Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In

"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In"
Single by The 5th Dimension
from the album The Age of Aquarius
Released	March 1969
Genre	Sunshine pop
Length	4:49
Label	Soul City
Producer	Bones Howe
The 5th Dimension singles chronology
"California Soul" (1969) "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (1969) "Wedding Bell Blues" (1969)
Music sample "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In"

"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (commonly called "The Age of Aquarius" or "Let the Sunshine In") is a medley of two songs written for the 1967 musical Hair by James Rado & Gerome Ragni (lyrics), and Galt MacDermot (music), released as a single by The 5th Dimension. The song peaked at number one for six weeks on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in the spring of 1969. The single became the first medley to top the American pop charts and was eventually certified platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA.^[1]

The song listed at #57 on Billboard's "Greatest Songs of All Time."^[2]

History

This song was one of the most popular songs of 1969, worldwide, and in the United States it reached the number one position on both the Billboard Hot 100 (for six weeks in April and May)^[3] and the Billboard magazine Adult Contemporaries Chart. It also reached the top of the sales charts in Canada, and elsewhere.

The recording won both the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group for the Grammy Awards of 1970, after being published on the album The Age of Aquarius by The 5th Dimension, and also being released as a seven-inch vinyl single record.

The lyrics of this song were based on the astrological belief that the world would soon be entering the "Age of Aquarius", an age of love, light, and humanity, unlike the then current "Age of Pisces". This change was presumed to occur at the end of the 20th century; however, major astrologers differ extremely widely as to when. Their proposed dates range from 2062 (Dane Rudhyar), 2150 (Neil Mann), and 2595 (Hermann Haupt), to 2680 (Shephard Simpson).^[4]

"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" was ranked thirty-third on the 2004 AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs.

See also List of recordings of songs Hal Blaine has played on

Track listing

Chart positions

	"Aquarius" A chorus from the Original Broadway Cast "The Flesh Failures/Let the Sunshine In" The last verse of "The Flesh Failures" and first chorus of "Let the Sunshine In" from the Original Broadway Cast
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"Aquarius"
Single by Party Animals
from the album Good Vibrations
Released	July 27, 1996 (1996-07-27)
Genre	Happy Hardcore, Gabber

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Cover versions

• Donna Summer, then Donna Gaines, was cast in the German version of the musical singing the lead in Wassermann (Aquarius), in 1968.^[7]
• Cilla Black recorded the song for her 1968 studio album Sher-oo! which was a Top 10 hit on the UK album chart.
• Engelbert Humperdinck recorded a cover of the song in his 1969 self-titled album Engelbert Humperdinck.
• Andy Williams recorded a cover of the song, as highlighted in his Best of... album.
• Diana Ross & The Supremes recorded a cover on their 1969 Let the Sunshine In album.
• The Undisputed Truth recorded a version called "Aquarius" for their 1971 self-titled LP.
• Charles Earland, a jazz hammond player, recorded a version of this song in his album Black Talk.
• George Shearing, a piano player, recorded a version of the song in 1974 on the album The Way We Are.
• Pop-gabber Dutch band Party Animals covered "Aquarius" on their debut album Good Vibrations in 1996. The single was certified Platinum^[8] and peaked at the number one position for three weeks.^[9]
• The "Let the Sunshine In" portion of the medley was covered by Swedish dance group Army of Lovers on their 2000 album, Le Grand Docu-Soap. Their version also included most of the original verses (with some changes) performed as a pseudo-rap by group member Dominika Peczynski.
• Lightspeed Champion covered the song on his Domino Records special edition covers EP. The track is listed as "The Flesh Failures".^[10]
• Star Academy Arab World season one finalist students covered the song and made it as their first single, known as Jay Al-Hakyka.
• Spencer Davis Group single "Aquarius Der Wasserman" b/w "Let the Sunshine In", was released because Davis studied German in college and found tour audiences there so appreciative, he decided to honor their support with a version of this pop hit in German.
• The German krautrock/progressive rock band Jeronimo on their 1970 album Cosmic Blues.
• Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll and the Trinity recorded this song on their album The Best Of Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity (1970).
• The Austrian singer Marianne Mendt recorded a German language version of "Aquarius" about the City of Vienna in 1970 named "Der Wasserkopf (Aquarius)".
• The Chopsticks (a Hong Kong female duo, made up of Sandra Lang (仙杜拉) & Amina (亞美娜)), covered this medley song in their 1971 LP 《All Of A Sudden》issue.
• Jackie Davis released a cover of "Aquarius" under his moniker, "Chico Arnez". The track, Chico Arnez - "Aquarius" features on his album New Sounds of Chico Arnez, released on Contour records in 1972.^[11]

See also

• Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1969 (USA)

References