Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2008) |
| "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" | |
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| Song |
"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In", sometimes referred to as "The Age of Aquarius" or "Let the Sunshine In", is a medley of two songs from the musical Hair ("Aquarius" and "The Flesh Failures (Let The Sunshine In)") written by James Rado, Gerome Ragni, and Galt MacDermot, and released as a single in 1969 by The 5th Dimension. The single held the number one position on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks and was certified Platinum.[1]
The song listed at #57 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of all time.[2]
History
The recording won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Best Contemporary Vocal Performance by a Group at the Grammy Awards of 1970, after it was released on the album The Age of Aquarius.
The song was based on the astrological belief that the world would be entering the Age of Aquarius, an age of love, light and humanity, unlike the then current Age of Pisces. This change was presumed to occur at the end of the 20th century, however major astrologers differ over this. Dates range from 2062 (Dane Rudhyar), 2150 (Neil Mann), 2595 (Hermann Haupt) and 2680 (Shephard Simpson).[3]
"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" was ranked thirty-third on the 2004 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs.
Track listing
| Side | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| A. | "Medley: Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In" | 4:50 |
| B. | "Don'tcha Hear Me Callin' To Ya" | 3:54 |
Chart positions
Template:Sample box start variation 2 Template:Sample box end
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Billboard Black Singles | 6 |
| Billboard Pop Singles | 1 | |
| Billboard Adult Contemporary | 1 | |
| Swiss charts | 4 [4] | |
| Dutch Top 40 | 12 [5] |
Cover versions and samplings
| "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" | |
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| Song |
| This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2008) |
- Helena Paparizou , Greek female singer, covered "Aquarius/Let the sunshine in" at her performance at the Mad Video Music Awards 2007.
- The Pop-gabber Dutch band Party Animals covered "Aquarius" on their debut album Good Vibrations in 1996. The single was certified Platinum [6] and peaked at the number one position for three weeks.[7].
- "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" is performed with dancing at the conclusion of the 2005 movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin after the lead character's first sexual encounter.
- British comedian Vic Reeves also sang it.
- "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" is also used in commercials for the Kia Rondo.
- The "Aquarius" song is used in commercials for the Aquarius sports drink.
- The song "Let The Sunshine In" was remixed in 2003 by Solarys in a track given the same name.
- William Shatner sang a version of "Aquarius" in a commercial for Priceline.com.
- Société Bic (brand name, Bic) also used the song in the 2007 advertising campaign for the debut of their "Soleil Triple Blade Razors" in America.
- This song is sampled in the Mos Def song "Sunshine" on the album, The New Danger.
- The "Let the Sunshine In" portion of the medley was covered by the band Army of Lovers on their 2000 album, Le Grand Docu-Soap.
- The 1999 remake of The Out of Towners used "Aquarius" when Steve Martin's character has a psychedelic scene after ingesting a hallucinogenic.
- In the (2001) Disney Movie Recess: School's Out, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" plays during the end of the movie, moving into the credits with the chorus let the sunshine in.
- Bob Rivers recorded a parody entitled "I Think it's Time to Clean My Aquarium".
- Milk & Sugar, a German dance music production duo, have recorded a chart-topping remake of the "Let the Sunshine In" portion, with vocals by Lizzy Pattinson.
- Hans Zimmer created a version of the song for the opening sequence of the film Bird on a Wire.
- The U.K. electronic/ambient artist Boards of Canada samples portions of the movie soundtrack version for their own track of the same name as featured on their album Music Has The Right To Children.
- In 2008, Mike Doughty used the "Let the Sunshine In" portion in the chorus of his song "Fort Hood" on the album Golden Delicious.
- The Dresden Dolls have been known to perform covers of "The Flesh Failures (Let the Sunshine In)".
- Andy Williams has also recorded the song, as highlighted in his Best of . . . album
- The "Let the Sunshine In" portion of the song was used as one of the official theme songs for the 2008 general election campaign of Barack Obama.
- Daniel Johnston performed a live on-air semi-cover (involving him adding his own vocals over the original track) on WFMU on February 4th, 1990 .
- Lightspeed Champion covered the song on his Domino Records special edition covers EP. The track is listed as "The Flesh Failures".[8]
- The song appears as the fifth track of the second disc of the soundtrack to the movie Forrest Gump.
- The "Let the Sunshine In" portion of the song is sampled in the Groove Terminator song "One More Time (The Sunshine Song)"
- The Christian rock band PFR used "Let the Sunshine In" as the ending to "Wait for the Sun", the last song on their album Goldie's Last Day.
- French's mustard used portions of "Let The Sunshine in" for their commercials in the late '80s.
- The Undisputed Truth recorded a version called "Aquarius" for their 1971 self-titled LP.
- Charles Earland, a jazz hammond player, recorded a version of this song in his album "Black Talk".
- The title is spoofed by Turbonegro on the song "The Age of Pamparius" (Apocalypse Dudes).
See also
References
- ^ AllMusic.com The Age of Aquarius page Accessed: November 26, 2006
- ^ Billboard Hot 100
- ^ Wikipedia Atrological Timeframes
- ^ SwissCharts.com "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In" page. Accessed: November 26, 2006
- ^ Top4000.nl Chart week 23, 1969. Accessed: November 26, 2006
- ^ NVPI.nl Certification page. Accessed: November 26, 2006
- ^ Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, 500 Nr. 1 Hits uit de Top 40, page 330, ISBN 9023009444 (Book in Dutch)
- ^ "Lightspeed Champion". Retrieved 19 December 2008.