A rare article about the history of the song “Sunshine of Your Love” by the rock band Cream does not do without a story about the Jimi Hendrix Experience performance on the show A Happening for Lulu. The BBC broadcast it live in January 1969.
The Hendrix team was supposed to end the program with the famous track “Hey Joe” with the participation of Lulu herself, but Jimi corrected the idea of the organizers.
In the middle of the composition, the musicians stopped together, and Hendrix said:
We’d like to stop playing this nonsense and dedicate a song to Cream, no matter what bands they might be in.
They then played a cover version of “Sunshine of Your Love”. So the participants of the Jimi Hendix Experience paid tribute to the already broken team and the work that was born thanks to Jimi himself.
History of Sunshine of You Love
On January 29, 1967, bassist Jack Bruce attended a Hendrix concert at London’s Saville Theatre, along with colleagues from Cream. Being impressed by the music of the virtuoso guitarist, he composed a riff that formed the basis of the future hit.
Eric Clapton remembers:
He [Джими Хендрикс] dazzlingly played at that concert. I don’t think Jack had heard it before… And when he saw it that night, right after the gig, he went home and wrote a riff. It was definitely Jimi’s dedication. And then we wrote a song over it.
Rolling Stone 1988
The lyrics to “Sunshine of Your Love” were written by poet Pete Brown. He talked about the history of the composition:
We worked all night and finished some stuff. We didn’t have much time to write for Cream, but we managed to find free time and Jack came up with the riff. He played double bass. He kept the double bass because he used to be a jazz musician. They played double bass and asked, “How about this?” and played the famous riff. I looked out the window and wrote down: “It’s getting near dawn”. Here’s how it happened. Actually, it’s all true, really real stuff.
songfacts.com
After listening to a rough cut of the song, Eric Clapton wrote the lyrics for the chorus and composed the guitar solo.
Track recording
Working on the song in the studio, the members of the Cream group could not achieve the desired result for a long time. Sound designer Tom Dowd recalled the catch:
They just didn’t have the rapport that they had on so many other songs.
Tom Dowd and the Language of Music
Dowd prompted the musicians to look to the rhythms of Native American music from American Westerns for inspiration. This helped to get out of the stupor and record the composition.
Release and achievements
The song was included in the album “Disraeli Gears”, released in November 1967. It was released as a single that peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number three on the Canadian RPM 100.
By September 1968, over a million copies of the record had been sold.
Several reputable publications, including Rolling Stone, VH1 and Q, placed the song on the lists of the best songs.
Check out the music video for “Sunshine of Your Love” by Cream.
The track has been covered by various artists, including Jimi Hendrix. His producer Eddie Kramer recalled:
Jimi loved Cream, he loved Eric Clapton. It was an amazing song. He loved to play it and reveled in it when he was in the right mood.
The Globe
Next is the video clip of “Sunshine of Your Love” from the Jimi Hendrix concert in Stockholm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp42JpL08Jg
Interesting Facts
- Jack Bruce called “Sunshine of Your Love” his favorite of his songs.
Lyrics
Sunshine of Your Love
CreamTranslation of the song
Sunshine of Your Love
CreamIt’s getting near dawn,
When lights close their tired eyes
I’ll soon be with you my love,
To give you my dawn surprise
I’ll be with you darling soon
I’ll be with you when the stars start falling
When the lanterns close their tired eyes
I’ll be with you soon my love
To surprise you at dawn
I’ll be with you soon darling
I’ll be with you when the Chorus stars begin to fall:
I’ve been waiting so long
To be where I’m going
In the sunshine of your love
I’ve been waiting for so long
When I’m where I’m going
In the sunshine of your love, I’m with you my love
The light’s shining through on you
Yes, I’m with you my love
It’s the morning and just we two
I’ll stay with you darling now
I’ll stay with you till my seas are dried up
You are in the sunshine
Yes, I’m with you, my love
It’s morning now and we’re just the two of us
Now I’ll be with you darling
I’ll be with you until my seas dry upChorusChorusVerse 2Verse 2ChorusChorus
Interesting Facts
Booker T. Jones and Otis Reding heard it at Atlantic Studios and told me it was going to be a hit.
Jack Bruce, Rolling Stone
It is based on the bass riff. And when you walk into a record store, that’s the song the guys always play, checking the guitar.
Jack Bruce, Heaven
