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Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In

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"Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)"
Single by The 5th Dimension
from the album The Age of Aquarius
B-side"Don'tcha Hear Me Callin' To Ya"
ReleasedMarch 1969
Recorded1968
GenrePsychedelic soul, sunshine pop
Length4:49
LabelSoul City
Songwriter(s)James Rado
Gerome Ragni
Galt MacDermot
Producer(s)Bones Howe
The 5th Dimension singles chronology
"California Soul"
(1969) 		"Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)"
(1969) 		"Workin' On a Groovy Thing"
(1969)
Audio sample

"Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)" (commonly called "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In", "The Age of Aquarius" or "Let the Sunshine In") is a medley of two songs written for the 1967 musical Hair by James Rado and Gerome Ragni (lyrics), and Galt MacDermot (music), released as a single by American R&B group The 5th Dimension. The song spent six weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in the spring of 1969 and was eventually certified platinum in the US by the RIAA.[1] Instrumental backing was written by Bill Holman and provided by session musicians commonly known as the Wrecking Crew.[2][3] The actual recording is something of a rarity: the song was recorded in two cities, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, then mixed together in the studio.

The song listed at number 66 on Billboard's "Greatest Songs of All Time".[4]

History

The recording was led by veteran American producer and engineer Bones Howe, who had previously worked with the 5th Dimension as well as the Mamas & the Papas and Elvis Presley. As Howe tells it, the recording can be traced to an incident in which 5th Dimension lead singer Billy Davis Jr. left his wallet in a New York City cab; the man who found the wallet was involved in the production of Hair and invited the group to see the show: "After they'd seen it I received a phone call in which they were all talking over one another, saying 'We've got to cut this song "Aquarius". It's the best thing ever.'" Howe was skeptical ("This isn't a complete song. It's an introduction."), but after seeing the show on stage got the idea to create a medley with another musical moment from the show, a few bars from the song "The Flesh Failures" that consist of the repeated words "let the sunshine in." Although the two song fragments are in different keys and tempos, Howe resolved to "jam them together like two trains."[5]

The instrumental track was set to tape at Wally Heider Recording in Los Angeles by the Wrecking Crew rhythm section of Hal Blaine on drums, Joe Osborn on bass, Larry Knechtel on keyboards, and Tommy Tedesco on guitar along with guitarist Dennis Budimir. However, the vocals were recorded separately in Las Vegas, where the 5th Dimension was performing at the time, using only two microphones for the five singers. Davis' solo during "Let the Sunshine In" was improvised during the session; songwriter Jimmy Webb, who happened into the studio during the recording, remarked to Howe, "My God, that's a number one record."[5]

This song was one of the most popular songs of 1969 worldwide, and in the United States it reached the number one position on both the Billboard Hot 100 (for six weeks in April and May) and the Billboard Easy Listening chart. It also reached the top of the sales charts in Canada and elsewhere. Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 Hot 100 single for 1969.[6]

The recording won both the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group for the Grammy Awards of 1970, after being published on the album The Age of Aquarius by the 5th Dimension, and also being released as a seven-inch vinyl single record.

The lyrics of this song were based on the astrological belief that the world would soon be entering the "Age of Aquarius", an age of love, light, and humanity, unlike the current "Age of Pisces". The exact circumstances for the change are "When the moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars." This change was presumed to occur at the end of the 20th century; however, astrologers differ extremely widely as to when. Their proposed dates range from 2062 to 2680.

Astrologer Neil Spencer denounced the lyrics as "astrological gibberish", noting that Jupiter forms an astrological aspect with Mars several times a year and the moon is in the 7th House for two hours every day.[7] These lines are considered by many[who?] to be merely poetic license, though some people take them literally.

The American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Songs list, published in 2004, ranked "Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)" as number 33.

Track listing of the single

Side Title Length
A. "Medley: Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)" 4:50

radio edit 3:07

B. "Don'tcha Hear Me Callin' To Ya" 3:54

Charts

Cover versions

  • The crowd at the Woodstock Festival (August 1969) sang the song. The recording is featured on the double album Woodstock Two (released 1971).[citation needed]
  • Donna Summer, then Donna Gaines, was cast in the German version of the musical singing the lead in Wassermann (Aquarius), in 1968.[27]
  • Checkmates, Ltd. released a version of the song as part of "The Hair Anthology Suite" on their 1969 album, Love Is All We Have to Give.
  • Ray Stevens recorded "Aquarius" for his 1969 studio album Have a Little Talk with Myself.
  • Cilla Black recorded the song for her 1969 studio album Surround Yourself with Cilla.
  • Engelbert Humperdinck recorded a cover of the song on his 1969 self-titled album.
  • Andy Williams released a version in 1969 on his album, Get Together with Andy Williams.
  • Mercy released a version of the song on their 1969 album, Love Can Make You Happy.[28]
  • Diana Ross recorded a cover on the Supremes' 1969 Let the Sunshine In album but, without The Supremes; it was a solo recording sung on The Dinah Shore Television Special 1969 with background vocalists from the Television Special.
  • The instrumental band the Ventures covered the medley on their 1969 album Hawaii Five-O.
  • Raquel Welch performed it on her 1969 TV special Raquel!.
  • "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" was also covered by the Osmonds on the 1970 album, Hello! The Osmond Brothers.
  • The Undisputed Truth recorded a version called "Aquarius" for their 1971 self-titled LP.
  • Charles Earland, a jazz Hammond organ player, recorded a version of this song in his album Black Talk.
  • George Shearing, a piano player, recorded a version of the song in 1974 on the album The Way We Are.
  • Ren Woods sang the song in the opening scene of the 1979 film adaption of the play. A soundtrack album was subsequently released, which featured her version as the first track on the A side.
  • Pop-gabber Dutch group Party Animals covered "Aquarius" on their debut album Good Vibrations in 1996. The single was certified Platinum[29] and peaked at the number one position for three weeks.[30]
  • A cover of the medley was recorded for the Killdozer / Alice Donut split single "Michael Gerald's Party Machine! Presents:", released in 1996.[31][better source needed] It was credited to "Kill Donut", a one-off band consisting of members of both bands.
  • The lyrics "Let the Sunshine In" from the song "Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In" are sampled in "One More Time (The Sunshine Song)" by Australian Electronic Artist Groove Terminator.
  • The "Let the Sunshine In" portion of the medley was covered by Swedish dance group Army of Lovers on their 2000 album Le Grand Docu-Soap. Their version also included most of the original verses (with some changes) performed as a pseudo-rap by group member Dominika Peczynski.
  • Lightspeed Champion covered the song on his Domino Records special edition covers EP. The track is listed as "The Flesh Failures".[32]
  • Star Academy Arab World season one finalist students covered the song and made it as their first single, known as Jay Al-Hakyka.
  • Spencer Davis Group single "Aquarius Der Wasserman" b/w "Let the Sunshine In", was released because Davis studied German in college and found tour audiences there so appreciative, he decided to honor their support with a version of this pop hit in German.
  • The German krautrock/progressive rock band Jeronimo on their 1970 album Cosmic Blues.
  • Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll and the Trinity recorded this song on their album "Streetnoise" Brian Auger & The Trinity (1969).
  • The Austrian singer Marianne Mendt recorded a German-language version of "Aquarius" about the City of Vienna in 1970 named "Der Wasserkopf (Aquarius)".
  • The Chopsticks (a Hong Kong female duo, made up of Sandra Lang (仙杜拉) & Amina (亞美娜)), covered this medley song on their 1971 LP All of a Sudden.
  • Jackie Davis released a cover of "Aquarius" under his moniker, "Chico Arnéz". The track, Chico Arnez - "Aquarius" features on his album New Sounds of Chico Arnez, released on Contour records in 1972.[33]
  • Hans Zimmer recorded a cover version for the introductory section to the 1990 movie Bird on a Wire, listed on the soundtrack as "Aquarius".
  • The cast of the 2005 film The 40-Year-Old Virgin covered the song for the ending of the film.
  • The "Let the Sunshine In" portion of this medley was covered by Lisa Cool and the South Spirit for the rhythm dance game Pump It Up: The PREX 3.[34]
  • "Let the Sun Shine", an Ibiza-inspired re-make of the "Let the Sunshine In" portion of this medley was released by the German housemusic duo Milk & Sugar in 2003. In 2009, they released a remix featuring Jamaican vocalist Gary Pine and Bob Sinclar entitled "Let The Sun Shine 2009."
  • Edurne, a Spanish singer, recorded "Aquarius" for her album Première (álbum) [es].
  • Les Poppys, a French musical group of 17 children, recorded 'Laissez entrer le soleil/Let the sun shine in', a French/English cover of 'Let the sun shine in', in 1971 for their first album called Poppys.
  • Digital Daggers recorded a cover that was featured on the television show Star-Crossed, and appeared on their album Reimaginations, Vol. 1.
  • The Forest Rangers covered the song and it was played during the last few minutes of Sons of Anarchy S07E05.
  • Mike Doughty interpolated the "Let the Sunshine In" portion for his song "Fort Hood" off of his album Golden Delicious.
  • Shannon Mier covered the song on his 2003 album On the Failure of Science to Understand My Spirit.
  • Kanye West produced the song "Sunshine" for Mos Def's second album The New Danger (2004), employing the "Let the Sunshine In" portion throughout the song.

From 1970 to 1977, "Aquarius" was used as the theme song to the British arts programme Aquarius.

In 1970, "Let The Sunshine In" was used in an Ad Council PSA for the National Urban Coalition; the commercial promoted racial harmony using a large all-star choir including cameos by Ray Charles, Peggy Cass, Johnny Carson, Will Geer and Leonard Nimoy.

"Let the Sunshine In" has been adopted by soccer fans in Argentina and popularized in Uruguay's "Soy Celeste" to proclaim their support.

Peter Lawford sang the song "Aquarius" in the Hollywood Palace in November 1969.

The song appears as part of the Forrest Gump (soundtrack) along with other songs from the 1994 film.

The song also appeared in episode 3 ("Harmony of the Worlds") of Carl Sagan's Cosmos during a sequence debunking the practice of astrology.[35]

In episode 16, season 3 of The Simpsons ("Bart the Lover"), "Age of Aquarius" is played during a yo-yo demonstration at a school assembly.[36]

The song appeared at the end of the 2001 movie Recess: School's Out.

The song also appeared at the end of the 2005 movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

They Might Be Giants make reference to "Age of Aquarius" in the song "Cage and Aquarium", taken from the album Lincoln.

A sample of the song as it appears in the film Hair carries the main loop of the Boards of Canada song of the same name, appearing on their debut LP.

The beginning of the song is heard during a flashback at the start of episode 2 of American Horror Story Season 1: Murder House.

The song is featured in Just Dance 2014.

In November 2017, Don Caron published the satirical "The Age That Will Bury Us" on his Parody Project YouTube channel.[37]

In season 16, episode 16 of Family Guy ("'Family Guy' Through the Years"), Peter sings a parody of "Let the Sunshine in", called "Let my Son Die" after he switches places with Chris, who is going to Vietnam, then changes his mind.

The song appears twice in We Bare Bears: The Movie when the Bears are stopped at a checkpoint.

See also

References

  1. ^ AllMusic.com The Age of Aquarius page Accessed: November 8, 2013
  2. ^ Hartman, Kent (2012). The Wrecking Crew. St. Martin's Griffin. pp. 261–263. ISBN 978-1-250-03046-7.
  3. ^ Discogs credits for Bill Holman 'Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In'
  4. ^ "Hot 100 55th Anniversary: The All-Time Top 100 Songs". Billboard. 1980-12-08. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
  5. ^ a b "CLASSIC TRACKS: Fifth Dimension 'Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In'". Sound on Sound. February 2006. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d Top Records of 1969 (Based on Billboard Charts)", Billboard, December 27, 1969. pp. 16-17. Accessed December 7, 2016.
  7. ^ Neil Spencer, True as the Stars Above, 2000, p. 124.
  8. ^ a b The 5th Dimension - Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In, austriancharts.at. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  9. ^ "The 5th Dimension – Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  10. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1969-05-19. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  11. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Aquarius-Let the Sunshine In". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  12. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – 5th Dimension The" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  13. ^ "The 5th Dimension – Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  14. ^ [1] Flavour of New Zealand, June 27, 1969. Accessed: November 27, 2016
  15. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  16. ^ https://www.nostalgilistan.se/kvallstoppen/19690617
  17. ^ "The 5th Dimension – Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  18. ^ "The 5th Dimension: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  19. ^ "The 5th Dimension Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  20. ^ Adult Contemporary - The 5th Dimension Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures) Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  21. ^ Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - The 5th Dimension Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures) Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  22. ^ "Best Selling Rhythm & Blues Singles", Billboard, May 10, 1969. p. 36. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  23. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, May 3, 1969". Archived from the original on January 9, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  24. ^ "RPM's 100 Hits of 1969". RPM. January 10, 1970. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  25. ^ [2] Archived 2019-01-25 at the Wayback Machine The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1969. Accessed: November 27, 2016
  26. ^ "Hot 100 60th Anniversary". Billboard. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  27. ^ "Donna Summer discography" (in Italian). Donnasummer.it. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
  28. ^ Mercy, Love Can Make You Happy Retrieved May 7, 2015
  29. ^ NVPI.nl Archived 2009-09-10 at the Wayback Machine Certification page. Accessed: November 26, 2006
  30. ^ Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, 500 Nr. 1 Hits uit de Top 40, page 330, ISBN 90-230-0944-4 (Book in Dutch)
  31. ^ "Killdozer & Alice Donut - Michael Gerald's Party Machine Presents..." Discogs. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
  32. ^ "Lightspeed Champion". Archived from the original on 25 December 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
  33. ^ "Chico Arnez". Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  34. ^ "Prex-3-CZ-Let the Sunshine-Youtube". Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  35. ^ "Carl Sagan on the pseudoscience of Astrology". YouTube. 2008-02-16. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
  36. ^ "The Simpsons UK Cuts, Season 3 — Simpsons Crazy". www.simpsoncrazy.com. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
  37. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8XlcOlBzEY
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