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"Sunshine of Your Love" is a 1967 song by the British rock band
Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...
. With elements of
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest ha ...
,
psychedelia Psychedelia refers to the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic music and style of dress during that era. This was primarily generated by people who used psychedelic ...
, and
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...
, it is one of Cream's best known and most popular songs. Cream bassist and vocalist
Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disband ...
based it on a distinctive bass
riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...
he developed after attending a
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
concert. Guitarist
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...
and lyricist
Pete Brown Peter Ronald Brown (born 25 December 1940) is an English performance poet, lyricist, and singer best known for his collaborations with Cream and Jack Bruce.Colin Larkin, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'', (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), , p. 80 Br ...
later contributed to the song and drummer
Ginger Baker Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and African rhythms and pi ...
plays a distinctive
tom-tom drum A tom drum is a cylindrical drum with no snares, named from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala language. It was added to the drum kit in the early part of the 20th century. Most toms range in size between in diameter, though floor toms can go a ...
rhythm. The song was included on Cream's best-selling second album ''
Disraeli Gears ''Disraeli Gears'' is the second studio album by the British rock band Cream. It was released in November 1967 and reached No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart. Search "Cream" in ''Name of Artist'', and No. 1 on the Swedish and Finnish charts. The alb ...
'' in November 1967.
Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the comp ...
, the group's American label, was initially unsure of the song's potential. After recommendations by other label-affiliated artists, it released an edited single version in December 1967. The song became Cream's first and highest charting American single and one of the most popular singles of 1968. In September 1968, it became a modest chart hit after being released in the UK. Cream performed "Sunshine of Your Love" regularly in concert and several live recordings have been issued, including on the ''
Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005 ''Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005'' is a live album by the British rock band Cream, recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in 2005 during the band's reunion tour. As the title implies, the recording includes songs from their four reunion s ...
'' reunion album and video. Hendrix performed faster instrumental versions of the song, which he often dedicated to Cream. Several rock journals have placed the song on their greatest song lists, such as ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'', '' Q'' magazine, and VH1. The
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...
included it on its list of the " 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll".


Composition

In early 1967, Cream were writing and rehearsing songs for a second album. Their December 1966 debut album, '' Fresh Cream'', was a mix of updated
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...
numbers and pop-oriented rock songs. Inspired by recent developments in rock music, the group began pursuing a more overtly psychedelic direction. "Sunshine of Your Love" began as a bass phrase or riff developed by Cream bassist
Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disband ...
. Cream attended a concert on 29 January 1967 by
the Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
at the Saville Theatre in London. Cream guitarist
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...
elaborated in a 1988 ''Rolling Stone'' magazine interview: Music writers Covach and Boone describe the riff as blues-derived, which uses a minor blues pentatonic scale with an added flattened fifth note (or common
blues scale Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the African- ...
). The song follows a blues chord progression (I–IV–I) during the first eight bars. Brown had a difficult time writing lyrics that fit the riff. After an all-night session, Bruce played it on a standup bass while lyricist
Pete Brown Peter Ronald Brown (born 25 December 1940) is an English performance poet, lyricist, and singer best known for his collaborations with Cream and Jack Bruce.Colin Larkin, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'', (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), , p. 80 Br ...
was staring out the window. Slowly, he started to write "It's getting near dawn and lights close their tired eyes", which is used in the first verse. Later, to break up the rhythm, Clapton wrote a refrain which also yielded the song's title. It consists of eight-
bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...
sections using three chords, when the key shifts to the V chord (I = V): A
bootleg recording A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. Making and distributing such recordings is known as ''bootlegging''. Recordings may be copied and trade ...
from the Ricky-Tick club in London before Cream recorded the song in the studio, shows "Sunshine of Your Love" with a beat common to rock for the period. Cream drummer
Ginger Baker Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and African rhythms and pi ...
compared it to the uptempo "Hey Now, Princess", another Bruce/Brown composition Cream recorded in March. He said that he advised Bruce to slow it down and came up with the distinctive drum pattern which emphasises beats one and three (typical rock drumming favours beats two and four and is known as the
backbeat In music and music theory, the beat is the basic unit of time, the pulse (regularly repeating event), of the ''mensural level'' (or ''beat level''). The beat is often defined as the rhythm listeners would tap their toes to when listening to a p ...
). However, Bruce and
recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproductio ...
Tom Dowd Thomas John Dowd (October 20, 1925 – October 27, 2002) was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multitrack recording method. Dowd worked on a veritable "who's who" of recording ...
dispute Baker's claim, which they say he only made much later. Dowd later explained


Recording

Cream performed their first American concerts in New York City in 1967.
Robert Stigwood Robert Colin Stigwood (16 April 1934 – 4 January 2016) was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer and impresario, best known for managing Cream (band), Cream, Andy Gibb and the Bee Gees, theatrical productions ...
, the group's manager, booked them for a
Murray the K Murray Kaufman (February 14, 1922 – February 21, 1982), professionally known as Murray the K, was an influential New York City rock and roll impresario and disc jockey of the 1950s, '60s and '70s. During the early days of Beatlemania, he freque ...
package show at the RKO Manhattan Theatre from 25 March to 2 April 1967. When it was finished, Stigwood arranged for a recording session with
Ahmet Ertegun Ahmet Ertegun (, Turkish spelling: Ahmet Ertegün; ; – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist. Ertegun was the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. He discovered and ch ...
at
Atlantic Studios Atlantic Studios was the recording studio of Atlantic Records. Although this recording studio was located at 1841 Broadway (at the corner of 60th Street), in New York City, Atlantic Recording Studios was initially located at 234 West 56th Street fr ...
. Bruce and Brown had a number of new songs in various stages of development and entered the studio on 3 April. Initially, Ertegun assigned Dowd to work with the trio. Dowd had worked with many of the biggest
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
and
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
musicians in the 1950s and 1960s. However, Cream was his first exposure to extreme volume levels. The group arrived at Atlantic with their concert setup of multiple
Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...
amplifiers (each 100 watts). Dowd was surprised by the amount of equipment accompanying the trio: "They recorded at ear-shattering level... Everyone I'd worked with before was using Fender Deluxes bout 20 wattsor Twins bout 80 watts��six- and seven-piece bands that didn't play as loud as this three piece did." Ertegun brought in producer
Felix Pappalardi Felix A. Pappalardi Jr. (December 30, 1939 – April 17, 1983) was an American music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bassist. He is best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist of the band Mountain, whose song "Mississippi Queen" peaked at ...
, who he believed could work as a go-between with the group and Dowd. They began with " Strange Brew", "
Tales of Brave Ulysses "Tales of Brave Ulysses" is a song recorded in 1967 by British group Cream. It was released as the B-side to the "Strange Brew" single in June 1967. In November, the song was included on Cream's second album, ''Disraeli Gears''. The song featu ...
", and "Sunshine of Your Love". Ertegun previewed the demos and was unhappy, expecting more blues-based material that was found on ''Fresh Cream''.
Jerry Wexler Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...
, Ertegun's Atlantic Records partner, reportedly went as far as to call it "psychedelic hogwash". However,
Booker T. Jones Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. (born November 12, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.'s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known art ...
(producer and keyboardist of Booker T. & the M.G.'s) and
Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...
(both whose
Stax Streaming API for XML (StAX) is an application programming interface ( API) to read and write XML documents, originating from the Java programming language community. Traditionally, XML APIs are either: * DOM based - the entire document is read i ...
recordings at the time were distributed by Atco parent Atlantic) gave "Sunshine of Your Love" their wholehearted approval. Differences were smoothed over by the time Cream returned in May 1967 to finish recording the songs for ''Disraeli Gears''. With Pappalardi and Dowd, work continued on "Sunshine of Your Love". For his guitar solo, Clapton used a sound known as the "woman tone", which is described as "smooth, dark, singing, sustaining", by author Mitch Gallagher. The actual guitar that Clapton used has been identified as a 1964
Gibson SG The Gibson SG is a solid-body electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1961 as the Gibson Les Paul SG. It remains in production today in many variations of the initial design. The SG (where "SG" refers to Solid-Body Guitar) Standard is Gi ...
, known as " the Fool". It is one of the best-known examples of the woman tone and quotes the melody from the perennial pop standard "
Blue Moon A blue moon is an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year: the third of four full moons in a season. The phrase in modern usage has nothing to do with the actual color of the Moon, although a visually blue Moon (the Moon ...
". By using the song's major pentatonic scale, Clapton provides a contrast with the riff's blues scale. A writer for the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...
describes this as "creating a balance between the sun and the moon". Baker plays much of the song on the tom-toms, described as sounding African (Schumacher) and Native American (Shapiro). Covach and Boone note he "concentrates on the lower tom sounds and uses an articulation and sound reminiscent of the jazz drumming in the Woody Herman or Benny Goodman bands".


Releases and charts

"Sunshine of Your Love" was included as the second track on ''Disraeli Gears'', which was released in November 1967 by
Reaction Records Reaction Records was an independent British record label, run by music executive Robert Stigwood in 1966 and 1967. Although Reaction released only three albums, one EP and eighteen singles in its brief existence, its roster included two of t ...
in the UK and
Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the comp ...
in the US. At first, Atco did not see the song as a single ("Strange Brew", backed with "Tales of Brave Ulysses" had been released as a single in June 1967). However, in December 1967, the label issued an edited version of the song as the second single from the album, backed with "
SWLABR "SWLABR" is a song recorded by the British rock band Cream in 1967. It first appeared on the album '' Disraeli Gears'' (1967). Later, the song was the B-side to Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" single. Background The poet Pete Brown wrote the w ...
" (the running time was trimmed from 4:08 to 3:03). It entered ''Billboard'' magazine's
Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
chart on 13 January 1968, reaching number 36 during its initial 14-week run. The record re-entered the chart on 6 July 1968 and reached number five on 31 August 1968. In the UK, the single was not released until September 1968, after Cream had announced their impending breakup.
Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...
issued the UK single, which reached number 25 in the charts. The
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...
(RIAA)
certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...
the single gold on 26 September 1968, signifying sales in excess of 1,000,000 copies. In the US, it became one of the best selling singles of 1968 and one of the best-selling at the time for the Atlantic group of labels. As one of Cream's most popular songs, several of the group's compilation albums include the full-length studio recording, such as ''
Best of Cream ''Best of Cream'' is a compilation album of material recorded from 1966 to 1968 by the rock band Cream, and released shortly after their disbanding. The album was originally released by Cream's U.S. label Atco ( Atlantic) Records (catalog no. SD ...
'', '' Heavy Cream'', ''
The Very Best of Cream ''The Very Best of Cream'' is a 1995 compilation album by the British rock band Cream. Track listing Personnel *Ginger Baker – drums, percussion, vocals * Jack Bruce – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, organ, harmonica, cello ...
'', and the boxed set ''
Those Were the Days Those Were the Days may refer to: Music Albums * ''Those Were the Days'' (Johnny Mathis album) (1968) * ''Those Were the Days'' (Cream album) (1997) * ''Those Were the Days'' (Dolly Parton album) (2005) * '' Those Were the Days – The Best of L ...
''. In the United Kingdom, the
British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...
(BPI) certified the song gold in September 2022, denoting sales and streaming figures exceeding 400,000 units.


Recognition and influence

In 2004, the song ranked number 65 on ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' magazine's list of the "
500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine '' Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 i ...
". In March 2005, ''Q'' magazine placed "Sunshine of Your Love" at number 19 on its list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever!" In 2009, VH1 included it at number 44 on its list of the "Top 100 Hard Rock Songs".
Alt URL
/ref> The song is on the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...
's list of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". Ertegun later admitted that, while his tastes ran more to
Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...
(Clapton had recorded Johnson's " Ramblin' on My Mind" with
John Mayall John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among it ...
, "
Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...
" with the Powerhouse, and " Four Until Late" with Cream), Cream's and Pappalardi's vision resulted in songs which had a much larger impact on the rock audiences of the time. Covach and Boone identified "Sunshine of Your Love" as foreshadowing future trends in rock:


Other recordings

Several live recordings of "Sunshine of Your Love" have been issued on Cream albums. These include a 24 October 1967 recording by the BBC ('' BBC Sessions''), 9 March 1968 at the
Winterland Ballroom Winterland Ballroom (more commonly known as Winterland Arena or simply Winterland) was an ice skating rink and music venue in San Francisco, California. The arena was located at the corner of Post Street and Steiner Street. It was converted for ...
(''
Live Cream Volume II ''Live Cream Volume II'' is the second live album by the British rock band Cream, released in March 1972 by Polydor Records (Atco Records in the US). This album contains six tracks recorded at various performances from 9 March to 4 October 196 ...
''), and 26 November 1968 at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
('' Cream's Farewell Concert''). A recording from Cream's reunion show on 3 May 2005 is included on ''Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005''. During their post-Cream careers, Clapton and Bruce recorded several live performances of the song. A variety of musicians have recorded "Sunshine of Your Love". After Cream announced their breakup, Hendrix often performed it in concert as a tribute to the group, apparently unaware that they had dedicated the song to him. He played it as an instrumental and sometimes as part of a medley. A performance by the
Experience Experience refers to conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these conscious processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience involv ...
on 4 January 1969 is one of the best-known. During the live broadcast of ''A Happening for Lulu'', a music variety show hosted by pop singer
Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, ...
on
BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
, the Experience suddenly broke with the programme. Hendrix announced, "We'd like to stop playing this rubbish Hey Joe"and dedicate a song to the Cream, regardless of what kind of group they may be in – dedicate this to Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Jack Bruce". As their performance of "Sunshine of Your Love" ran into the time allotted for Lulu's closing number, the show's producer and staff were frantically signalling for the Experience to stop. However, they continued playing and the show ended on a fade. Hendrix later apologised to Lulu, who thought the performance made for a great television moment.


Notes

Footnotes Citations References * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sunshine of Your Love 1967 songs 1968 singles Cream (band) songs Songs written by Eric Clapton Songs written by Jack Bruce Song recordings produced by Felix Pappalardi Atco Records singles Polydor Records singles Songs with lyrics by Pete Brown