Walking on Sunshine (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Walking on Sunshine" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Single by Katrina and the Waves | ||
| from the album Walking on Sunshine | ||
| Released | 1985 | |
| Format | — | |
| Genre | New wave | |
| Length | — | |
| Label | Attic | |
| Writer(s) | Kimberley Rew | |
| Producer(s) | — | |
| Chart positions | ||
| Katrina and the Waves singles chronology | ||
| "Que Te Queiro" (1984) |
"Walking on Sunshine" (1985) |
"Do You Want Crying" (1985) |
| "Walking on Sunshine" | ||
|---|---|---|
|
||
| Single by Aly & AJ | ||
| from the album Into the Rush | ||
| Released | 2005 | |
| Format | Digital Download | |
| Recorded | ??? | |
| Genre | Pop | |
| Length | 3:54 | |
| Label | Hollywood Records | |
| Writer(s) | ??? | |
| Producer(s) | ??? | |
| Certification | N/A | |
| Aly & AJ singles chronology | ||
| "No One" (2005) |
"Walking on Sunshine" (2005) |
"Rush" (2005) |
"Walking on Sunshine" is a song written by Kimberley Rew for Katrina and the Waves' second album of the same name. It was released as the album's second single in 1985 (see 1985 in music) and reached the top five in Australia and the top ten in the United States and 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). The song was used by Telefónica to announce the takeover of BellSouth's Latin America division, and it is also used during establishing shots in the films The Secret of My Success (1987) and American Psycho (2000). It is the favourite song of Phillip J. Fry, a fictional character in the television series Futurama.
In the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, 20 years after the song first came out, the storm surge of a storm named Hurricane Katrina devastated much of the Gulf Coast, including the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. As the Waves lead singer Katrina Leskanich now shares her name with the devastation, she was quoted in the New York Times as saying the following:
"The first time I opened the paper and saw 'Katrina kills 9,' it was a bit of a shock. It's a very sad situation, but I'm sure the strength and good will of the survivors will turn it around. I hope that the true spirit of 'Walking on Sunshine' will prevail. I would hate for the title to be tinged with sadness, and I will have to do my own part to help turn that around."
The song was, in fact, widely played in New Orleans and throughout the Gulf Coast in the months after the storm. Also "the Waves" may be considered a reminder of the 2004 tsunami disaster that devastated several countries in Asia around Christmas 2004. In fact, MSNBC dubbed their coverage of the storm, most certainly indeed, "Katrina and the waves", referring to the storm itself and its storm surge, and that name also appeared in numerous headlines and blog posts. The name may also possibly be used to refer to Hurricane "Katrina" and the tsunami "waves". Matthew Gerrard produced a cover of the song for singing duo Aly & AJ's debut album, Into the Rush. It was released as the album's third single in 2005 (see 2005 in music), and it was also used to promote the film Herbie: Fully Loaded (see Herbie: Fully Loaded (soundtrack)). The single's video features Aly & AJ performing, and is intercut with clips from the film Herbie: Fully Loaded. Only one minute and fifty-five seconds of the song is used for the video.
Contrary to popular belief, this is not the first song called "Walking on Sunshine", nor is the album the first album to have that title. The first song and album to be called "Walking on Sunshine" was actually an Eddy Grant album and single that came out in 1979 (see Walking on Sunshine), six years before the Katrina and the Waves version first came out. Also, despite sharing the same title, the two album-and-single-pairs are completely unrelated to each other; the Katrina and the Waves single is not a cover of the Eddy Grant single, which was sung in the genre of reggae. While both songs were successful, the Katrina and the Waves single achieved more popularity.
[edit] Trivia
- The character Barry played by Jack Black in the movie High Fidelity (2000) plays this song on a cassete tape.
- Fry from Futurama sings this song occasionally and his dog Seymour was able to bark/sing lines of it.
- Movistar (Spain's mobile company) used the song in the commercials announcing the acquisition of Bell South.
- Fisher Price uses the song like a jingle for their TV commercials to promote its products.
- Paris and Rory sing this in the fifth season of Gilmore Girls.
- 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.
- This is Elijah Wood's favorite song.[citation needed]
[edit] External links
| Aly & AJ |
| Discography |
|---|
| Albums: Into the Rush | Acoustic Hearts of Winter |
| Singles: Do You Believe in Magic · No One · Walking on Sunshine Rush · Never Far Behind · On the Ride Chemicals React · Greatest Time of Year · Shine |
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