Sunshine pop

Sunshine pop, originally called soft pop and soft rock, is a loosely defined form of <a href="/facts/Pop_music/kgshFE5B">pop music</a> that was first associated with early <a href="/facts/Soft_rock/1vGvoPlW">soft rock</a> producers and songwriters based in <a href="/facts/Los_Angeles/pyXpYEX9">Los Angeles</a>, California, during the mid-to late 1960s. Its <a href="/facts/Recording_studio_as_an_instrument/9MlGALom">studio-centric</a> sound was primarily rooted in <a href="/facts/Folk_rock/Q9zErsfh">folk rock</a> and <a href="/facts/Easy_listening/ezgY94rq">easy listening</a>, typically featuring rich harmony vocals and <a href="/facts/Progressive_music/NHY3DPem">progressive</a> elements, while lyrics combined idyllic imagery with a subtle awareness of societal change, melancholic undertones, and <a href="/facts/Counterculture_of_the_1960s/BjyVc83W">countercultural</a> themes. The movement initially straddled multiple styles among many groups who existed briefly while adapting to evolving music trends, resulting in much crossover with <a href="/facts/Bubblegum_music/L4xEUGKK">bubblegum</a>, <a href="/facts/Folk-pop/LIz9f7KR">folk-pop</a>, <a href="/facts/Garage_rock/oNbm5YdR">garage rock</a>, <a href="/facts/Baroque_pop/mK7cA4BI">baroque pop</a>, and <a href="/facts/Psychedelic_music/RkxWNDTa">psychedelia</a>.
Branching from the nascent <a href="/facts/California_sound/hfXXX9pN">California sound</a>, its name refers to the area's regularly sundrenched weather. Many of the defining sunshine pop groups were named after fruits, colors, or abstract concepts and imitated more successful acts, principally <a href="/facts/The_Mamas_%2526_the_Papas/3RlQ2y5s">the Mamas & the Papas</a>, led by <a href="/facts/John_Phillips_(musician)/QHUyIA8e">John Phillips</a>, and <a href="/facts/The_5th_Dimension/fkLmXf7F">the 5th Dimension</a>, whose songs were initially helmed by <a href="/facts/Jimmy_Webb/WaF2lmFX">Jimmy Webb</a>. <a href="/facts/Curt_Boettcher/zcMwX3nT">Curt Boettcher</a> produced numerous key records for <a href="/facts/The_Association/wIKbpeAF">the Association</a>, <a href="/facts/Eternity%2527s_Children/eUFqDMkG">Eternity's Children</a>, his band <a href="/facts/The_Millennium_(band)/q4QAydTD">the Millennium</a>, and with collaborator <a href="/facts/Gary_Usher/U9wLTt1k">Gary Usher</a> (<a href="/facts/Sagittarius_(band)/TqcuKDQ7">Sagittarius</a>). Though <a href="/facts/The_Beach_Boys/6CdaMJwW">the Beach Boys</a> rarely approached the style, <a href="/facts/Brian_Wilson/lHqBFEUI">Brian Wilson</a>'s production of their 1966 album <a href="/facts/Pet_Sounds/74MESBtf">Pet Sounds</a> was a foundational influence on this milieu, as were the arrangements of <a href="/facts/Burt_Bacharach/MWS9abrW">Burt Bacharach</a>.
By the late 1960s, while most acts largely struggled to sustain commercial success amid shifting popular music trends, the sound had regional variants ranging from <a href="/facts/The_Free_Design/2QIRclNE">the Free Design</a> in New York to <a href="/facts/Pic-Nic/bdz1qszc">Pic-Nic</a> in Spain. In the 1970s, new waves of soft rock were heralded by acts such as <a href="/facts/The_Carpenters/2EXyxUb2">the Carpenters</a> and <a href="/facts/Fleetwood_Mac/IXSSdJ1f">Fleetwood Mac</a>, whose successes eclipsed that of many earlier groups.
Renewed interest in sunshine pop, initially led by Japanese fans, developed in the 1990s among record collectors and musicians, especially those associated with Tokyo's <a href="/facts/Shibuya-kei/Bou6wKSH">Shibuya-kei</a> scene, where the work of <a href="/facts/Roger_Nichols_(songwriter)/Mg5NbN7j">Roger Nichols</a> was a central influence. Many sunshine pop records were subsequently anthologized and reissued by labels including <a href="/facts/Rhino_Records/odbDrCX5">Rhino</a> (<a href="/facts/Come_to_the_Sunshine%3a_Soft_Pop_Nuggets_from_the_WEA_Vaults/spgp0Ndz">Come to the Sunshine</a>), Collector's Choice, and <a href="/facts/Sundazed_Records/fE5uU83j">Sundazed</a>, in addition to <a href="/facts/Indie_rock/WwHEa2bQ">indie rock</a> music circles reviving the genre's prominence.

Sunshine pop open-in-new

Sunshine pop