| "Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single bythe 5th Dimension | ||||
| from the albumThe Age of Aquarius | ||||
| B-side | "Don'tcha Hear Me Callin' to Ya" | |||
| Released | March 1969 | |||
| Recorded | 1968 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | Soul City | |||
| Composer | Galt MacDermot | |||
| Lyricists | ||||
| Producer | Bones Howe | |||
| The 5th Dimension singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (commonly called "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In", "The Age of Aquarius" or "Let the Sunshine In") is amedley of two songs written for the 1967 musicalHair byJames Rado andGerome Ragni (lyrics), andGalt MacDermot (music), released as a single by American R&B groupthe 5th Dimension. The song spent six weeks at number one on the USBillboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in the spring of 1969 and was eventuallycertified platinum in the US by theRIAA.[3] Instrumental backing was written byBill Holman and provided by a group of session musicians commonly known asthe Wrecking Crew.[4]
The song is listed at number 66 onBillboard's "Greatest Songs of All Time".[5]
The medley was constructed of two songs from the musicalHair. The first song was "Aquarius", and the second was "The Flesh Failures: Let the Sunshine In". The lyrics of "Aquarius" were based on theastrological belief that the world would soon be entering the "Age of Aquarius", an age of love, light, and humanity, moving out of the "Age of Pisces". The circumstances for the change are given as: "When the moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars." AstrologerNeil Spencer denounced this line as "astrological gibberish", noting that Jupiter forms anastrological aspect with Mars several times a year and the Moon is in the 7th House for two hours every day.[6]
The 5th Dimension's lead singerBilly Davis Jr. left his wallet in a New York City cab; the man who found the wallet was involved in the production ofHair and invited the group to see the show.[7] The group called their producerBones 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.'"[8]
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".[8]
Returning to California, Howe supervised the first recording session. The instrumental track was set to tape atWally Heider's Studio 3 in Hollywood byWrecking Crew membersHal Blaine on drums,Joe Osborn on bass,Larry Knechtel on keyboards,Tommy Tedesco andDennis Budimir on guitars andTony 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; songwriterJimmy Webb, who happened into the studio during the recording, remarked to Howe: "My God, that's a number one record."[8]
This song was one of the most popular songs of1969 worldwide, and in the United States it reached the number one position on both theBillboard Hot 100 (for six weeks in April and May) and theBillboardEasy 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.[9]
The recording won both theGrammy Award for Record of the Year andBest Pop Vocal Performance by a Group for theGrammy Awards of 1970, after being published on the albumThe Age of Aquarius by the 5th Dimension, and also being released as a7-inch vinyl single record. The popularity of the song prompted the Apollo 13 crew to name theirApollo Lunar ModuleAquarius, in part to send a message that astronauts were also "hip". In 2004, the song was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.[10]
TheAmerican Film Institute's100 Years...100 Songs list, published in 2004, ranked "Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" as number 33.
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
All-time charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[30] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
