"Walkin' on the Sun"
European single cover
Single by Smash Mouth
from the album Fush Yu Mang
B-side
  • "Sorry About Your Penis"
  • "Dear Inez"
  • "Push"
ReleasedJune 30, 1997 (1997-06-30)
Genre
Length3:25
LabelInterscope
Songwriter(s)Greg Camp
Producer(s)Eric Valentine
Smash Mouth singles chronology
"Walkin' on the Sun"
(1997)		 "The Fonz"
(1997)
Audio sample
"Walkin' on the Sun"
  • file
  • help
Music video
"Walkin' on the Sun" on YouTube

"Walkin' on the Sun" is a song by American rock band Smash Mouth from their first album, Fush Yu Mang (1997). Released as their debut single in June 1997, the song was Smash Mouth's first major single, reaching No. 1 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart. It was also a success abroad, peaking at No. 3 in Canada and Iceland, No. 5 in Italy and Spain, and No. 7 in Australia, where it is certified platinum for shipments exceeding 70,000 units.

Background

Smash Mouth guitarist Greg Camp said about "Walkin' on the Sun":

It was written during the whole Rodney King thing. The song was basically a social and racial battle cry. It was a sort of "Can't we all get along?" song for the time when I wrote it. It was just about all the things that were going on around me as a young person. And I'm, like, God, what is going on? I don't understand why this is happening. It's like we might as well be walking around a planet on fire. And that's how it came about.[4]

Paul De Lisle, the band's bassist, stated the original version of "Walkin' on the Sun" was more of a rap song.[5] The band decided to record the song for Fush Yu Mang after drummer Kevin Coleman discovered a demo on one of Camp's tapes; it was the last song to be added to the album.[5]

The guitar riff present throughout the song has been compared to a riff from "Swan's Splashdown" by Perrey & Kingsley, from their 1966 album The In Sound from Way Out, as well as the Hohner Pianet riff from The Zombies' "She's Not There".[6][7][8]

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine Music & Media described it as a "punchy and highly infectious track." They noted that it "deftly fuses punk and ska—and that's a feat which it manages while avoiding sounding stereotypical of either genre."[9] Music Week rated the song five out of five, adding, "This fun-loving US quartet have managed to fuse The Doors with the Stereo MCs to create a deliciously frug-inducing slice of slacker pop. A cracker."[10] A reviewer from NME wrote, "'Walkin' On The Sun' is a classic, straight out of the groovy, secret agent world of Austin Powers. Although it was written in the aftermath of the Rodney King beatings, it has an organ hook that's a deadringer for The Zombies' 'She's Not There' and growling staccato vocal that make it the perfect soundtrack for a strut down Carnaby Street circa 1967."[8] Ian Hyland from Sunday Mirror gave the song nine out of ten. He commented, "It's jingly jangly American guitar music and Radio One are playing it to death. It'll be massive, then they'll disappear."[11]

Music video

The song's accompanying music video, directed by McG, begins with each band member, one at a time, walking down a dark alley. Then, the band performs in a room while scenes of Steve Harwell pushing a remote control makes two girls appear under a glass dome. Afterwards, the band performs on a beach while beachgoers dance around them. The scene then changes to the band performing in front of the two same girls in an area full of flashing bright lights. A drag race is then shown in the street where a yellow hot rod races against an orange hot rod which the band is in. However, in the middle of the race, the orange hot rod implicitly crashes, and the race attendees and female race judge rush over to the scene. The band still performs while lying on the ground despite the crash. The video ends with them leaning close to the camera.

Track listings

Australian and UK CD single[12]
No.TitleLength
1."Walkin' on the Sun"3:25
2."Sorry About Your Penis"1:23
3."Dear Inez"2:50
4."Push"2:49
UK cassette single and European CD single[13][14]
No.TitleLength
1."Walkin' on the Sun"3:25
2."Push"2:49
Japanese EP[15]
No.TitleLength
1."Walkin' on the Sun" 
2."Sorry About Your Penis" 
3."Dear Inez" 
4."Push" 
5."Walkin' on the Sun" (Love Attack mix) 
6."Walkin' on the Sun" (Phant 'N' Phunky Sunstroke club) 

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[48] Platinum 70,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref(s).
United States June 30, 1997 Modern rock radio Interscope [49]
August 26, 1997 Contemporary hit radio [49][50]
United Kingdom October 13, 1997
  • CD
  • cassette
 [51]
Japan September 23, 1998 CD [52]

Use in media

The song is a playable track in the video game Rock Band 3[53] and was featured in the movies An American Werewolf in Paris (1997) and Can't Hardly Wait (1998), and the television film Shredderman Rules (2007).[54] It was also featured in early television advertisements to promote the Fox series Firefly in 2002. The television series ER featured the song during the opening scene of Season 4 Episode 13 "Carter's Choice", when Dr. Carter was arriving at work in the snow.[55]

The song is included in "Weird Al" Yankovic's medley "Polka Power!" from his 1999 album Running With Scissors. Neil Cicierega sampled the song in "Daft Mouth" from the 2014 mashup album Mouth Sounds.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lamb, Bill. "The Top 10 Best Pop Songs of 1997". ThoughtCo. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  2. ↑ "The 50 Best Deep Cuts of 1999". Billboard. April 11, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019. Few would've guessed that Smash Mouth had the juice to escape one-hit wonder status following the pop-rock ubiquity of 'Walking on the Sun,' from 1997's otherwise unremarkable Fush Yu Mang.
  3. ↑ "The 79 Best Alternative Rock Songs Of 1997". Spin. April 25, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  4. ↑ Wiser, Carl (January 11, 2017). "Smash Mouth Songwriter Greg Camp". Songfacts. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  5. 1 2 Leong, Alphonse. "Guinness, U2 and the Mob". Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  6. ↑ Songfacts. "Walkin' On The Sun by Smash Mouth - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Smash Mouth's 'Walkin' on the Sun' - Discover the Sample Source". WhoSampled. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Singles Archive 18/10/97". NME. Archived from the original on August 31, 2000. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Airborne" (PDF). Music & Media. November 1, 1997. p. 22. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. October 4, 1997. p. 30. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  11. ↑ Hyland, Ian (October 12, 1997). "Take That! It's a Smash Hit for the Mouth". Sunday Mirror. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  12. ↑ Walkin' on the Sun (Australian & UK CD single liner notes). Smash Mouth. Interscope Records. 1997. IND-95555.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ↑ Walkin' on the Sun (UK cassette single sleeve). Smash Mouth. Interscope Records. 1997. INC-95555.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ↑ Walkin' on the Sun (European CD single liner notes). Smash Mouth. Interscope Records. 1997. IND-97525.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ↑ Walkin' on the Sun (Japanese EP liner notes). Smash Mouth. Interscope Records. 1998. MVCT-14005.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ↑ "Smash Mouth – Walkin' on the Sun". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  17. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3376." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 3422." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 3361." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 44. November 1, 1997. p. 16. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Smash Mouth – Walkin' on the Sun" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  22. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (15.1–22.1. 1998)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 16, 1998. p. 22. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  23. ↑ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15, no. 6. February 7, 1998. p. 11. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  24. ↑ "Smash Mouth – Walkin' on the Sun" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  25. ↑ "Smash Mouth – Walkin' on the Sun". Top 40 Singles.
  26. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  27. ↑ "Hits of the World: Spain". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 10. March 7, 1998. p. 47. Retrieved November 1, 2023 – via Google Books.
  28. ↑ "Smash Mouth – Walkin' on the Sun". Singles Top 100.
  29. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  30. ↑ "Smash Mouth Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  31. ↑ "Smash Mouth Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  32. ↑ "Smash Mouth Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  33. ↑ "Smash Mouth Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  34. ↑ "Smash Mouth Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  35. ↑ "Smash Mouth Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  36. ↑ "Smash Mouth Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  37. ↑ "Smash Mouth Chart History (Hot Dance/Electronic Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  38. ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 1997". ARIA. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  39. ↑ "RPM '97 Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Retrieved October 5, 2018 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  40. ↑ "RPM '97 Year End Top 50 Alternative Tracks". RPM. Retrieved October 5, 2018 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  41. ↑ "Year In Music: 1997 – Hot 100 Airplay". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 52. December 27, 1997. p. YE-36. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  42. ↑ "Year In Music: 1997 – Hot Modern Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 52. December 27, 1997. p. YE-73. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  43. ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 1998". ARIA. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  44. ↑ "RPM's Top 100 Hit Tracks of '98" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 63, no. 12. December 14, 1998. p. 20. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  45. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 100 – Vinsælustu Lögin '98". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 2, 1999. p. 34. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  46. ↑ "Year In Music: 1998 - Hot 100 Singles Airplay". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 52. December 26, 1998. p. YE-46. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  47. ↑ "Year In Music: 1998 - Hot Adult Top 40 Singles & Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 52. December 26, 1998. p. YE-96. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  48. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1998 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  49. 1 2 Reece, Doug (August 30, 1997). "Interscope Is 'Walkin' ' High with Smash Mouth". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 35. p. 9.
  50. ↑ "New Releases". Radio & Records. No. 1211. August 22, 1997. p. 35.
  51. ↑ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. October 11, 1997. p. 29.
  52. ↑ "ウォーキン・オン・ザ・サン～リミックス | スマッシュ・マウス" [Walkin' on the Sun ~ Remix | Smash Mouth] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  53. ↑ "This is the full 83-track Rock Band 3 setlist". Engadget. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  54. ↑ "Shredderman Rules (TV Movie 2007) - Soundtrack". IMDB. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  55. ↑ "Music from ER S4E13". Tunefind.
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