"Sunglasses at Night" | ||||
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Single by Corey Hart | ||||
from the album First Offense | ||||
B-side | "At the Dance" | |||
Released | January 21, 1984 | |||
Recorded | 1983 | |||
Studio | London, England | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 5:20 (LP version) 3:53 (7"/video version) | |||
Label | Aquarius (Canada) EMI America (U.S.) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Corey Hart | |||
Producer(s) |
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Corey Hart singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Sunglasses at Night" on YouTube |
"Sunglasses at Night" is a song by Canadian singer Corey Hart. It was released on January 21, 1984 as the first single from his debut album, 1983's First Offense , and became a hit single in the United States, officially rising to number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the week that ended on September 1, 1984. [1] The song combines an unflagging synthesizer hook, characteristic arpeggio, rock guitar and cryptic lyrics. AllMusic has since described it as "an instant classic with its distinctive melody and catchy chorus". [2]
According to co-producer Phil Chapman, the recording sessions for the album took place in a studio whose air conditioning/heating vents were directly above the mixing console. Air from the vents blew directly into the faces of the control room personnel, so they often wore sunglasses to protect their eyes. Hart, working on a new song, began to improvise lyrics that included the line "I wear my sunglasses at night."
The song is performed in the key of B♭ minor in common time with a tempo of 127 beats per minute. Hart's vocals span from F3 to A♭4. [3] [4] The song’s synthesizer riff uses a descending upper-leading tone sequence through the chords Bbm, Gdim, Gb, and Bbm (the Gb resolving to the F in this chord).
The music video, directed by Rob Quartly, shot at the Don Jail in Toronto, reflects the vision of a "fashion" police state, with scenes of Hart in a prison cell, without sunglasses, being strong-armed by police officers and paraded past various citizens wearing their regulation shades. Near the end of the video, Hart is taken to the office of a female police officer (who releases Hart in the song's end), played by Laurie Brown, [5] who later became the host of The NewMusic as well as a VJ on MuchMusic. This video uses the shorter single version instead of the longer album version. [6]
Weekly charts
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In 2002 a remix by the Canadian and French duo Tiga and Zyntherius peaked at #25 in the UK singles chart. [16] British grime artist Skepta released a 2009 version that sampled the original, which reached #64 in the same chart. [17]
The song was featured in the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on the fictional in-game radio station Wave 103. NME journalist Mark Beaumont credited the game for increasing awareness of the original 80s version. [18]
In 2024, German-American model and television host Heidi Klum released a cover with production by Dutch DJ and record producer Tiësto. [19]
Corey Mitchell Hart is a Canadian singer, musician and songwriter known for his hit singles "Sunglasses at Night", "Never Surrender" and "It Ain't Enough". He has sold over 16 million records worldwide and recorded nine US Billboard Top 40 hits. In Canada, 30 of Hart's recordings have been Top 40 hits, including 11 in the Top 10, over the course of over 35 years in the music industry. Nominated for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1984, Hart is an inductee of both Canadian Music Hall of Fame and Canada's Walk of Fame, and is also a multiple Juno award nominee and winner, including the Diamond Award for his best-selling album Boy in the Box. He has also been honoured by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN).
Tiga James Sontag, known simply as Tiga, is a Canadian musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music. He has released three albums, Sexor, Ciao!, and No Fantasy Required. Sexor won the 2007 Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year. Tiga released a selection of compilations in the early 2000s, featuring mixes such as American Gigolo, DJ-Kicks: Tiga and, Mixed Emotions, which put him on the map as one of "the world's best mixers". His compilation mix, Tiga Non-Stop, was released in November 2012, and premiered Tiga's latest single "Plush". The mix also features tracks from artists such as Kindness, Duke Dumont and Blawan.
"The Reflex" is the eleventh single by English new wave band Duran Duran, released in 1984. The song was heavily remixed for single release and was the third and last to be taken from their third studio album Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983). The single became the band's first to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and their second to top the UK Singles Chart.
"All Night Long (All Night)" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie from his second solo album, Can't Slow Down (1983). The song combined Richie's Commodores style with Caribbean influences. The single reached number one on three Billboard charts (pop, R&B and adult contemporary). In the UK, it peaked at number two on the singles chart.
"I Feel for You" is a song written by American musician Prince that originally appeared on his 1979 self-titled album. The most successful and best-known version was recorded by R&B singer Chaka Khan and appeared on her 1984 album of the same name. It became the recipient of two Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for Khan.
"Little Red Corvette" is a song by American recording artist Prince. The song combines a Linn LM-1 beat and slow synth buildup with a rock chorus, over which Prince, using several automobile metaphors, recalls a one-night stand with a beautiful promiscuous woman. Backing vocals were performed by Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson; Dickerson also performs a guitar solo on the song.
"Don't You (Forget About Me)" is a song by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released as a single in 1985. It was written and composed by producer Keith Forsey and guitarist Steve Schiff. Forsey and Schiff wrote the song for Simple Minds but offered it to several other acts before Simple Minds agreed to record it. The song was inspired by and used in the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club.
"Nightshift" is a 1985 song by the Commodores and the title track from their album of the same name. The song was written by lead singer Walter Orange in collaboration with Dennis Lambert and Franne Golde as a tribute to soul/R&B singers Jackie Wilson and Marvin Gaye, both of whom died in 1984. The song was released as the album's first single in January 1985 by Motown Records. "Nightshift" was recorded in 1984 and became the Commodores' first hit after Lionel Richie's departure from the group.
First Offense is the debut studio album by Canadian recording artist Corey Hart, released in 1983. It includes the hit single "Sunglasses at Night" and the ballad "It Ain't Enough". Hart was subsequently nominated for four Juno Awards and a Grammy Award for "Best New Artist".
"Missing You" is a song co-written and recorded by English musician John Waite. It was released in June 1984 as the lead single from his second album, No Brakes (1984). It reached number one on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks and on the Hot 100, as well as number 9 on the UK Singles Chart. "Missing You" was the only record in 1984 to spend only a single week at the top of the Hot 100. The song was nominated for the 1985 Best Pop Vocal Performance Male Grammy Award.
"Here Comes the Rain Again" is a 1983 song by British duo Eurythmics and the opening track from their third studio album Touch. It was written by group members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart and produced by Stewart. The song was released on 12 January 1984 as the album's third single in the UK and in the United States as the first single.
"It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back)" is a song written and recorded by the British pop music duo Eurythmics. It was released as the fourth and final single from their 1985 album Be Yourself Tonight. The song was produced by Dave Stewart, and the song's brass arrangement was devised by Michael Kamen.
"It's a Man's Man's Man's World" is a song written by James Brown and Betty Jean Newsome. Brown recorded it on February 16, 1966, in a New York City studio and released it as a single later that year. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its title is a word play on the 1963 comedy film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
"Sunglasses at Night" is a song by British grime artist, Skepta. The song was released as a digital download on 16 March 2009 as the second single from his second studio album Microphone Champion (2009). It samples the original song of the same title by Corey Hart. The song peaked at number 64 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Never Surrender" is a song by Canadian singer Corey Hart. It was released in June 1985 as the first single from his second studio album, Boy in the Box. The song was number-one for four weeks in Canada and was Hart's highest charting single in the United States, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1985.
Microphone Champion is the second studio album by English grime MC Skepta, released on 1 June 2009. It includes the single "Too Many Man" featuring Boy Better Know, also featured on Wiley's own album, Race Against Time, and Shorty's "Short Man Syndrome".
Doin' It Again is the third studio album by English grime artist Skepta. It features artists N-Dubz, Preeya Kalidas, Charlee Drew, Boy Better Know and Chip and was released on 31 January 2011 on Boy Better Know and All Around the World. The album's release was preceded by four singles which attained varied chart success on the UK Top 40 Singles chart throughout 2010.
"A Deeper Love" is a song written by American producers Robert Clivillés and David Cole, and performed by them as Clivillés & Cole featuring vocals by Deborah Cooper. Released by Columbia in 1991, the song was the duo's fifth number-one on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. On other US charts, "A Deeper Love" peaked at number 83 on the soul singles chart and number 44 on the pop chart. Overseas, especially in Europe the single charted higher, going to number 15 in the UK and number eight on the Dutch Top 40.
"Fire Meet Gasoline" is a song recorded by Australian singer and songwriter Sia for her sixth studio album, 1000 Forms of Fear (2014). It was written by Sia, Greg Kurstin and Samuel Dixon. Kurstin also produced the song. It was released in Germany on 19 June 2015 as the album's fourth and final single.
"Ding-a-Ling" is a song performed by British rappers Stefflon Don and Skepta. It was released as the second single from Stefflon Don's extended play Hurtin' Me – The EP on 16 November 2017 through Polydor Records. The song peaked at number 64 on the UK Singles Chart.
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Cash Box magazine.Sunglasses at Night at Discogs (list of releases)