"Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)" (commonly called "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In", "The Age of Aquarius" or "Let the Sunshine In") is a

medley Medley or Medleys may refer to: Sports *Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles * Medley relay races at track meets Music * Medley (music), multiple pieces strung together People * Medley (surname), list of people with this n ...

of two songs written for the 1967 musical ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and fi ...

'' by

James Rado James Alexander Radomski (January 23, 1932 – June 21, 2022), known professionally as James Rado, was an American actor, playwright, director, and composer, best known as the co-author, along with Gerome Ragni, of the 1967 musical ''Hair''. He ...

and

Gerome Ragni Gerome Ragni (born Jerome Bernard Ragni; September 11, 1935 – July 10, 1991) was an American actor, singer, and songwriter, best known as one of the stars and co-writers of the 1967 musical '' Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical''. On Jun ...

(lyrics), and

Galt MacDermot Arthur Terence Galt MacDermot (December 18, 1928 – December 17, 2018) was a Canadian-American composer, pianist and writer of musical theater. He won a Grammy Award for the song "African Waltz" in 1960. His most-successful musicals were '' Ha ...

(music), released as a single by American R&B group

the 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera, and Broadway. Formed as the Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to "the 5th Dimension" by 1966. Betwe ...

. The song spent six weeks at number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 pop singles chart in the spring of 1969 and was eventually

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

platinum in the US by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

. Instrumental backing was written by Bill Holman and provided by session musicians commonly known as the Wrecking Crew. The actual recording was novel at the time, being recorded in two cities, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and being mixed down to a final version later. The song listed at number 66 on ''Billboard''s "Greatest Songs of All Time".

History

The recording was led by veteran American producer and engineer

Bones Howe Dayton Burr "Bones" Howe (born March 18, 1933) is an American record producer and recording engineer who scored a string of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, often of the sunshine pop genre, starting in 1965 with The Turtles cover of Bob Dylan's "It ...

, who had previously worked with the 5th Dimension as well as

the Mamas & the Papas The Mamas & the Papas were a folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group consisted of Am ...

and

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

. As Howe tells it, the recording can be traced to an incident in which 5th Dimension lead singer Billy Davis Jr. left his wallet in a New York City cab; the man who found the wallet was involved in the production of ''Hair'' and invited the group to see the show: "After they'd seen it I received a phone call in which they were all talking over one another, saying 'We've got to cut this song "Aquarius". It's the best thing ever.'" Howe was skeptical ("This isn't a complete song. It's an introduction."), but after seeing the show on stage got the idea to create a medley with another musical moment from the show, a few bars from the song "The Flesh Failures" that consist of the repeated words "let the sunshine in." Although the two song fragments are in different keys and tempos, Howe resolved to "jam them together like two trains." The instrumental track was set to tape at Wally Heider's Studio 3 in Hollywood by the Wrecking Crew members including

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

on drums,

Joe Osborn Joseph Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018Larry Knechtel Lawrence William Knechtel (August 4, 1940 – August 20, 2009) was an American keyboard player and bassist who was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles-based session musicians who worked with such renowned artists as Simon & ...

on keyboards, Tommy Tedesco and Dennis Budimir on guitars and

Tony Terran Anthony Terran (May 30, 1926 – March 20, 2017) was an American trumpet player and session musician. He was part of the Wrecking Crew, a group of largely uncredited session musicians in Los Angeles, California, who helped famous artists record ...

on trumpet. It also featured strings, winds, and brass instrumentations. However, the vocals were recorded separately in Las Vegas, where the 5th Dimension was performing at the time, using only two microphones for the five singers. Davis' solo during "Let the Sunshine In" was improvised during the session; songwriter

Jimmy Webb Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including " Up, Up and Away", " By the Time I Get to Phoenix", " MacArthur Park", " Wichita Lineman", " Wo ...

, who happened into the studio during the recording, remarked to Howe, "My God, that's a number one record." Among the counterpoint phrases sung by Davis are: "Oh, let it shine", "Open up your heart", "You got to feel it" and "I want you to sing along with the 5th Dimension". This song was one of the most popular songs of

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

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) and the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...

chart. It also reached the top of the sales charts in Canada and elsewhere. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 2 Hot 100 single for 1969, although "Aquarius (Let the Sunshine In)" would go on to outsell the No. 1 Hot 100 single for 1969, "Sugar Sugar" by The Archies, and consistently ranks several positions above it in the all-time chart. The recording won both the

Grammy Award for Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...

and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group for the

Grammy Awards of 1970 The 12th Annual Grammy Awards were held on March 11, 1970. They recognized accomplishments of musicians for the year 1969. Award winners *Record of the Year **Bones Howe (producer) & The 5th Dimension for " Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" * Album o ...

, 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 Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...

belief that the world would soon be entering the "

Age of Aquarius The Age of Aquarius, in astrology, is either the current or forthcoming astrological age, depending on the method of calculation. Astrologers maintain that an astrological age is a product of the earth's slow precessional rotation and lasts for 2 ...

", an age of love, light, and humanity, unlike the current " Age of Pisces". The exact circumstances for the change are "When the moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars." This change was presumed to occur at the end of the 20th century; however, astrologers differ widely as to precisely when. Astrologer

Neil Spencer Neil Spencer is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and astrologer who lives in north London. He edited the ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') from 1978 to 1985 and was a founding editor of the men's magazine ''Arena'' and of the jazz/art ma ...

denounced the lyrics as "astrological gibberish", noting that Jupiter forms an

astrological aspect In astrology, an aspect is an angle that planets make to each other in the Horoscope; as well as to the Ascendant, Midheaven, Descendant, Lower Midheaven, and other points of astrological interest. As viewed from Earth, aspects are measured ...

with Mars several times a year and the moon is in the 7th House for two hours every day. These lines are considered by many to be merely poetic license, though some people take them literally. The

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

's 100 Years...100 Songs list, published in 2004, ranked "Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)" as number 33.

Track listing

*A. "Medley: Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)" - 3:50 *B. "Don'tcha Hear Me Callin' To Ya" - 3:54

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Cover versions

* The crowd at the

Woodstock Festival Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

(August 1969) sang the song. The recording is featured on the double album ''Woodstock Two'' (released 1971). *

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her musi ...

, then Donna Gaines, was cast in the German version of the musical singing the lead in Wassermann (Aquarius), in 1968. *

Checkmates, Ltd. The Checkmates, Ltd. were an American R&B group from Fort Wayne, Indiana. The group, discovered by Nancy Wilson, included both black and white members; their one major hit was 1969's "Black Pearl", produced by Phil Spector. The song peaked at ...

released a version of the song as part of "The Hair Anthology Suite" on their 1969 album, '' Love Is All We Have to Give''. *

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings " Everything Is Beautiful" and " Misty", as well as novel ...

recorded "Aquarius" for his 1969 studio album '' Have a Little Talk with Myself''. *

Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer, actress and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her ...

recorded the song for her 1969 studio album ''

Surround Yourself with Cilla ''Surround Yourself with Cilla'' is Cilla Black's fourth solo studio album, released on 23 May 1969 by Parlophone Records. It was Cilla's first album to only be recorded and released in stereo sound format, and her first to fail to make the UK ...

''. * Engelbert Humperdinck recorded a cover of the song on his 1969 self-titled album. *

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

released a version in 1969 on his album, ''

Get Together with Andy Williams ''Get Together with Andy Williams'' is the twenty-fourth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams which was released on October 6, 1969, by Columbia Records and contained covers of recent hits. The one new song was "You Are", which was ...

''. *

Mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, relig ...

released a version of the song on their 1969 album, ''Love Can Make You Happy''. *

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...

recorded a cover on the Supremes' 1969 '' Let the Sunshine In'' album but, without The Supremes; it was a solo recording sung on ''The Dinah Shore Television Special 1969'' with background vocalists from the Television Special. * The instrumental band

the Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the ...

covered the medley on their 1969 album ''

Hawaii Five-O Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to: * ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series * ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productio ...

''. *

Raquel Welch Jo Raquel Welch ( Tejada; September 5, 1940) is an American actress. She first won attention for her role in '' Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), after which she won a contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her contract to the British studio Hamm ...

performed it on her 1969 TV special ''

Raquel! ''Raquel!'' was an April 26, 1970 CBS television special starring Raquel Welch, Tom Jones, Bob Hope and John Wayne executive produced, directed and choreographed by David Winters produced by Winters' company Winters-Rosen for CBS-TV, originally ...

''. * "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" was also covered by

the Osmonds The Osmonds were an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid-1970s. The group had its best-known configurations as a quartet (billed as the Osmond Brothers) and a quintet (as the Osmonds). The group ...

on the 1970 album, ''Hello! The Osmond Brothers''. * The Undisputed Truth recorded a version called "Aquarius" for their 1971 self-titled LP. *

Charles Earland Charles Earland (May 24, 1941 – December 11, 1999) was an American jazz organist. Biography Earland was born in Philadelphia and learned to play the saxophone in high school. He played tenor with Jimmy McGriff at the age of 17 and in 1960 fo ...

, a jazz Hammond organ player, recorded a version of this song in his album ''Black Talk''. *

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 ...

, a piano player, recorded a version of the song in 1974 on the album ''The Way We Are''. *

Ren Woods Renn Woods (born Ren Woods; January 1, 1958) is an American film, television and stage actress, vocalist and songwriter. She is best known for her role as Fanta in '' Roots'', and also for her performance of Aquarius in the film version of ''Hai ...

sang the song in the opening scene of the 1979 film adaption of the play. A

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' ...

was subsequently released, which featured her version as the first track on the A side. * Pop-

gabber Gabber (; ) is a style of electronic dance music and a subgenre of hardcore techno, as well as the surrounding subculture. The music is more commonly referred to as Hardcore, which is characterised by fast beats, distorted & heavier kickdrums, ...

Dutch group Party Animals covered "Aquarius" on their debut album '' Good Vibrations'' in 1996. The single was certified Platinum and peaked at the number one position for three weeks. * A cover of the medley was recorded for the Killdozer /

Alice Donut Alice Donut is a punk rock band from New York City formed in 1986. The band released six albums before splitting up in 1996. They reformed in 2001. History 1986–1996: Formation to split Alice Donut formed in 1986 after the demise of the Sea B ...

split single "Michael Gerald's Party Machine! Presents:", released in 1996. It was credited to "Kill Donut", a one-off band consisting of members of both bands. * The lyrics "Let the Sunshine In" from the song "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" are sampled in "One More Time (The Sunshine Song)" by Australian Electronic Artist

Groove Terminator Simon Lewicki, also known as Groove Terminator and GT, is an Australian electronic music artist. Originally a hip-hop DJ, he eventually began spinning house music. He was featured in the 2000 Australian edition of Ministry of Sound's Club Nat ...

. * The "Let the Sunshine In" portion of the medley was covered by

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

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 Dominika Peczynski (born 20 September 1970) is a Polish- Swedish singer, model and television host. Army of Lovers She joined the Swedish pop music group Army of Lovers in 1992, making her debut with the group with " Hasta Mañana", a cover ...

. *

Lightspeed Champion Devonté Hynes (born David Joseph Michael Hynes, 23 December 1985), also known as Blood Orange and formerly Lightspeed Champion, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and director based in New York City. From 2004 to 2006, Hynes was ...

covered the song on his Domino Records special edition covers EP. The track is listed as "The Flesh Failures". *

Star Academy Arab World ''Star Academy Arab World'' or ''Star Academy Arabia'', is a pan-Arab televised talent show, which has aired since 2003. The show features a group of young male and female candidates who are selected from a pan-Arab pool of more than three-thousan ...

season one finalist students covered the song and made it as their first single, known as Jay Al-Hakyka. *

Spencer Davis Group The Spencer Davis Group were a British band formed in Birmingham in 1963 by Spencer Davis (guitar), brothers Steve Winwood (keyboards, guitar) and Muff Winwood (bass guitar), and Pete York (drums). Their best known songs include the UK numbe ...

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 Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in West Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electronic music, ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. I ...

band Jeronimo on their 1970 album ''Cosmic Blues''. *

Brian Auger Brian Albert Gordon Auger (born 18 July 1939) is an English jazz rock and rock music keyboardist who specialises in the Hammond organ. Auger has worked with Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Sonny Boy Williamson, an ...

Julie Driscoll Julie Driscoll Tippetts (born 8 June 1947) is an English singer and actress. Career Driscoll is known for her 1960s versions of Bob Dylan and Rick Danko's "This Wheel's on Fire", and Donovan's " Season of the Witch", both with Brian Auger and ...

and the Trinity recorded this song on their album ''"Streetnoise" Brian Auger & The Trinity'' (1969). * The Austrian singer

Marianne Mendt Marianne Mendt (née Krupicka; born 29 September 1945) is an Austrian jazz singer and actress, best known for her participation in the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest. Early career Mendt trained as a jazz singer and toured as a singer and bass p ...

recorded a German-language version of "Aquarius" about the City of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in 1970 named "Der Wasserkopf (Aquarius)". * The Chopsticks (a Hong Kong female duo, made up of

Sandra Lang Sandra Lang (, born ) is a former Chinese Cantopop singer who was active in the 1970s and actress in Hong Kong. Lang is credited with over 25 films. Early life In 1953, Lang was born in the United States. Career During the late 1960s, Lang ...

(仙杜拉) & Amina (亞美娜)), covered this medley song on their 1971 LP ''All of a Sudden''. * Jackie Davis released a cover of "Aquarius" under his moniker, " Chico Arnéz". The track, Chico Arnez - "Aquarius" features on his album ''New Sounds of Chico Arnez'', released on Contour records in 1972. *

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Oscars and four Grammys, and has been nominated for two Emmys and a Tony. Zimmer was also named on the list of Top 100 Living G ...

recorded a cover version for the introductory section to the 1990 movie '' Bird on a Wire'', listed on the soundtrack as "Aquarius". * The cast of the 2005 film ''

The 40-Year-Old Virgin ''The 40-Year-Old Virgin'' is a 2005 American romantic comedy film directed by Judd Apatow, who produced the film with Clayton Townsend and Shauna Robertson. It features Steve Carell as the titular 40-year-old virgin Andy, an employee at an e ...

'' covered the song for the ending of the film. * The "Let the Sunshine In" portion of this medley was covered by Lisa Cool and the South Spirit for the rhythm dance game Pump It Up: The PREX 3. * "Let the Sun Shine", an

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its la ...

-inspired re-make of the "Let the Sunshine In" portion of this medley was released by the German

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

duo

Milk & Sugar Milk & Sugar are German house music producers and record label owners (based in Munich) Mike Milk (real name, Michael Kronenberger) and Steven Sugar (real name, Steven Harding). The two have collaborated since 1993 under a variety of names, incl ...

in 2003. In 2009, they released a remix featuring Jamaican vocalist

Gary Pine Gary Pine, also Gary "Nesta" Pine, is a Jamaican singer best known for the vocals on several Bob Sinclar songs, including " Love Generation", "Shining from Heaven", "Miss Me", "Give a Lil' Love", and " Sound of Freedom". He was the frontman of ...

and

Bob Sinclar Christophe Le Friant (; born 10 May 1969), better known by his stage name Bob Sinclar (), is a French record producer, DJ and remixer. He is the owner of the record label Yellow Productions. Musical career A native of Paris, Le Friant began DJ ...

entitled "Let The Sun Shine 2009." *

Edurne Edurne García Almagro (; born 22 December 1985) is a Spanish singer, actress, and television presenter. She rose to fame in late 2005 when she took part in the Spanish casting show '' Operación Triunfo'' on TVE and finished in sixth place i ...

, a Spanish singer, recorded "Aquarius" for her album '. * Various

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''T ...

artists performed the song at a concert marking President Biden's Presidential inauguration *

Les Poppys Les Poppys is a French musical group of 17 children founded 1946 in Asnières, France by Jean Amoureux as '' Les Petits Chanteurs d'Asnières'' and renamed to ''Les Poppys'' in 1970. Francois Bernheim, former singer of the group Les Roche-Mart ...

, a French musical group of 17 children, recorded 'Laissez entrer le soleil/Let the sun shine in', a French/English cover of 'Let the sun shine in', in 1971 for their first album called ''Poppys''. * Digital Daggers recorded a cover that was featured on the television show ''

Star-Crossed "Star-crossed" or "star-crossed lovers" is a phrase describing a pair of lovers who, for some external reason, cannot be together. The term also has other meanings, but originally means that the pairing is being "thwarted by a malign star" or ...

'', and appeared on their album ''Reimaginations, Vol. 1''. * The Forest Rangers covered the song and it was played during the last few minutes of ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008 to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club ...

'' S07E05. *

Mike Doughty Michael Ross Doughty ( ; born June 10, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and author. He founded the band Soul Coughing in 1992, and as of '' The Heart Watches While the Brain Burns'' (2016), has released 18 studio albums, live albums, and ...

interpolated the "Let the Sunshine In" portion for his song "Fort Hood" off of his album ''

Golden Delicious 'Golden Delicious' is a cultivar of apple. It is one of the 15 most popular apple cultivars in the United States. It is not closely related to ' Red Delicious'. History Golden Delicious arose from a chance seedling, possibly a hybrid of ' Gr ...

''. *

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

produced the song "Sunshine" for

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

's second solo album ''

The New Danger ''The New Danger'' is the second studio album by American rapper Mos Def, released on October 12, 2004, by Rawkus and Geffen Records. It is the follow-up to his breakthrough solo effort ''Black on Both Sides'' (1999), after which he devoted more ti ...

'' (2004), employing the "Let the Sunshine In" portion throughout the song.

In popular culture

From 1970 to 1977, "Aquarius" was used as the theme song to the British arts programme ''

Aquarius Aquarius may refer to: Astrology * Aquarius (astrology), an astrological sign * Age of Aquarius, a time period in the cycle of astrological ages Astronomy * Aquarius (constellation) * Aquarius in Chinese astronomy Arts and entertainment ...

''. In 1970, "Let The Sunshine In" was used in an

Ad Council The Advertising Council, commonly known as the Ad Council, is an American nonprofit organization that produces, distributes, and promotes public service announcements on behalf of various sponsors, including nonprofit organizations, non-governme ...

PSA for the National Urban Coalition; the commercial promoted racial harmony using a large all-star choir including cameos by

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, Peggy Cass,

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six P ...

Will Geer Will Geer (born William Aughe Ghere; March 9, 1902 – April 22, 1978) was an American actor, musician, and social activist, who was active in labor organizing and other movements in New York and Southern California in the 1930s and 1940s. In C ...

and

Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the '' Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, th ...

. The song is the opening scene soundtrack of the movie "Bird On A Wire" which music is composed by Hans Zimmer and starring Mel Gibson. "Let the Sunshine In" has been adopted by

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

fans in Argentina and popularized in Uruguay's "Soy Celeste" to proclaim their support.

Peter Lawford Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford ( Aylen; 7 September 1923 – 24 December 1984) was an English-American actor.Obituary '' Variety'', 26 December 1984. He was a member of the " Rat Pack" and the brother-in-law of US president John F. Kennedy and se ...

sang the song "Aquarius" in the

Hollywood Palace ''The Hollywood Palace'' was an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly Saturday nights (except September 1967 to January 1968, when it was seen Monday nights) on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. Title ...

in November 1969.

Charles Schulz Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz (; November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000) was an American cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', featuring what are probably his two best-known characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. He is wi ...

referred to "the age of aquariums" in his ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ''Peanuts'' is among the most popular and inf ...

'' comic strip (see GoComics archive - 1970MAY11). The song appears as part of the ''

Forrest Gump ''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson ...

'' soundtrack along with other songs from the 1994 film. The song is featured when Forrest is playing ping-pong with spectators watching meanwhile on TV (with no one watching) Neil Armstrong is stepping on to the moon for the first time with his "one small step" speech. The song also appeared in episode 3 ("Harmony of the Worlds") of

Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ex ...

's ''

Cosmos The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...

'' during a sequence debunking the practice of astrology. In episode 16, season 3 of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

'' ("

Bart the Lover "Bart the Lover" is the sixteenth episode of the third season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 13, 1992. In the episode, Bart, playing a prank on his ...

"), "Age of Aquarius" is played during a

yo-yo A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 500 BCE. The yo-yo was also called a bandalore in ...

demonstration at a school assembly. The song appeared at the end of 1995 Serbian movi
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when the son of main character is mobilized for war. The song appeared at the end of the 2001 movie '' Recess: School's Out''. The song also appeared at the end of the 2005 movie ''

''.

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a dr ...

make reference to "Age of Aquarius" in the song "Cage and Aquarium", taken from the album ''

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

''. A sample of the song as it appears in the film ''

'' carries the main loop of the

Boards of Canada Boards of Canada are a Scottish electronic music duo consisting of brothers Michael Sandison and Marcus Eoin, formed initially as a group in 1986 before becoming a duo in the 1990s.Hoffmann, Heiko.Pitchfork: Interviews: Boards of Canada (Septemb ...

song of the same name, appearing on their debut LP. The beginning of the song is heard during a flashback at the start of

episode 2 ''Episode II'', ''Episode 2'' or ''Episode Two'' may refer to: * ''Episode II'' (album), an album by Safri Duo * ''Episode II'' (EP), an EP by Eiffel 65 * "Episode 2" (song), a song by Dragon Ash * "Episode 2" (''Ashes to Ashes''), an episode of ...

of ''

American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' is an American anthology horror television series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the cable network FX. The first installment in the '' American Story'' media franchise, each season is conceived as a ...

'' Season 1: ''Murder House''. The song is featured in '' Just Dance 2014''. In November 2017, Don Caron published the satirical "The Age That Will Bury Us" on his Parody Project YouTube channel.Archived a
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In season 16, episode 16 of ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their ch ...

'' (" Family Guy Through the Years"), Peter sings a parody of "Let the Sunshine in", called "Let my Son Die", after he switches places with Chris, who is going to Vietnam, then changes his mind. The song appears twice in '' We Bare Bears: The Movie'' when the Bears are disguised as hippies, then later actual hippies are stopped at a checkpoint. In season 33, episode 5 of ''

'' ("

Lisa's Belly "Lisa's Belly" is the fifth episode of the The Simpsons (season 33), thirty-third season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 711th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox on ...

"),

Patty and Selma Patricia Maleficent "Patty" Bouvier and Selma Bouvier-Terwilliger-Hutz-McClure-Discotheque-Simpson-D'Amico () are fictional characters in the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. They are identical twins and are voiced by Julie Kavner who ...

sing a parody of "Aquarius".

References

External links

Billy Davis Jr & Marilyn McCoo tell the lost wallet story which led to Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In
"Professor of Rock" interview for the song's 50th anniversary (posted to YouTube on Nov 4, 2019) {{DEFAULTSORT:Aquarius Let the Sunshine In 1967 songs 1969 singles The 5th Dimension songs Cilla Black songs Andy Williams songs Mercy (band) songs Checkmates, Ltd. songs Song recordings produced by Bones Howe Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Grammy Award for Record of the Year Songs from Hair (musical) Music medleys

History

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Cover versions

In popular culture

See also

References

External links