Walking on Sunshine (Katrina and the Waves song)
- For the Eddy Grant song of the same name, see Walking on Sunshine (Eddy Grant album).
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"Walking on Sunshine" is a song written by Kimberley Rew for Katrina and the Waves' 1983 eponymous debut full-length album (the band had released the Shock Horror EP the previous year). A rerecorded version was released on the band's 1985 self-titled album as the album's second single (see 1985 in music) and reached #4 in Australia and #9 in the United States, as well as #8 in the United Kingdom. It is the Waves' first U.S. top forty hit, and their biggest success in the UK until "Love Shine a Light" (1997).
2010 is the 25th anniversary of the release of "Walking On Sunshine" and a series of back-catalogue re-releases and a re-recorded version of the track are being released.[1] A free download of one of the tracks from Kimberley Rew's solo album 'Bible Of Bop' was given away in March 2010 from the bands website [2]
The song was covered by Jeffries Fan Club on their debut album Feelin' Sorry...For All the Hearts We've Broken in 1997. In 2007, pop group Girl Authority covered the song on Road Trip. The song was also recorded by Dolly Parton on her 1996 cover album Treasures.
Argentine singer-songwriter Diego Torres recorded a version of the song with lyrics in Spanish named Por la vereda del sol for his album Tratar de Estar Mejor (1994)
Hurricane "Katrina"
In 2005, the storm surge of Hurricane Katrina devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast, including the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the deadliest and costliest hurricane to have ever hit the U.S. mainland. The song was widely played in New Orleans following the destruction. The lead singer, Katrina Leskanich, expressed her sorrow for the victims, especially dealing with the fact that she (and her suddenly-ironically-named band The Waves) now bears a name that has been demonized by a devastating hurricane. [citation needed]
Music video
The music video depicts the band performing live at a London concert. Katrina herself is either with or not with them, but either dancing in her apartment, or walking through Hyde Park, past an English prison, the Tower Bridge, a cliff and Old St. Paul's. She catches up with the others and feeds ducks (one of them eats the leftovers, referring to the Waves). Katrina returns home and cleans her face using cotton.
Aly & AJ cover
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Matthew Gerrard produced a cover of "Walking on Sunshine" for American pop rock duo Aly & AJ's debut album, Into the Rush. The song was released as the album's fourth single on June 22, 2005 (see 2005 in music). It was also used to promote the film Herbie: Fully Loaded, and makes an appearance on the movie soundtrack. The single's video features Aly & AJ performing, and is intercut with clips from the film Herbie: Fully Loaded. The song was shortened down to one minute and fifty-five seconds (1:55), as it is used for the video.
Track listings
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Walking on Sunshine" | Kimberly Rew | 3:54 |
Release history
| Date | Country | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 22, 2005 | United States | Promo CD | Hollywood Records |
Dolly Parton cover
In 1996, Dolly Parton included a bluegrass version of "Walking on Sunshine" on her album of covers, Treasures, stating in interviews to promote the album, as well as her CBS TV special to promote the album, that she had long loved the song. In 1997, a dance remix of Parton's version was released.
Appearances in popular culture
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (October 2008) |
- The song was featured in the Disney movie Ask Max (1986).
- Song played prominently in Look Who's Talking (1989)
- The character Barry played by Jack Black in the movie High Fidelity (2000) plays this song on a cassette tape, unknowingly tormenting the heartbroken Rob (John Cusack).
- Fry from Futurama sings this song occasionally and his dog Seymour was able to bark/sing lines of it. It was prominently used in the episode Jurassic Bark, where Fry teaches Seymour how to bark along with the song, though Fry can never remember any lines past "I'm walking on sunshine". From there on he hums the tune. It's also heard as his cellphone ringtone in the DVD movie "Into the Wild Green Yonder".
- Telefónica Movistar (Spain's mobile company) used the song in the commercials announcing the acquisition of Bell South's Latin America division
- Fisher Price uses the song like a jingle for their TV commercials to promote its products.
- Paris Geller of Gilmore Girls sings an off-key version of the chorus into a hairbrush at the beginning of an episode to celebrate her budding relationship with her boyfriend Doyle.
- A sound-alike instrumental version of the song was used by NBC in the 90s and early 2000s in promotional ads for their theatrical and TV movie premieres. The differing version was mostly used to promote romantic comedies.
- In "Rendezvous", an episode of the television series Prison Break, Brad Bellick and Roy Geary play a CD of "Walking on Sunshine" continuously while beating T-Bag, in an effort to persuade him to reveal the location of Charles Westmoreland's five million dollar stash.
- It is used during establishing shots in the films The Secret of My Success (1987).
- The song was also used in the movie American Psycho (2000) which used many songs from the 1980s for its soundtrack.
- The trailer for Bollywood film Jab We Met featured this song.
- The opening scenes to Daddy Day Care, the 2003 film featuring Eddie Murphy, used the song as their opening track.
- The Aly & AJ cover song was used in Herbie: Fully Loaded and appears on its soundtrack.
- Pop group Jump5 covered the song on their 2003 album Accelerate.
- The Lizzie McGuire Movie featured the version sung by Jump5.
- A snippet is played at the end of the Drew Carey Show episode "When Wives Collide"
- This song is performed at the end of the Korean Movie, Speedy Scandal
- The song appears on the game Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore.
- The song has been used for Dance Dance Revolution - Hottest Party 2 on Wii console.
- The song has been used in a number of Intervention parodies on YouTube of a chronic huffer who said inhaling canned air was "like walking on sunshine".
- Was voted as #91 on VH1's 100 greatest songs of the 80's.
- It is used at the top of each hour of The Stephanie Miller Show to play in from commercial or news breaks.
- This song was used along with "Halo" by Beyoncé Knowles in a mash up on the FOX television show Glee episode "Vitamin D", which got to number 8 on the UK Singles chart.
- Band games Band Hero and Lego Rock Band feature a playable version of the song.
- It was performed by Ingrid Michaelson from her 1st Studio album Slow the Rain.