use of the volume control on his guitar for the repeating figure he played during the verses. Cameron played a two-tier Morley harpsichord on the record. After the success of the song, Cameron would arrange (and play on) many tracks for Donovan and Most.[14]

Billboard described the single as a "rockin' production ballad with an exciting, commercial sound".[15] Cash Box described the song as a "funky, medium-paced, blues-soaked romancer about a lad who is determined to snare the gal of his dreams", and called it "impressive".[16] Record World said it "has an incessant and irresistible mid shuffle beat."[17]

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Following the release of the hit song, the name "Sunshine Superman" became widely associated with Donovan himself, and was used as the title or part of the title of about six of his album releases and reissues (including several compilations and a live album as well as being used as the title track of his 1966 studio album).

Various incarnations of a Sunshine Superman have appeared in comics produced by DC Comics, the publishers of the Superman character. Writer Grant Morrison referenced the song in a 1990 issue of Animal Man by creating Sunshine Superman, an African American version of Superman whose S-shield is sun-shaped and who was a member of the Love Syndicate of Dreamworld, from a world based on the drug culture of the 1960s.[18] Sunshine Superman and his world were wiped out by the Crisis on Infinite Earths, only to be brought back by the Psycho-Pirate before fading away again. Sunshine Superman returned for a brief, non-speaking cameo in Final Crisis #7, in an army of alternate Supermen.[19] In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, the Dreamworld Earth is reintroduced as Earth-47, where an iteration of Sunshine Superman and the Love Syndicate exist.[20]

Personnel

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Chart performance

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The Sports version

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"Sunshine Superman"
Single by the Sports
from the album The Sports Play Dylan (and Donovan)
B-side"Cargo Cult"
ReleasedNovember 1981 (1981-11)
StudioAAV Studios, Melbourne
GenrePop rock
Length3:11
LabelMushroom
Songwriter(s)Donovan
Producer(s)James "Jimbo" Barton
The Sports singles chronology
"When We Go Out Tonight"
(1981) 		"Sunshine Superman"
(1981) 		"Black Stockings (For Chelsea)"
(1982)

Australian rock band The Sports released a version as the lead single from their extended play album, The Sports Play Dylan (and Donovan). The song peaked at number 22 on the Australian Kent Music Report.[36]

Charts

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Chart (1981) Position
Australian Kent Music Report 22

References

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References

  1. ^ a b Houghton 2011, p. 11.
  2. ^ Bell, Robin (13 February 2016). The History of British Rock and Roll: The Beat Boom 1963 - 1966. Lulu Press, Inc. p. 263. ISBN 978-91-981916-6-0.
  3. ^ Grunenberg, Christoph; Harris, Jonathan; Harris, Jonathan P. (2005). Summer of Love: Psychedelic Art, Social Crisis and Counterculture in the 1960s. Liverpool University Press. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-85323-919-2.
  4. ^ Editors Rolling Stone (8 November 2001). Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll: Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. Touchstone. p. 276. ISBN 978-0-7432-0120-9. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Great Moments in Folk Rock: Lists of Author Favorites". www.richieunterberger.com. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  6. ^ Davud Burger (23 January 2012). "Sundance music: Donovan to headline BMI Snowball with Dawes". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 18 July 2013. "Donovan will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this spring and is best known for psychedelic folk songs such as 'Sunshine Superman' and 'Catch the Wind'."
  7. ^ Marvin E. Paymer (1993). Garland Publishing Inc. (ed.). Facts behind the songs: a handbook of American popular music from the nineties to the '90s. p. 248. ISBN 978-0824052409. "[Donovan] later proved himself a talent with the release of his original psychedelic folk [single] "Sunshine Superman""
  8. ^ Greene, Doyle (2014). The Rock Cover Song: Culture, History, Politics. McFarland. p. 150. ISBN 978-1-4766-1507-3.
  9. ^ Erlewine., Stephen Thomas. "Donovan's Greatest Hits". AllMusic.
  10. ^ Bush, John (2002). AllMusic Guide to Rock (Bogdanov et al ed.). p. 330. ISBN 0-87930-653-X.
  11. ^ "Donovan: Sunshine Superman (US)". AllMusic.
  12. ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 48 - The British are Coming! The British are Coming!: With an emphasis on Donovan, the Bee Gees and the Who. [Part 5]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
  13. ^ Petridis, Alexis. "Donovan: bring me sunshine … again". The Guardian.
  14. ^ Here's One I Made Earlier, podcast. https://open.spotify.com/episode/7D7g30OxApQzi9igqSmjB0?si=QRHhrQL-RLm4SxvTpO61HA }
  15. ^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. 16 July 1966. p. 16. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  16. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 16 July 1966. p. 36. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  17. ^ "Single Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 16 July 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  18. ^ Animal Man #23
  19. ^ Final Crisis #7
  20. ^ Multiversity Guidebook: January 2015
  21. ^ "Sunshine Superman in Australian Chart". Poparchives.com.au. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  22. ^ "Donovan – Sunshine Superman" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  23. ^ "Sunshine Superman in Canadian Top Singles Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on 28 December 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  24. ^ "Sunshine Superman in French Chart" (in French). Dominic DURAND / InfoDisc. 18 July 2013. Archived from the original on 19 May 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013. You have to use the index at the top of the page and search "Donovan"
  25. ^ "Sunshine Superman in Irish Chart". IRMA. Retrieved 18 July 2013. Only one result when searching "Sunshine Superman"
  26. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Donovan" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  27. ^ "Donovan – Sunshine Superman" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  28. ^ "NZ Listener". Flavour of New Zealand, 4 November 1966. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  29. ^ "1966 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive - 31st December 1966". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  30. ^ "Donovan awards on Allmusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  31. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, September 3, 1966". Tropicalglen.com.
  32. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Donovan – Sunshine Superman" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 26 March 2019. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON Donovan"
  33. ^ "Sixties City - Pop Music Charts - Every Week Of The Sixties". Sixtiescity.net.
  34. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1966/Top 100 Songs of 1966". Musicoutfitters.com.
  35. ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 24, 1966".
  36. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 288. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian singles and albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.

Sources

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