Everyday Sunshine

Album: The Reality of My Surroundings (1991)
Charted: 60
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This uplifting song envisions a world where the beauty shines through, a place free from greed or oppression. In many ways, the song personifies what the band is all about, and it was accordingly chosen as the title for Fishbone documentary Everyday Sunshine, released in 2010.

    In the film, we hear from the likes of George Clinton, Flea and Les Claypool, who expound on just how good these guys really are. It becomes clear that the band's nirvana - their "Everyday Sunshine" - is on stage. Their problems stem from band dynamics and a musical style that never fit a convenient niche, hamstringing their commercial fortunes.
  • The song was written by lead singer Angelo Moore and keyboard/trombone player Chris Dowd. In a 2013 Songfacts interview with Moore, he explained how it happened:

    "That's a Sly Stone influenced song. Chris Dowd wrote that one. He wrote the first half and I wrote the end. It was a church-style song. We were just going into it, man. Because back then we were emulating a lot of our favorite bands: The Specials, Sly Stone, Funkadelic, James Brown, Led Zeppelin, all those people. All those different styles would pop up while we were doing different jams. Rick James was another one. We be playing Rick James up in there."
  • Fishbone had the kind of fans that would put their logo stickers on their skateboards and tell their friends all about them. Most folks who came to their shows were converted, but they never had a big breakthrough. The video for "Everyday Sunshine" got some airplay on MTV and it looked like the song might take off, but it never caught on with a wider audience. Fishbone fan Perry Farrell made them a main stage act at his Lollapalooza festival in 1993, but it still didn't take, and when ska got big a few years later, it was the likes of Rancid and Reel Big Fish that benefited.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

70s Music Quiz 1

70s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

The '70s gave us Muppets, disco and Van Halen, all which show up in this groovy quiz.

Al Jourgensen of Ministry

Al Jourgensen of MinistrySongwriter Interviews

In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.

The Punk Photography of Chris Stein

The Punk Photography of Chris SteinSong Writing

Chris Stein of Blondie shares photos and stories from his book about the New York City punk scene.

Mike Campbell

Mike CampbellSongwriter Interviews

Mike is lead guitarist with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and co-writer of classic songs like "Boys Of Summer," "Refugee" and "The Heart Of The Matter."

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s EditionMusic Quiz

You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?

Chris Squire of Yes

Chris Squire of YesSongwriter Interviews

One of the most dynamic bass player/songwriters of his time, Chris is the only member of Yes who has been with the band since they formed in 1968.