Sunshine Superman

by

Donovan

Album: Sunshine Superman     Released: 1966

US Chart: 1      UK Chart: 2

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Songfacts:  You can leave comments about the song at the bottom of the page.

Donovan was good friends with The Beatles, and they were both making very innovative and trippy music at the time. Donovan's producer Mickie Most told him not to play this to Paul McCartney under any circumstances, because he knew McCartney would be tempted to do something similar.

Originally, this was subtitled "For John And Paul," a reference to Lennon and McCartney.

Jimmy Page played lead guitar on this. Page was a session musician at the time.

Donovan was recording for Pye Records when he was working on this. Pye also had Mickie Most under contract, but he moved to CBS before the album could be released. This prompted a lawsuit that delayed release of the album, so it didn't come out in the US until September, 1966, and wasn't released in the UK until 1967. This was unfortunate for Donovan, because this would have been considered much more innovative if it was released on schedule.

This was one of the first ever overtly psychedelic Pop records.

This was Donovan's first collaboration with arranger, musician and Jazz fan John Cameron, who developed a new sound for him. Cameron played the harpsichord on this recording.

In the promo for The Beatles "A Day In The Life" you can see a close up of "Sunshine Superman" playing on a spinning turntable.

Donovan had a fleeting love affair with model Linda Lawrence in 1965. He bumped into her four years later and they married in 1970. Donovan said in an interview with The Guardian newspaper May 24, 2005, "Linda's in all the songs. Sunshine Superman, Hampstead Incident, Young Girl Blues... Linda's the muse." (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England, for above 4)

Learn more about Superman in the Song Images.

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Comments:

Donovan re-recorded the song on his 1983 album Lady of the Stars which sold so poorly it was reissued several times even with the title "Sunshine Superman"! Now you know why Donovan's career sank in the eighties!
- Sara , Silver Spring, MD

The song that also mentions Green Lantren another DC Comics hero. Among the artists who have covered it: Jewel (in the I Shot Andy Warhol OST in favor of Mel Torme's rather bizarre version), Rickie Lee Jones on the Party of Five OST, Melba Moore and some group called "The Films" on an album called Songs of Superman.
- Sara , Silver Spring, MD

Early Jimmy Page. Wow, you can tell he matured a lot four years after this song with Zeppelin.
- Pennell , Kansas City, MO

My favourite song of Donovan, very TOP!
- Teresa , Mechelen, Belgium

Singer/violinist Imani Coppola sampled the melody of this song on her lone Top 40 single "Legend of a Cowgirl" (it made only #36 US).
- Benjamin , Milwaukie (Oak Grove), OR

I have heard of both Sunshine and Superman types of acid. is the song named after the LSD? Or is the LSD named after the song?
- Brian , Dnever, CO

I may not always understand what Donovan sings, but I love this song!
- Meredith , Wauwatosa, WI

This hit #1 at the US chart septemper 1966
- Rasmus , Odense, Denmark

'Sunshine' and 'Superman' are the first words in the first and second verses respectively.
- wik , Brooklyn, NY

I distinctly remember seeing a Manhattan Phone Book (white pages) from that era and noticing the bold print name headers on page 1200 or the like being "SUNSHINE" on the left and "SUPERMAN" on the right. I presume Donovan saw this once too, and voila, the song title was born.
- Steven , Concord, MA

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