Walking on Sunshine (song)
3517669
224742009
2008-07-10T05:55:44Z
24.236.175.92
/* Appearances in Popular Culture */
{{Unreferenced|date=October 2007}}
{{Infobox Single |
| Name = Walking on Sunshine
| Cover = Walkingonsunshine.jpg
| Artist = [[Katrina and the Waves]]
| from Album = [[Walking on Sunshine (Katrina and the Waves album)|Walking on Sunshine]]
| Released = 1985
| Format = [[CD single]]
| Recorded =
| Genre = [[Pop music|Pop]]
| Length = 4:00
| Label = [[Attic Records|Attic]]
| Writer = [[Kimberley Rew]]
| Producer =
| Certification =
| Last single = "Que Te Queiro"<br/>(1984)
| This single = "'''Walking on Sunshine'''"<br/>(1985)
| Next single = "Do You Want Crying"<br/>(1985)
}}
{{Infobox Single |
| Name = Walking on Sunshine
| Cover =
| Artist = [[Aly & AJ]]
| from Album = [[Into the Rush]]
| Released = 2005
| Format = [[Promotional recording|Promo single]]<br>[[Radio Disney]] single
| Recorded = 2005
| Genre = [[Pop music|Pop]]
| Length = 4:00
| Label = [[Hollywood Records|Hollywood]]
| Writer = [[Kimberley Rew]]
| Producer =
| Certification =
| Chronology = [[Aly & AJ]] minor singles
| Last single = "[[No One (Aly & AJ song)|No One]]"<br/>(2005)
| This single = "'''Walking on Sunshine'''"<br/>(2005)
| Next single = "[[Rush (Aly & AJ song)|Rush]]"<br/>(2005)
}}
"'''Walking on Sunshine'''" is a song written by [[Kimberley Rew]] for [[Katrina and the Waves]]' [[Walking on Sunshine (Katrina and the Waves album)|second album of the same name]]. A rerecorded version was released on the band's [[1985]] [[Katrina and the Waves (album)|self-titled album]] as the album's second [[single (music)|single]] (see [[1985 in music]]) and reached #4 in [[Australia]] and #9 in the [[United States]] and #8 in the [[United Kingdom]]. It is the Waves' first U.S. top forty hit, and their biggest success in the UK until "[[Love Shine a Light]]" (1997).
This is ''not'' the first song called "Walking on Sunshine", nor is the album the first album to have that title. The first song and album to be called "Walking on Sunshine" was an [[Eddy Grant]] album and single that came out in 1979 (see ''[[Walking on Sunshine (Eddy Grant album)]]''), six years before the [[Katrina and the Waves]] album appeared. Despite sharing the same title, the two album-and-single-pairs are unrelated to each other; the Katrina and the Waves single is ''not'' a cover of the Eddy Grant single, which was sung in the genre of [[reggae]]. While both songs were successful, the Katrina and the Waves single achieved more popularity.
In [[2007]], pop group [[Girl Authority]] covered the song on ''[[Road Trip (album)|Road Trip]]''. [[Matthew Gerrard]] produced a [[cover version|cover]] of the song for singing duo [[Aly & AJ]]'s debut album, ''[[Into the Rush]]''. It was released as the album's third [[single (music)|single]] in [[2005]] (see [[2005 in music]]), and it was also used to promote the film ''[[Herbie: Fully Loaded]]'' (see [[Herbie: Fully Loaded (soundtrack)]]). The single's [[music video|video]] features Aly & AJ performing, and is intercut with clips from the film ''[[Herbie: Fully Loaded]]''. Only one minute and fifty-five seconds of the song is used for the video.
==Hurricane "Katrina"==
In [[2005]], a storm named [[Hurricane Katrina]] devastated much of the [[Gulf Coast]], including the city of [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]]. As the Waves lead singer [[Katrina Leskanich]] now shares her name with the devastation, she was quoted in the ''[[New York Times]]'' as saying the following:
<blockquote>"The first time I opened the paper and saw 'Katrina kills 9 million,' it was a bit of a shock. It's a very sad situation, but I'm sure the strength and good will of 'Walking on Sunshine' will turn it around. 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. But I don't think I was responsible."</blockquote>
The song was, in fact, widely played in New Orleans and throughout the Gulf Coast in the months after the storm.{{Fact|date=April 2008}} In fact, [[MSNBC]] dubbed their coverage of the storm "Katrina and the waves", referring to the storm itself and its storm surge, and that name also appeared in numerous headlines and [[blog]] posts.{{Fact|date=June 2008}}
==Appearances in Popular Culture==
*Song played prominently in [[Look Who's Talking]] (1989)
* The character Barry played by [[Jack Black]] in the movie [[High Fidelity (film)|High Fidelity]] (2000) plays this song on a cassette tape.
* [[Phillip J. Fry|Fry]] from [[Futurama]] sings this song occasionally and his dog Seymour was able to bark/sing lines of it. It was prominately used in the episode [[Jurassic Bark]], where Fry teaches Seymour how to bark along with the song.
* [[Movistar]] ([[Spain]]'s mobile company) used the song in the commercials announcing the acquisition of [[Bell South]].
* The song was used by [[Telefónica]] to announce the takeover of [[BellSouth]]'s Latin America division.
* [[Fisher Price]] uses the song like a jingle for their TV commercials to promote its products.
* [[Paris Geller]] of ''[[Gilmore Girls]]'' sings an off-key version of the chorus into a [[hairbrush]] at the beginning of an episode to celebrate her budding relationship with her boyfriend Doyle.
* A sound-alike instrumental version of the song with a [[key change]] to address copyright concerns was used by [[NBC]] in the 90s and early 2000s in promotional ads for their theatrical and [[television movie|TV movie]] premieres. The differing version was mostly used to promote [[romantic comedy|romantic comedies]].
* In "[[Rendezvous (Prison Break episode)|Rendezvous]]", an episode of the television series ''[[Prison Break]]'', [[Brad Bellick]] and Roy Geary play a [[Compact disc|CD]] of "Walking on Sunshine" continuously while beating [[Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell|T-Bag]], in an effort to persuade him to reveal the location of [[Charles Westmoreland]]'s five million dollar stash.
* It is used during establishing shots in the films ''[[The Secret of My Success]]'' (1987).
* The song was also used in the movie [[American Psycho (film)|American Psycho]] (2000) which used many songs from the 1980s for its soundtrack.
* The trailer for [[Bollywood]] film ''[[Jab We Met]]'' featured this song.
* The opening scenes to [[Daddy Day Care]], the 2003 film featuring [[Eddie Murphy]], used the song as their opening track.
*This song was used in ''[[Herbie: Fully Loaded]]''.
*Pop group [[Jump5]] covered the song on their 2003 album [[Accelerate]].
==External links==
*[http://www.tophitsonline.com/lyrics.php?songid=129734 Lyrics]
{{Aly & AJ}}
[[Category:Katrina and the Waves songs]]
[[Category:1983 songs]]
[[Category:1985 singles]]
[[Category:Aly & AJ songs]]
[[Category:2005 singles]]
[[Category:Novelty and fad dances]]
[[Category:1980s fads]]