Back in the day, there was a lot of talk about “Sunshine Superman” being  a drug reference–and it was…but in this case, it was mostly a breakup song–after his wife-to-be, Linda Lawrence, temporarily called things off.  

It was also an attempt to do something “Trippy”” that sounded like what The Beatles were releasing at the time.

 Donovan, and The Fab 4 were friends. but even though he had originally subtitled the song “for John and Paul, he was advised NOT to play “Sunshine Superman” for them so they couldn’t record something similar.

The reason for this was a contract dispute between Donovan and his lRedcord abel, Pye Records, who refused to release the song until an agreement was reached–which took almost a year. By then, however The Beatles had moved on from “Trippy Pop” and it didn’t matter anymore.

When “Sunshine Superman” was finally released in 1966, it became a Top 10 hit in 9 countries, including The US, where it topped the charts at  both Billboard AND Cashbox Magazines. 

And here’s a fun fact: Donovan’s backup band on this Great Song of the ’60s included Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones!  – Mike Cook