"Soak Up the Sun" | ||||
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Single by Sheryl Crow | ||||
from the album C'mon, C'mon | ||||
B-side |
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Released | February 11, 2002 | |||
Studio | Various | |||
Genre | Bubblegum pop | |||
Length |
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Label | A&M | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Sheryl Crow singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Soak Up the Sun" on YouTube |
"Soak Up the Sun" is a song by American singer Sheryl Crow. She and her longtime co-writer Jeff Trott wrote the song following a conversation they had during a plane flight, when they discussed the changing weather as they flew to New York City from Portland, Oregon. Crow was recovering from surgery at the time, inspiring her and Trott to write a happy song that would cheer her up. In the song, Crow has no money to afford any luxuries or necessities, but she decides that wallowing in her sadness is not a productive activity, so she reflects on what she currently has and "puts on a happy face" that she plans to spread to others. Crow chose to release the song as the lead single from her fourth studio album, C'mon, C'mon (2002), as she wanted to enliven people living in a post-9/11 society.
Crow first performed the song at the 2002 AFC Championship Game in January 2002, and A&M Records released "Soak Up the Sun" as a single in the United States on February 11, 2002. The song became Crow's sixth top-40 hit in the US, reaching number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping two other Billboard rankings. The Victor Calderone and Mac Quayle remixes also topped the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, making it Crow's only record to peak atop the listing. "Soak Up the Sun" was America's 35th-best-performing single of 2002, and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awarded the song a gold disc in 2005. Worldwide, the song reached the top 10 in Croatia and the top 20 in Austria, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
A music video directed by Wayne Isham was made for the song, featuring Crow performing the track with many beachgoers on Oahu, Hawaii. The video shows her performing the song at several locations on the beach and surfing. These scenes are interspersed with other surfers riding the waves as well. Various cosmetics and lotions were used to achieve Crow's tanned look in the music video, with makeup artist Scott Barnes wanting a "St. Tropez" look. On her birthday, which occurred during filming, Crow received a surfboard from the crew that she uses in the video.
"Soak Up the Sun" originated from a conversation that Sheryl Crow had with co-worker Jeff Trott during a plane trip. The two were flying from Portland, Oregon, to New York City, and Trott commented how "ironic" it was that they were departing a rainy city for a sunny city. This thought stuck with Trott after the trip, and he and Crow wrote a song based on what he felt during the trip. [1] Around the same time, Crow was recovering from non-invasive surgery, leaving her debilitated. She and Trott decided to write the song to take her mind off her discomfort, and the lyrics came to them rapidly. Crow claims that the reason they came to her so quickly was because of the medication she was on, which also influenced her to write another track for C'mon, C'mon , "Weather Channel". In a 2002 interview with Radio & Records , Crow recalled that she wrote the song and most of the album before the September 11 attacks, and she wanted to release the song as the lead single from C'mon, C'mon since northern summer was only a few months away and because she wanted everyone to feel better after the stressful winter. [2] Along with Trina Shoemaker and Eric Tew, Crow recorded the song and album at various studios in the United States and United Kingdom. [3]
Crow first performed "Soak Up the Sun" on January 27, 2002, at the 2002 AFC Championship Game, and it was released to adult album alternative, hot adult contemporary, and top 40 radio stations on February 11, 2002. [4] Two days later, Radio & Records' Music Meeting website made the song available for download, becoming the first retailer to do so. [5] In Europe and Australia, A&M Records issued the song as a CD single on March 25, 2002, backed with two non-album B-sides: "Chances Are" and "You're Not the One". [6] [7] The same month, Crow traveled around Europe to promote the song and its parent album. [8] Two days after its European release, a CD single was issued in Japan, and on April 1, 2002, A&M released "Soak Up the Sun" in the United Kingdom as two CD singles and a cassette single. [9] [10] During a live performance at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2019, Crow dedicated the song to Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg. [11]
"Soak Up the Sun" is a bubblegum pop song written in common time with a key of E major, following a moderately fast tempo of 120 beats per minute. [13] [14] American singer Liz Phair appears as a guest vocalist, with Tim Smith providing additional background vocals. [4] [3] Keith Philips of The A.V. Club described "Soak Up the Sun" as a "tribute to good living", [15] and Billboard magazine editor Chuck Taylor noted that the song resembles Crow's earlier works, particularly "All I Wanna Do" (1994), with simplistic instrumentation and lyrics about living with what one already has. [16] Crow has also acknowledged the similarity, explaining that the difference between the two songs is that "All I Wanna Do" is more "sardonic" in its meaning. [8]
For "Soak Up the Sun", Crow plays acoustic guitar and an F/X keyboard while Trott plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, lap steel guitar, and bass. Jeff Anthony plays drums, and he, along with Trott, handled drum programming. [17] At the start of the song, Crow laments her economical issues, revealing that she does not have enough money to pay for her basic needs. However, she decides that the temptation of wanting things is not what matters; rather, it is what she already has that is important. The chorus states that she is going to "soak up the sun", which is a metaphor for "putting on a happy face", and that she will implore others to do the same. She chooses not to blame anyone for her misery and instead looks to the future with a cheerful attitude. [12]
The song's overall lyrical meaning is diverse depending on which lines are examined. Crow stated that she believes "Soak Up the Sun" is about trying to live life with a constant smile despite the hardships that people encounter on a daily basis. Abigail Martin of college newspaper The Maine Campus wrote that the song illustrates this theme while also cautioning that nothing lasts forever, as indicated by the post-chorus line "before [the Sun] goes out on me". [1] Music critics have noted that the song is reproachful of consumerism—as hinted by the lyric "while it's still free" as well as the communist mentioned at the beginning of the song—and how it relates to the declining popularities of certain celebrities, including Crow herself. Conversely, other critics believe that the line is literal, stating that the sun does not cost anything and therefore should always be available as a source for optimism. [1] [12] Entertainment Weekly 's David Browne wrote that the song is a critique on "information-saturated culture". [18]
Reviewing the song for Billboard, Chuck Taylor called "Soak Up the Sun" "reassuring" when compared with the changing chart trends of early 2002, commenting that the track is "top-notch, honest-to-goodness musicianship". [16] Steve Wonsiewicz of Radio & Records described the song as "breezy" and "feel-good". [2] UK radio station The Revolution head of music Chris Gregg said the song is more "mature" than Crow's previous material and could catch the attention of adult audiences. [6] On April 27, 2002, Music & Media magazine named it their "Pick of the Week", with music editor Thorsten Weber noting that it does not take long for listeners to sing along, labeling the song as "melodic" and "catchy". [19] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine noted that Crow's lyrics were a return to form and compared the song to the works of the Beach Boys. [20] Retrospectively, Raymond Cummings of popular culture website Splice Today gave the song a negative review, referring to is as one of the most "loathsome" songs of the 2000s decade and criticizing its lyrics, comparing them to a superficial message one would find on a Hallmark card. [21]
In the United States, "Soak Up the Sun" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 73 on April 13, 2002, becoming that week's "Hot Shot Debut". [22] Fourteen issues later, on July 20, 2002, the song rose to its peak of number 17. [23] It was Crow's sixth single to enter the top 40 and spent a total of 29 weeks on the Hot 100, last appearing at number 42 on October 26, 2002. [23] [24] In December 2002, Billboard ranked the song at number 35 on its year-end Hot 100 edition. [25] The song became a number-one hit on two other Billboard charts: the Adult Alternative Songs chart and the Adult Top 40. [26] [27] On the former chart, it spent seven weeks at number one, while on the latter, it remained at the top spot for nine weeks. [28] [29] It additionally reached number five on the magazine's Adult Contemporary chart and number 15 on the Mainstream Top 40 listing. [30] [31] On the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, the Victor Calderone and Mac Quayle remixes topped the ranking on the week of June 1, 2002, becoming Crow's only song to top this chart. [32] The RIAA awarded the song a gold certification in June 2005 for digital sales exceeding 500,000 in the US alone. [33] In Canada, the song charted for one week on the Canadian Singles Chart, at number 24 on April 27, 2002. [34] It was the second-most played song on Canadian radio in 2002. [35]
In the United Kingdom, "Soak Up the Sun" became Crow's 15th and penultimate top-40 hit, debuting at peaking at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart in April 2002. It spent 10 weeks within the top 100, her longest-charting single since "All I Wanna Do" logged 17 weeks in the top 100 in 1995. [36] In neighboring Ireland, the song peaked at number 36 and spent five weeks on the Irish Singles Chart; it was her only single besides "All I Wanna Do" that spent at least five weeks on the listing. [37] [38] On continental Europe, the song reached the top 10 in Croatia, peaking at number seven. [39] It was also a top-40 hit in Romania, where it rose to number 39 in June 2002 and stayed on the Romanian Top 100 for 17 weeks. [40] [41] In German-speaking Europe, although the track stalled at number 96 in Germany, it reached number 15 in both Austria and Switzerland. [42] [43] [44] In Switzerland, it logged 30 weeks on the Swiss Hitparade, becoming the country's 94th-most-successful single of 2002. [44] [45] Elsewhere in Europe, "Soak Up the Sun" reached number 51 on the French Singles Chart, number 76 on the Dutch Single Top 100, and number 17 on Wallonia's Ultratip Bubbling Under chart, attaining a peak of number 70 on the Eurochart Hot 100. [46] [47] [48] [49] In Oceania, the single rose into the top 20 in New Zealand, attaining a peak of number 19 on June 9, 2002, and remaining in the top 50 for 16 weeks, but in Australia, it failed to enter the top 75, reaching number 88 on April 1, 2002. [50] [51]
Wayne Isham directed the video to "Soak Up the Sun", which was filmed on Oahu, Hawaii. [53] [54] The first day was rainy, but by the next day, the weather had cleared up. That same day, for Crow's 40th birthday, the music video's crew gave Crow a custom-made surfboard. Speaking of the experience, Crow said, "I couldn't have asked for a sweeter birthday [...] And I couldn't wait to go surfing." [52] During the filming, she rode waves alongside professional surfers such as Malia Jones and Pākē Salmon. To prepare Crow's hair for the video, hairstylist Peter Butler lathered it with Fudge Oomf Booster, then blow-dried it straight. Afterwards, he curled her hair with Velcro rollers, sprayed it with Phytolaque Soie hair spray, and used a curling iron to texture several areas. For Crow's skin, makeup artist Scott Barnes decided to replicate a St. Tropez tan, which he accomplished by applying Body Bling cream. He also used his then-upcoming brand of mascara on Crow's eyelashes. The clothes Crow wore during filming were courtesy of Linda Medvene, who explained, "The concept was to make her look like a rock star and yet fit in with the surfers." [52]
The video features numerous clips of surfers riding waves and includes several freeze frames with yellow coloration. During the introduction, Crow retrieves her surfboard from her car and puts on lotion. [55] As she performs the song with her guitar, she is mostly seen on the beach. During the first verse, she is seen in a recreational vehicle (RV). [56] As the first chorus begins, she leaves the RV and prances with her guitar close to the ocean. [57] The second verse features Crow singing by a waterfall, where various people, including herself, jump into the water below. [58] Shortly before the second chorus begins, Crow is seen riding in a car. [59] The sun sets during the final section, where many beachgoers dances around Crow and sing the song with her. [60] The video ends by fading to yellow during a scene where Crow is next to a beach fire. [61]
Mexican, European, Australian, and Japanese CD single [17] [62]
Mexican, European, and South African maxi-CD single [63] [64] [65]
UK cassette single [66]
| UK CD1 [67]
UK CD2 [68]
|
Credits are lifted from the C'mon, C'mon album booklet and the international CD single liner notes. [3] [17]
Studios
Personnel
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA) [75] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [33] | Gold | 500,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format | Label | ID | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | February 11, 2002 | Radio | A&M | — | [4] |
Australia | March 25, 2002 [6] [7] | CD | 497 688-2 | [17] | |
Europe | [17] | ||||
Maxi-CD | 497 721-2 | [64] | |||
Japan | March 27, 2002 [9] | CD | UICA-5001 | [62] | |
United Kingdom | April 1, 2002 [10] | CD: CD1 | 497 704-2 | [67] | |
CD: CD2 | 497 705-2 | [68] | |||
Cassette | 497 705-4 | [66] | |||
Mexico | 2002 | CD | 497 688-2 | [17] | |
Maxi-CD | 497721-2 | [63] | |||
South Africa | MAXCD 391 | [65] |
Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is noted for her optimistic and idealistic subject matter, and incorporation of genres including rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released twelve studio albums, five compilations, and three live albums, and contributed to several film soundtracks. Her most popular songs include "All I Wanna Do" (1994), "Strong Enough" (1994), "If It Makes You Happy" (1996), "Everyday Is a Winding Road" (1996), "My Favorite Mistake" (1998), "Picture", and "Soak Up the Sun" (2002).
C'mon, C'mon is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, released on April 8, 2002, in the United Kingdom and April 16, 2002 in the United States. Lead single "Soak Up the Sun" peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming one of her biggest hits since "All I Wanna Do". The album was arguably her most pop-influenced to date, a big departure from the folk and rock sound on her previous release, The Globe Sessions.
Tuesday Night Music Club is the debut studio album from American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, released on August 3, 1993. The first two singles from the album were not particularly successful. However, the album gained attention after the success of the fourth single, "All I Wanna Do", based on the Wyn Cooper poem "Fun" and co-written by David Baerwald, Bill Bottrell, Sheryl Crow, and Kevin Gilbert. The single eventually reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, propelling the album to number three on the US Billboard 200 albums chart. It has sold more than 4.5 million copies in the US as of January 2008. On the UK Albums Chart, Tuesday Night Music Club reached number 8 and is certified 2× platinum.
"My Favorite Mistake" is the first single from Sheryl Crow's third studio album, The Globe Sessions (1998), released on August 31, 1998, through A&M Records. Crow wrote the song about a relationship with a man who proves to be unfaithful and is widely believed to have been written about Eric Clapton. Released in 1998, the single peaked at number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Crow's fifth top-20 single in the United States, while reaching number two in Canada and giving Crow her seventh top-five hit there. In the United Kingdom, it reached number nine, becoming her last top-10 single in Britain.
"Tomorrow Never Dies" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow that serves as the theme song to the 1997 James Bond film of the same name and its video game adaptation. The song was co-written by Crow and the song's producer Mitchell Froom, and became her fifth UK top-20 hit, peaking at No. 12 in December 1997.
"A Change Would Do You Good" is the fourth single from American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow's 1996 self-titled album. The song uses a series of non sequitur lyrics to describe what one should change in life. It became Crow's third top-five single from the album in Canada, where it reached number two, and peaked at number eight in the United Kingdom.
"All I Wanna Do" is a song performed by American singer and songwriter Sheryl Crow. It was written by Crow, David Baerwald, Bill Bottrell, and Kevin Gilbert, with lyrics adapted from Wyn Cooper's 1987 poem "Fun". Released in July 1994 by A&M, it was Crow's breakthrough hit from her 1993 debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club. The song is Crow's biggest US hit, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks from October 8 to November 12, 1994, and it also topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. It was the winner of the 1995 Grammy for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and was nominated for Song of the Year.
"Steve McQueen" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow. It is the lead track from her fourth studio album, C'mon, C'mon (2002). It was released as the second single from the album on July 1, 2002. The song reached No. 88 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became a dance hit, peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard Dance Club Play chart. It also won a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, Crow's fourth win in the category. The single's music video was directed by Wayne Isham and features Crow racing around in various vehicles, recreating scenes from Steve McQueen movies.
"There Goes the Neighborhood" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow. The song was released as the second single from her third studio album, The Globe Sessions (1998), on November 23, 1998, and won an award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2001.
"Anything but Down" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow. Released as the third single from her third studio album, The Globe Sessions (1998), it fared better than its predecessor "There Goes the Neighborhood" in the United States, reaching number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Triple-A chart. The song also reached number 11 in Canada and number 19 in the United Kingdom.
"Home" is a song from American musician Sheryl Crow's 1996 self-titled album. Written and produced by Crow, the folk ballad was released as the final single from the album on October 6, 1997, and was later included on her greatest hits album The Very Best of Sheryl Crow (2003). "Home" was released commercially only in Europe. It became Crow's ninth top-40 hit in both Canada and the United Kingdom, peaking at numbers 40 and 25, respectively. A black-and-white music video directed by Samuel Bayer was made for the song.
"Everyday Is a Winding Road" is the second single from American singer and songwriter Sheryl Crow's 1996 eponymous album. Neil Finn, lead singer of Crowded House, provides backing vocals. Paul Hester, another member of Crowded House, was the inspiration for the song. The single was issued in the United Kingdom in November 1996 and was released in the United States the following year.
"If It Makes You Happy" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, released as the lead single from her 1996 eponymous album in September 1996. The song peaked at number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Crow's final top-10 solo hit in the United States, and at number nine on the UK Singles Chart. It also reached number one in Canada and won Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the 1997 Grammy Awards. In 2003, Q Magazine ranked "If It Makes You Happy" at number 663 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever".
"Leaving Las Vegas" is a song co-written by David Baerwald, Bill Bottrell, Sheryl Crow, Kevin Gilbert, Brian MacLeod, and David Ricketts that appears on Crow's debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club (1993). It charted within the top 75 in the United States and the top 30 in Canada. Crow performed the song on her live album Sheryl Crow and Friends: Live from Central Park.
"Landslide" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, written and performed by singer Stevie Nicks. The song was first featured on the band's self-titled album Fleetwood Mac (1975). The original recording also appears on the compilation albums 25 Years – The Chain (1992), The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac (2002) and 50 Years – Don't Stop (2018), while a live version was released as a single 23 years later from the live reunion album The Dance (1997). "Landslide" reached No. 51 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. "Landslide" was certified gold in October 2009 for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States. According to Nielsen Soundscan, "Landslide" sold 2,093,186 copies in the United States as of 2017.
"Strong Enough" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow from her debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club (1993). The song reached number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks, number three in Australia, and number one in Canada, becoming her second chart-topper there following "All I Wanna Do". In Australia, the song received a double-platinum certification for sales and streams exceeding 140,000 units.
"Can't Cry Anymore" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow from her debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club (1993), released through A&M Records. Released in May 1995, the song reached number 36 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Crow's third top-40 hit. In Canada, the song reached number three to become Crow's third consecutive top-three hit, following the number-one singles "All I Wanna Do" and "Strong Enough". Elsewhere, the song had limited success, reaching number 33 in the United Kingdom and number 41 in Australia.
"Run Baby Run" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow from her first album, Tuesday Night Music Club (1993), released by A&M Records in September 1993 as her debut single. It failed to chart in the United States but peaked at No. 86 in Canada, No. 83 in the United Kingdom, and No. 45 in the Netherlands. "Run Baby Run" was released for a third time in the UK after the success of "All I Wanna Do" and "Strong Enough", reaching a new peak of No. 24 on the UK Singles Chart in July 1995.
The discography of Sheryl Crow, an American singer-songwriter, consists of 12 studio albums, four live albums, two EPs, seven compilation albums, one box set, 54 singles, six promotional singles, 13 video albums, 61 music videos, 21 B-sides and 19 soundtrack contributions. She has sold over 50 million albums worldwide. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she has sold 16 million certified albums in the United States. Billboard named her the 5th Greatest Alternative Artist of all time.
Jeffrey Robert Trott is an American songwriter/producer and multi-instrumentalist who has collaborated with prominent artists across genres in the United States and abroad. Trott has been named BMI Songwriter of the Year.
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