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Walking on Sunshine (Katrina and the Waves song)

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"Walking on Sunshine"
Song

"Walking on Sunshine" is a song written by Kimberley Rew for Katrina and the Waves' 1983 eponymous debut full-length album. The re-recorded version was at first released on the band's 1985 self-titled album as the album's second single (see 1985 in music) and reached No. 4 in Australia, No. 9 in the United States, and No. 8 in the United Kingdom. It was the Waves' first U.S. top 40 hit, and their biggest success in the United Kingdom until "Love Shine a Light" (1997). Conceived of as a ballad, Katrina decided to belt the song out.[2]

Royalties from airplay and advertisements of "Walking on Sunshine" have been extremely high. Katrina and the Waves kept the publishing rights and the royalties that typically go to the songwriter have been divided among the band members.[clarification needed] Estimates are the song has earned $1 million per year for the ten years ending in 2010.[citation needed] According to a former employee of EMI, "Walking on Sunshine was the crown jewel in EMI's catalog," and that it was one of EMI's biggest earners from advertisers.[3]

2010 was the 25th anniversary of the release of "Walking on Sunshine" and a series of back-catalog re-releases and a re-recorded version of the track were released at the time.[4] 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 band's website.[5]

In August 2015, the song was acquired by BMG Rights Management for £10 million, along with all the other songs written by Kimberley Rew and Katrina and the Waves.[6]

Music video

The music video opens with a Docklands alley, the Waves huddling whilst Katrina dances about above them. The video proceeds to depict the band performing live at a United Kingdom concert. Katrina herself is either with or not with them, but either dancing in a disused Docklands warehouse, or walking through Hyde Park on a cloudy day, past a churchyard, Tower Bridge, and the south bank of the Thames. She catches up with the others and feeds ducks (one of them eats the leftovers, referring to the Waves). The four all repair to a backstage dressing room and prepare for a concert.

Chart performance

Dolly Parton cover

"Walking on Sunshine"
Song

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.

Aly & AJ cover

"Walking on Sunshine"
Song

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 55 seconds (1:55), as it is used for the video. This song was also featured in the 2010 film Ramona and Beezus and the 2011 film Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure.

Track listings

Radio Disney Promo CD[22]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Walking on Sunshine"Kimberly Rew3:54

Release history

Date Country Format Label
22 June 2005 United States Promo CD Hollywood Records
Date Country Format Label
6 February 2006 United Kingdom Promo CD Squirrel Records

Other cover versions

The song is very popular in commercials and advertisers typically pay $150,000 to $200,000 per year to use the song.[3] It has also been featured in several films, including Ask Max (1986), The Secret of My Success (1987), Look Who's Talking (1989), Race the Sun (1996), Bean (1997), American Psycho (2000), High Fidelity (2000), Daddy Day Care (2003), Scandal Makers (2008), Moon (2009) and Camille Rewinds (2012). It has been played on the TV shows Gilmore Girls, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Prison Break, Sports Night, The Drew Carey Show and twice on Supernatural. It was also featured in an episode of the Netflix series BoJack Horseman.

In television, it is the favorite song of the character Phillip J. Fry in the animated TV series Futurama. The song is also featured in the video game series Lego Rock Band, SingStar and Band Hero. The song was a theme tune of The Stephanie Miller Show on radio. It was featured on a The Angry Video Game Nerd episode where an elderly Nerd dances to the music while reviewing the Wii game Boogie before dying of myocardial infarction. The song also appears in the intro and credits of the game Lego City Undercover. The song is also featured in M1 TVC.

In 1985, the song was in the Vintage Sports coverage of the Philippine Basketball Association on MBS-4 (later PTV-4) during the PBA All-Filipino Conference. It was used for the commentators during pre-game or post-game huddle and halftime huddle. It also used as the theme song of the Philippine teen-oriented drama T.G.I.S. on GMA Network in 1995 and also used in a 1997 film as T.G.I.S. The Movie.

References

  1. ^ "Gold/Platinum". Music Canada. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  2. ^ "Katrina Leskanich radio appearance". Stephaniemiller.com. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  3. ^ a b Blair, Elizabeth (24 May 2010). "'Walking On Sunshine': Living On A Song". NPR Music. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  4. ^ "Kimberley Rew Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Walking On Sunshine With Four Retro Releases". antiMusic. 2 March 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  5. ^ "Katrina & The Waves". Katrinaandthewaves.net. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  6. ^ "'Walking on Sunshine' bought by BMG for £10m". The Irish Times. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  7. ^ "Hits of the World". Billboard. 97 (26): 62. 29 June 1985. ISSN 0006-2510.
  8. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 9317." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0539." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  10. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Walking on Sunshine". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  11. ^ "Katrina And The Waves – Walking On Sunshine". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  12. ^ "WALKING ON SUNSHINE – Katrina And The Waves" (in Polish). LP3. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  13. ^ "Katrina And The Waves – Walking On Sunshine". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  14. ^ "Katrina And The Waves – Walking On Sunshine". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  15. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  16. ^ a b c d "Katrina & the Waves – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  17. ^ Archived 2012-09-18 at the Wayback Machine. Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  18. ^ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  19. ^ "Top Singles – Volume 43, No. 16, December 28 1985". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  20. ^ "Top 100 Hits for 1985". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  21. ^ Archived 2012-10-01 at the Wayback Machine. Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  22. ^ "Walking on Sunshine ~ Release by Aly & AJ". MusicBrainz. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
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