Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
From '' Neil ''
Label: Proart – P-66083
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Germany
Released: 1983
Tracklist
A1 Let The Sunshine In
Written-By – Galt MacDermot, Gerome Ragni, James Rado
A2 Salouse
Written-By – Jürgen Wynant, Markus Raffelt
A3 Träumen Ist Einfach
Written-By – Jens Jacobs, Schorsch Elsner
A4 Gimme Some Lovin'
Written-By – Spencer Davis, Steve Winwood
B1 Lost Reggae
Written-By – Markus Raffelt
B2 To A Friend
Written-By – Jens Jacobs
B3 Break
Written-By – Exdream
Vocals, Electric Piano, Electric Organ [Hammond], Acoustic Guitar – Jens Jacobs
Vocals – Renate Uhlenkamp
Guitar, Electric Piano – Markus Raffelt
Saxophone, Flute, Vocals – Christoph Hansen
Percussion – August Meyer
Drums – Teddy Hansen
Bass – Jürgen Wynant
Engineer – Peter Pausewang
Photography By – Anette Greten
Artwork [Collage] – Anette Greten, August Meyer, Dieter Grieshop, Jens Jacobs, Jürgen Wynant, Markus Raffelt
------------------------
"Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (commonly called "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In", "The Age of Aquarius" or "Let the Sunshine In") is a medley of two songs written for the 1967 musical Hair by James Rado and Gerome Ragni (lyrics), and Galt MacDermot (music), released as a single by American R&B group the 5th Dimension.
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 platinum in the US by the RIAA.
Instrumental backing was written by Bill Holman and provided by a group of session musicians commonly known as the Wrecking Crew.
The song is listed at number 66 on Billboard's "Greatest Songs of All Time".
Background
The medley was constructed of two songs from the musical Hair. The first song was "Aquarius", and the second was "The Flesh Failures: Let the Sunshine In".
The 5th Dimension's 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. The group called their producer Bones Howe in California: "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 he got the idea to combine "Aquarius" with another musical moment from the show, the last few bars from the song "The Flesh Failures: Let the Sunshine In" 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".
Returning to California, Howe supervised the first recording session. The instrumental track was set to tape at Wally Heider's Studio 3 in Hollywood by Wrecking Crew members Hal Blaine on drums, Joe Osborn on bass, Larry Knechtel on keyboards, Tommy Tedesco and Dennis Budimir on guitars and Tony Terran 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, who happened into the studio during the recording, remarked to Howe: "My God, that's a number one record."
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) and the Billboard Easy Listening 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 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 7-inch vinyl single record. The popularity of the song prompted the Apollo 13 crew to name their Apollo Lunar Module Aquarius, in part to send a message that astronauts were also "hip". In 2004, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
The American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Songs list, published in 2004, ranked "Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" as number 33.
#krautrock
#progrock
From '' Neil ''
Label: Proart – P-66083
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Germany
Released: 1983
Tracklist
A1 Let The Sunshine In
Written-By – Galt MacDermot, Gerome Ragni, James Rado
A2 Salouse
Written-By – Jürgen Wynant, Markus Raffelt
A3 Träumen Ist Einfach
Written-By – Jens Jacobs, Schorsch Elsner
A4 Gimme Some Lovin'
Written-By – Spencer Davis, Steve Winwood
B1 Lost Reggae
Written-By – Markus Raffelt
B2 To A Friend
Written-By – Jens Jacobs
B3 Break
Written-By – Exdream
Vocals, Electric Piano, Electric Organ [Hammond], Acoustic Guitar – Jens Jacobs
Vocals – Renate Uhlenkamp
Guitar, Electric Piano – Markus Raffelt
Saxophone, Flute, Vocals – Christoph Hansen
Percussion – August Meyer
Drums – Teddy Hansen
Bass – Jürgen Wynant
Engineer – Peter Pausewang
Photography By – Anette Greten
Artwork [Collage] – Anette Greten, August Meyer, Dieter Grieshop, Jens Jacobs, Jürgen Wynant, Markus Raffelt
------------------------
"Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (commonly called "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In", "The Age of Aquarius" or "Let the Sunshine In") is a medley of two songs written for the 1967 musical Hair by James Rado and Gerome Ragni (lyrics), and Galt MacDermot (music), released as a single by American R&B group the 5th Dimension.
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 platinum in the US by the RIAA.
Instrumental backing was written by Bill Holman and provided by a group of session musicians commonly known as the Wrecking Crew.
The song is listed at number 66 on Billboard's "Greatest Songs of All Time".
Background
The medley was constructed of two songs from the musical Hair. The first song was "Aquarius", and the second was "The Flesh Failures: Let the Sunshine In".
The 5th Dimension's 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. The group called their producer Bones Howe in California: "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 he got the idea to combine "Aquarius" with another musical moment from the show, the last few bars from the song "The Flesh Failures: Let the Sunshine In" 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".
Returning to California, Howe supervised the first recording session. The instrumental track was set to tape at Wally Heider's Studio 3 in Hollywood by Wrecking Crew members Hal Blaine on drums, Joe Osborn on bass, Larry Knechtel on keyboards, Tommy Tedesco and Dennis Budimir on guitars and Tony Terran 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, who happened into the studio during the recording, remarked to Howe: "My God, that's a number one record."
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) and the Billboard Easy Listening 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 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 7-inch vinyl single record. The popularity of the song prompted the Apollo 13 crew to name their Apollo Lunar Module Aquarius, in part to send a message that astronauts were also "hip". In 2004, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
The American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Songs list, published in 2004, ranked "Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" as number 33.
#krautrock
#progrock
