Song of the Day Apr 11

April 11, 2024

This month I’m focusing on One Hit Wonders of the 90s.

Today our song is:  Steal My Sunshine 

Wikipedia tells us this about the song:

"Steal My Sunshine" is a song by Canadian alternative rock band Len from their third studio album, You Can't Stop the Bum Rush (1999). The song was initially released on the soundtrack to the 1999 crime comedy film Go, which resulted in the song receiving heavy airplay. It was later released to contemporary hit radio as the lead single from You Can't Stop the Bum Rush on June 22, 1999, by Work Group. Marc Costanzo and Gregg Diamond are credited as songwriters, while production was helmed by Costanzo under the stage name Mumble C. According to Costanzo, the song is about feelings of elation he experienced while attending an outdoor electronic music festival.

The song was recorded at Four Ways Studio B and mixed by John King of the Dust Brothers at One on One South. "Steal My Sunshine" was one of the first demos recorded for You Can't Stop the Bum Rush, although the song almost remained unreleased due to it not making much of an impression on the band. An indie pop and dance-pop song, "Steal My Sunshine" features siblings Marc and Sharon Costanzo trading lead vocals. The song's instrumental backing track is a sample of Andrea True Connection's 1976 single "More, More, More," earning a posthumous writing credit for Diamond, who died three months before the album's release. The song was written during a period in which Marc and Sharon Costanzo were not speaking to each other.

"Steal My Sunshine" received positive reviews from music critics, who praised its sample usage and considered the song a quintessential summer hit. The song peaked at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100, giving Len their first and only entry on the chart. As a result, Len is often deemed a one-hit wonder. Internationally, "Steal My Sunshine" was a top 40 hit in eight countries. The song remains Len's most successful single, being certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Enjoy!