Sept 3rd in Pop History
On this day, September 3rd, in:
• 1966 - Donovan's Sunshine Superman took over # 1 from the Lovin' Spoonful, which dropped to # 2 with Summer In The City
The first psychedelic hit ever to top Billboard’s pop chart was Sunshine Superman, by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan Leitch, known simply by his first name. Written as a valentine to Linda Lawrence, his love interest, the song was recorded in December 1965 and released in July ’66, climbing to # 1 in September.
Sunshine Superman on Spotify:
Donovan, a Scottish singer, songwriter and guitarist, developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock, and calypso styles into his own unique blend. He has lived in Scotland, London, California, and since at least 2008 in, County Cork, Ireland, with his family. Emerging from the British folk scene, Donovan reached fame in the United Kingdom in early 1965 with live performances on the pop TV series Ready Steady Go! He went on to have a major influence on the emerging of psychedelic rock and was part of the British Invasion, and the flower power music counter culture.
Regarding Sunshine Superman, in an interview with Marc Myers in 2017, Donovan commented on the title of the song:
“Sunshine” was indeed slang for LSD, but the reference was actually about the sun coming through my flat’s window. “Superman” had nothing to do with the superhero or physical power. It’s a reference to the book “Thus Spake Zarathustra,” by Friedrich Nietzsche, who wrote about the evolution of consciousness to reach a higher superman state. “Everybody’s hustlin’ just to have a little scene” was about the attention that fame attracts and people who want to be part of that.”
On May 10, 2021, the day of his 75th birthday, Donovan released the new track I Am the Shaman, the song produced by noted 3 time Academy Award nominee David Lynch (of Twin Peaks fame), who also directed the accompanying video.
——————————————————————————
Also, on this day, September 3rd, in:
• 1966 - The Supremes stood on top of the R&B chart with You Can't Hurry Love
• 1977 - Rumours by Fleetwood Mac spent its 17th week at # 1 on the Album chart, one shy of the all-time Rock Era record by More of the Monkees
• 1982 - The Police, Talking Heads, the B-52's, Oingo Boingo, the English Beat and the Ramones performed on the opening day of the three-day US Festival in San Bernadino, California. The Festival attracted 400,000 people
• 1994 - The Soundtrack to The Lion King held on to # 1 for the eighth straight week on the Album chart while the Soundtrack to Forrest Gump sat at # 2
