Sunshine – Jonathan Edwards | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#4) and Adult Contemporary (#7); 1972
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Born in Aitkin, Minnesota, Jonathan Edwards grew up in Virginia where he attended military school (his father worked for the FBI), played varsity basketball, and threw himself into music.
By the mid-1960’s, Jon was studying art at Ohio U., and playing in a band with varying names. 1967 found him in Boston, where his band, now called Sugar Creek, released an album titled Please Tell A Friend in 1969.
The album tanked, so Jon, tired of the group’s ever-harder blues sound, adjourned to a lake in Massachusetts where he strummed and composed. After a string of free solo gigs in college dorms and student centers, he recorded an album which included a song called Please Be Mine.
When Please was accidentally erased, Jon rushed in with a new tune, Sunshine, and – since the band had gone home – played all the instruments and sang all the vocal parts. After a drum overdub, the master was done. Sunshine shone for Jon as it rose to #4 in January of 1972, his only chart hit.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Peter Casperson
Lyrics Written by:
- Jonathan Edwards
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).