1985 single by Katrina and the Waves
"
Walking on Sunshine
" is a song written by
Kimberley Rew
for British rock band
Katrina and the Waves
' 1983
eponymous debut full-length album
. The rerecorded version was at first released on the band's 1985
self-titled album
as the album's second
single
and reached No. 4 in Australia, No. 9 in the United States and No. 8 in the United Kingdom. It was the Waves' first American top 40 hit, and their biggest success in the UK until "
Love Shine a Light
" (1997).
Background
[
edit
]
"Walking on Sunshine" was written by the band's guitarist
Kimberley Rew
. "I'd love to say Walking on Sunshine relates to a significant event in my life, like walking out of my front door, seeing a comet and being inspired," he told
The Guardian
in 2015. "But it's just a piece of simple fun, an optimistic song, despite us not being outstandingly cheery people. We were a typical young band, insecure and pessimistic. We didn't have big hair and didn't look anything like a
Motown
-influenced group. We didn't have any credibility or a fanbase in awe of our mystique. We were a second-on-the-bill-at-a-festival-in-Germany pop band. But we had this song."
[5]
The rest of the band did not like the song at first. Lead singer
Katrina Leskanich
thought "it wasn't really us", while bassist Vince de la Cruz found it irritating.
[5]
The sheet music for "Walking on Sunshine" is in the key of
B
♭
major
in standard time with a tempo indication of "bright rock".
[6]
Success
[
edit
]
Katrina and the Waves kept the song's publishing rights, and the royalties that are typically to the songwriter have been divided among the band members. The royalties from airplay and advertisements have been very lucrative; according to a former employee of
EMI
, the song was "the crown jewel in EMI's catalog", and it ranked among EMI's highest earners from advertisements.
[7]
When
Hurricane Katrina
devastated much of the
U.S. Gulf Coast
in 2005, the
MSNBC
program
Countdown with Keith Olbermann
dubbed its coverage of the storm "Katrina and the Waves". The name also appeared in numerous headlines and
blog
postings. A
New York Times
reporter contacted
Katrina Leskanich
, who said: "The first time I opened the paper and saw 'Katrina kills 9,' it was a bit of a shock. ... 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."
[8]
She also expressed her hope that "Walking on Sunshine" would become an anthem for the Gulf Coast's recovery.
[9]
In 2010, the 25th anniversary of the release of "Walking on Sunshine", the band's material was re-released and a re-recorded version of the track was produced.
[10]
A free download of a track from Kimberley Rew's solo album
Bible of Bop
was made available in March 2010 at the band's website.
[11]
In August 2015, the song was acquired by
BMG Rights Management
for £10 million, along with all of the other songs written by Rew and Katrina and the Waves.
[12]
In a 2020 interview, Leskanich said that she believes that the song is going to outlive her.
[13]
Charts
[
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]
Weekly charts
[
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]
|
Year-end charts
[
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]
|
Certifications
[
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]
In popular culture
[
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]
The song is very popular in commercials, and advertisers typically pay $150,000 to $200,000 per year to use the song.
[7]
This song appeared in a mashup with
Beyonce
's "
Halo
" in the popular television show
Glee
, featured in the
Season 1
episode "
Vitamin D
." It was performed by the female members of the glee club New Directions, with featured solos by
Rachel Berry
(
Lea Michele
) and
Mercedes Jones
(
Amber Riley
). It was released as a single on October 7, 2009 through digital download on
iTunes
,
[40]
and debuted on the
Billboard
Hot 100
at number 40
[41]
while reaching number 4 in Ireland,
[42]
number 9 in the UK
[43]
and number 10 in Australia.
[44]
The song is featured as a cover on the dance rhythm game
Just Dance 2023 Edition
. In
Futurama
, it's
Philip J. Fry
's favorite song, and in the
Season 4
episode "
The Sting
", the Planet Express janitor Scruffy plays a bagpipe version at Fry's funeral.
[45]
It is used in a musical scene in the movie
Look Who's Talking
with
John Travolta
. It plays in the opening cutscene of the video game
LEGO City Undercover
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"New Singles".
Music Week
. 13 April 1985. p. 16.
- ^
Perone, James E. (2018).
Listen to New Wave Rock! Exploring a Musical Genre
.
Greenwood
. p. 23.
ISBN
978-1-4408-5968-7
.
- ^
Eder, Bruce.
"Katrina & the Waves ? Artist Biography"
. AllMusic
. Retrieved
24 January
2017
.
It peaked at number 28 in England and number 25 in America (the highest chart placement up to that time by any ex-member of the Soft Boys), and yielded the Top Ten U.S./U.K. hit "Walking on Sunshine," one of the more memorable pop/rock songs of the decade.
- ^
Smay, David (2001). "Bubblegum & New Wave". In Cooper, Kim; Smay, David (eds.).
Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth
. Los Angeles:
Feral House
. pp. 248?250.
- ^
a
b
Simpson, Dave (1 September 2015).
"Katrina and the Waves: how we made Walking on Sunshine"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
5 September
2022
.
- ^
"Digital sheet music ? Walking on Sunshine"
. Musicnotes.com.
- ^
a
b
Blair, Elizabeth (24 May 2010).
"
'Walking On Sunshine': Living on a Song"
.
NPR Music
. Retrieved
24 May
2010
.
- ^
McElroy, Steven (1 September 2005).
"Arts, Briefly"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
9 September
2017
.
- ^
Salkin, Allen (11 September 2005).
"What's in a Name, Katrinas?"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
20 September
2017
.
- ^
"Kimberley Rew Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Walking on Sunshine with Four Retro Releases"
.
antiMusic
. 2 March 2010
. Retrieved
13 March
2012
.
- ^
"Katrina & The Waves"
.
Katrinaandthewaves.net
. Retrieved
3 March
2012
.
- ^
"
'Walking on Sunshine' bought by BMG for £10m"
.
The Irish Times
. 6 August 2015
. Retrieved
6 August
2015
.
- ^
Pingitore, Silvia (26 August 2020).
"Remember 'Walking on Sunshine'? Interview with 1980s music legend Katrina and the Waves"
.
the-shortlisted.co.uk
. Retrieved
18 November
2021
.
- ^
"Hits of the World"
.
Billboard
. Vol. 97, no. 26. 29 June 1985. p. 62.
ISSN
0006-2510
.
- ^
"
Top RPM Singles: Issue 0539
."
RPM
.
Library and Archives Canada
. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^
"
Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 9317
."
RPM
.
Library and Archives Canada
. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^
"European Hot 100 Singles".
Eurotipsheet
. Vol. 2, no. 23. 10 June 1985. p. 12.
- ^
Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Katrina & The Waves".
Sisaltaa hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittajat Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960?30.6.2021
(PDF)
(in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtio Otava. p. 126
. Retrieved
29 June
2022
.
- ^
"
The Irish Charts ? Search Results ? Walking on Sunshine"
.
Irish Singles Chart
. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^
"
Katrina And The Waves ? Walking On Sunshine"
.
Top 40 Singles
. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^
"
Katrina And The Waves ? Walking On Sunshine"
.
Singles Top 100
. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^
"
Katrina And The Waves ? Walking On Sunshine"
.
Swiss Singles Chart
. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^
"Official Singles Chart Top 100"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Katrina & the Waves ? Awards"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
17 June
2013
.
- ^
"CASH BOX Top 100 Singles ? Week ending JUNE 15, 1985"
.
Cash Box
. Archived from
the original
on 18 September 2012.
- ^
"
Offiziellecharts.de ? Katrina And The Waves ? Walking On Sunshine"
(in German)
.
GfK Entertainment charts
. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^
"Official Singles Chart Top 100"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^
"
Listy bestsellerow, wyro?nienia :: Zwi?zek Producentow Audio-Video"
.
Polish Airplay Top 100
. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
- ^
"Kent Music Report No 599 ? 30 December 1985 > National Top 100 Singles for 1985"
.
Kent Music Report
. Retrieved
January 23,
2023
– via
Imgur
.
- ^
"Forum ? ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts ? Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts ? 1980s"
. Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien
. Retrieved
12 July
2014
.
- ^
"RPM's Top 100 Singles of 1985"
.
RPM
. Vol. 43, no. 16.
Library and Archives Canada
. 28 December 1985. Archived from
the original
on 21 September 2013
. Retrieved
12 July
2014
.
- ^
"Top 100 Hits for 1985"
.
The Longbored Surfer
. Retrieved
12 July
2014
.
- ^
"The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1985"
.
Cash Box
. Archived from
the original
on 1 October 2012.
- ^
"Canadian single certifications ? Katrina and the Waves ? Walking on sunshine"
.
Music Canada
. Retrieved
22 June
2018
.
- ^
"Danish single certifications ? Katrina & the Waves ? Walking on Sunshine"
.
IFPI Danmark
. Retrieved
August 16,
2022
.
- ^
"Italian single certifications ? Katrina & the Waves ? Walking on Sunshine"
(in Italian).
Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana
. Retrieved
3 September
2018
.
Select "2018" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Walking on Sunshine" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
- ^
"Portuguese single certifications ? Katrina & the Waves ? Walking on Sunshine"
(PDF)
(in Portuguese).
Associacao Fonografica Portuguesa
. Retrieved
23 May
2022
.
- ^
"British single certifications ? Katrina & the Waves ? Walking on Sunshine"
.
British Phonographic Industry
. Retrieved
21 July
2023
.
- ^
"Capitol/EMI - Exciting Prospects '86"
(PDF)
.
Music & Media
. 23 December 1985. p. 4
. Retrieved
26 June
2023
.
- ^
"
"Glee" rules the iTunes charts with astounding 1.1 million downloads"
(Press release).
Fox Broadcasting Company
. 6 October 2009. Archived from
the original
on 29 February 2012.
- ^
Pietroluongo, Silvio (15 October 2009).
"
'Britney Spears, Justin Bieber Score Top Hot 100 Debuts"
. Retrieved
9 January
2022
.
- ^
"The Irish Charts ? Search Results ? Walking on Sunshine"
.
Irishcharts.ie
. Retrieved
5 February
2022
.
- ^
"Official Singles Chart Top 100: 14 February 2010 ? 20 February 2010"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved
5 February
2022
.
- ^
"Glee Cast ? Halo / Walking on Sunshine"
.
Australian-charts.com
. Retrieved
5 February
2022
.
- ^
"Episode 65: The Sting"
.
IGN
.
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Singles
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Studio albums
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Extended plays
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Singles
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