Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In
"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (commonly called "The Age of Aquarius" or "Let the Sunshine In") is a medley of two songs written for the 1967 musical Hair by James Rado & Gerome Ragni (lyrics), and Galt MacDermot (music), released as a single by The 5th Dimension. The song peaked at number one for six weeks on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in the spring of 1969. The single became the first medley to top the American pop charts and was eventually certified platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA.[1]
The song listed at #57 on Billboard's "Greatest Songs of All Time."[2]
History
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)[3] and the Billboard magazine Adult Contemporaries Chart. It also reached the top of the sales charts in Canada, and elsewhere.
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 then current "Age of Pisces". This change was presumed to occur at the end of the 20th century; however, major astrologers differ extremely widely as to when. Their proposed dates range from 2062 (Dane Rudhyar), 2150 (Neil Mann), and 2595 (Hermann Haupt), to 2680 (Shephard Simpson).[4]
"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" was ranked thirty-third on the 2004 AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs.
- See also List of recordings of songs Hal Blaine has played on
Track listing
| Side |
Title |
Length |
| A. |
"Medley: Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In" |
4:50
radio edit 3:07
|
| B. |
"Don'tcha Hear Me Callin' To Ya" |
3:54 |
Chart positions
Cover versions
- Engelbert Humperdinck recorded a cover of the song in his 1969 self-titled album Engelbert Humperdinck.
- Andy Williams recorded a cover of the song, as highlighted in his Best of... album
- Diana Ross & The Supremes recorded a cover on their 1969 Let the Sunshine In album
- 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".
- Pop-gabber Dutch band Party Animals covered "Aquarius" on their debut album Good Vibrations in 1996. The single was certified Platinum[7] and peaked at the number one position for three weeks.[8]
- 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".[9]
- 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 The Best Of Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity (1970).
- The Austrian singer Marianne Mendt recorded a German text 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 in their 1971 LP 《All Of A Sudden》issue.
Live cover performances
- Diana Ross & the Supremes performed a 20-minute version of the song on their album Farewell while singing with various members of the celebrity audience during their final performance at the Frontier Hotel, Las Vegas on January 14, 1970.
- American singer Daniel Johnston performed a live on-air semi-cover (involving him adding his own vocals over the original track) on WFMU on February 4, 1990.
- Greek singer Helena Paparizou covered "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" at her performance at the Mad Video Music Awards 2007.
- Czech singer Zbyněk Drda sang "Aquarius" in the international singing contest Amberstar in 2008.
- Dark cabaret music duo The Dresden Dolls have been known to perform covers of "The Flesh Failures (Let the Sunshine In)".
- British comedian Vic Reeves has performed the song live.
- In 2011, the a cappella group Soul'd Out of Wilsonville High School performed "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" in an episode of The Sing-off.
- Andy Kaufman's performance at Carnegie Hall featured a group of young singers performing the song.
Sampling
- In 1993, 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.
- In 1998, Scottish electronica/ambient duo Boards of Canada sampled 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 2000, the "Let the Sunshine In" portion of the song was sampled by Australian electronic music artist Groove Terminator in the song "One More Time (The Sunshine Song)".
- In 2003, the song "Let The Sunshine In" was remixed by Solarys in a track given the same name.
- In 2004, the song was sampled in hip hop artist Mos Def's song "Sunshine" on the album, The New Danger.
- In 2004, Milk & Sugar, a German dance music production duo, sampled the "Let the Sunshine In" chorus portion, with new vocals by Lizzy Pattinson in their song "Let The Sun Shine".
- In 2008, alternative rock singer-songwriter Mike Doughty used the "Let the Sunshine In" portion in the chorus of his song "Fort Hood" on the album Golden Delicious.
Parodies
- Bob Rivers recorded a parody entitled "I Think it's Time to Clean My Aquarium".
- The title is spoofed by Turbonegro on the song "The Age of Pamparius" (Apocalypse Dudes).
- Todo por dos pesos recorded a parody entitled "Deja que entre".
Appearances and references in other media
- French's mustard used portions of "Let The Sunshine in" for their commercials in the late '80s.
- Hans Zimmer created a version of the song for the opening sequence of the 1990 film Bird on a Wire.
- In the third season episode of The Simpsons "Bart the Lover" from 1992, the Twirl King Yo-Yo company uses the "Age of Aquarius" portion of the song during their school Twirl King Champions yo-yo exhibition assembly.
- The song appears as the fifth track of the second disc of the soundtrack to the 1994 film Forrest Gump.
- In 1998, Burger King used this song to promote their breakfast menu.
- 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 film 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".
- "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" is performed with dancing at the conclusion of the 2005 film The 40-Year-Old Virgin after the lead character's first sexual encounter.
- 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.
- 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.
- "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.
- William Shatner sang a version of "Aquarius" in a commercial for Priceline.com.
- Used in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, 2001, second walk.
- Was played briefly during the Apollo 13 moon mission.[10]
- A portion of the song was used in the 2011 FX TV series American Horror Story second episode's opening scene.
See also
References
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|
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"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" performed by The 5th Dimension (Billy Davis, Jr., Florence LaRue, Marilyn McCoo, Lamont McLemore, Ron Townson)
produced by Bones Howe (1970) |
"Bridge over Troubled Water" performed by Simon & Garfunkel (Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon)
produced by Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon & Roy Halee (1971) |
"It's Too Late" performed by Carole King
produced by Lou Adler (1972) |
"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" performed by Roberta Flack
produced by Joel Dorn (1973) |
"Killing Me Softly with His Song" performed by Roberta Flack
produced by Joel Dorn (1974) |
"I Honestly Love You" performed by Olivia Newton-John
produced by John Farrar (1975) |
"Love Will Keep Us Together" performed by Captain & Tennille (Daryl Dragon, Toni Tennille)
produced by Daryl Dragon (1976) |
"This Masquerade" performed by George Benson
produced by Tommy LiPuma (1977) |
"Hotel California" performed by The Eagles (Don Felder, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Randy Meisner, Joe Walsh),
produced by Bill Szymczyk (1978) |
"Just the Way You Are" performed by Billy Joel
produced by Phil Ramone (1979) |
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- Complete list
- (1960s)
- (1970s)
- (1980s)
- (1990s)
- (2000s)
- (2010s)
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