"Walking on Sunshine" is a song written by Kimberley Rew for Katrina and the Waves' 1983 eponymous debut full-length album. The re-recorded 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 US top 40 hit, and their biggest success in the United Kingdom until "Love Shine a Light" (1997). Conceived of as a ballad, Katrina decided to belt the song out.
Royalties from airplay and advertisements of "Walking on Sunshine" have been extremely high. Katrina and the Waves kept the publishing rights and the royalties that typically go to the songwriter have been divided among the band members. Estimates are the song has earned $1 million per year for the ten years ending in 2010. According to a former employee of EMI, "Walking on Sunshine was the crown jewel in EMI's catalog," and that it was one of EMI's biggest earners from advertisers.
2010 was the 25th anniversary of the release of "Walking on Sunshine" and a series of back-catalog re-releases and a re-recorded version of the track were released at the time. A free download of one of the tracks from Kimberley Rew's solo album Bible of Bop was given away in March 2010 from the band's website.
In August 2015, the song was acquired by BMG Rights Management for £10 million, along with all the other songs written by Kimberley Rew and Katrina and the Waves.
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Music video
The music video opens with a Docklands alley, the Waves huddling whilst Katrina dances about above them. The video proceeds to depict the band performing live at a United Kingdom concert. Katrina herself is either with or not with them, but either dancing in a disused Docklands warehouse, or walking through Hyde Park on a cloudy day, past a churchyard, Tower Bridge, and the south bank of the Thames. She catches up with the others and feeds ducks (one of them eats the leftovers, referring to the Waves). The four all repair to a backstage dressing room and prepare for a concert.
Chart performance
Dolly Parton cover
In 1996, Dolly Parton included a bluegrass version of "Walking on Sunshine" on her album of covers, Treasures, stating in interviews to promote the album, as well as her CBS TV special to promote the album, that she had long loved the song. In 1997, a dance remix of Parton's version was released.
Aly & AJ cover
Matthew Gerrard produced a cover of "Walking on Sunshine" for American pop rock duo Aly & AJ's debut album, Into the Rush. The song was released as the album's fourth single on June 22, 2005 (see 2005 in music). It was also used to promote the film Herbie: Fully Loaded and makes an appearance on the movie soundtrack. The single's video features Aly & AJ performing and is intercut with clips from the film Herbie: Fully Loaded. The song was shortened down to one minute and 55 seconds (1:55), as it is used for the video. This song was also featured in the 2010 film Ramona and Beezus and the 2011 film Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure.
Track listings
Release history
Other cover versions
- In seasons 2-3 (1985-1987) of Kids Incorporated, Gloria/Stacy covered this song.
- In 1993, Clifford, The Great Gonzo, and Rizzo the Rat covered the song for the album Muppet Beach Party.
- In 1994, Macedonian alternative rock band Last Expedition covered it as Dojdi so mene on the album Izgubeni likovi in 1994.
- The same year, Argentine singer-songwriter Diego Torres recorded a version of the song with lyrics in Spanish named Por la vereda del sol for his album Tratar de Estar Mejor (1994)
- The song was covered by Jeffries Fan Club on their debut album Feelin' Sorry...For All the Hearts We've Broken in 1997.
- Christian ska bands Ghoti Hook and The Insyderz recorded covers of "Walking on Sunshine" in 1998 and 2001, respectively.
- In 2003, Nikki Cleary covered the song on her album Nikki Cleary.
- In 2004, German pop group Preluders covered the song on their album Prelude to History.
- In 2007, pop group Girl Authority covered the song on Road Trip.
- Christian pop group Jump5 recorded a version on their 2003 album Accelerate. This cover was also on the soundtrack to the movie Ella Enchanted.
- In 2009, the song was also featured in a mash-up with "Halo" by Beyoncé on the TV show Glee.
- In 2011, the song was covered by the last 7 in Series 8 of the UK X Factor.
- In 2012, Abandon covered the song on - The Covers EP.
- In 2015, Pomplamoose covered it on their album Besides.
Appearances in popular culture
The song is very popular in commercials, and advertisers typically pay $150,000 to $200,000 per year to use the song. It has also been featured in several films, including Ask Max (1986), The Secret of My Success (1987), Look Who's Talking (1989), Race the Sun (1996), Bean (1997), American Psycho (2000), High Fidelity (2000), Daddy Day Care (2003), Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005), Scandal Makers (2008), Moon (2009) and Camille Rewinds (2012). It has been played on the TV shows Gilmore Girls (as well as sung by character Paris Geller), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Prison Break, Sports Night, The Drew Carey Show and twice on Supernatural. It was also featured in an episode of the Netflix series BoJack Horseman.
In television, it is the favorite song of the character Phillip J. Fry in the animated TV series Futurama. The song is also featured in the video game series Lego Rock Band, SingStar and Band Hero. The song was a theme tune of The Stephanie Miller Show on radio. The song also appears in the intro and credits of the game Lego City Undercover. The song is also featured in M1 TVC. From 2009 to 2012, Nick Jr. had used the song in promos for the series Ni Hao, Kai-Lan.
In 2017 the song was also referenced in the HBO series Silicon Valley in which the fictional company Pied Piper was threatened with a lawsuit from a "copyright troll" who in the past had successfully sued Katrina and the Waves for the song's likening to the fictional "Cancion de Amores", a song which was in reality a Mexican Mariachi style Spanish language cover of the original.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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