It's always good to see the history of songs
It's always good to see the history of songs
If that appeals to you, I have a whole site dedicated to preserving the early decade or so of rock (in its various forms) with histories of seminal artists and songs.
If that appeals to you, I have a whole site dedicated to preserving the early decade or so of rock (in its various forms) with histories of seminal artists and songs.
https://musicfor.us/
The lyric was written by Pete Brown, a beat poet who was friends with Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce. He also wrote lyrics for "I Feel Free" and "White Room." Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce wrote the music. Pete Brown wrote the opening line after being up all night working with Bruce and watching the sun come up. He told the tale: "We had been working all night and had gotten some stuff done. We had very little time to write for Cream, but we happened to have some spare time and Jack came up with the riff. He was playing a stand-up - he still had his stand-up bass, because he'd been a jazz musician. He was playing stand-up bass, and he said, 'What about this then?' and played the famous riff. I looked out the window and wrote down, 'It's getting near dawn.' That's how it happened. It's actually all true, really, all real stuff."
Jack Bruce's bass line carries the song. He got the idea for it after going to a Jimi Hendrix concert. Eric Clapton elaborated in a 1988 Rolling Stone magazine interview: "He [Hendrix] played this gig that was blinding. I don't think Jack [Bruce] had really taken him in before ... and when he did see it that night, after the gig he went home and came up with the riff. It was strictly a dedication to Jimi. And then we wrote a song on top of it". Hendrix did an impromptu performance of the song when he appeared on Happening for Lulu, BBC TV show in England hosted by the prim and proper "To Sir With Love" singer. After playing part of his scheduled song "Hey Joe," Hendrix stopped the performance and said, "We'd like to stop playing this rubbish and dedicate a song to the Cream, regardless of what kind of group they may be in. We dedicate this to Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce."
When Kees van Wee interviewed Bruce in 2003, Kees asked him which of his many songs epitomizes Jack Bruce the most. At first he was in doubt whether he should answer "Pieces Of Mind" or "Keep On Wondering," but then he changed his mind and opted for "Sunshine Of Your Love." Because, Said Bruce, "It's based on a bass riff. And when you enter a music shop this is the song that kids always play to try out a guitar."
Robert Stigwood, the group's manager, arranged for a recording session with Ahmet Ertegun at Atlantic Studios. Bruce and Brown had a number of new songs in various stages of development and entered the studio on 3 April. Initially, Ertegun assigned Dowd to work with the trio. Dowd had worked with many of the biggest jazz and rhythm and blues musicians in the 1950s and 1960s. However, Cream was his first exposure to extreme volume levels. The group arrived at Atlantic with their concert setup of multiple Marshall amplifiers (each 100 watts). Dowd was surprised by the amount of equipment accompanying the trio: "They recorded at ear-shattering level ... Everyone I'd worked with before was using Fender Deluxes [about 20 watts] or Twins [about 80 watts]—six- and seven-piece bands that didn't play as loud as this three piece did."
Long live Rock and Roll!