| "Steal My Sunshine" | ||||
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| Single by Len | ||||
| from the album You Can't Stop the Bum Rush | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | June 22, 1999 | |||
| Studio | Four Ways | |||
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| Producer(s) | Mumble C | |||
| Len singles chronology | ||||
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| "Steal My Sunshine" on YouTube | ||||
"Steal My Sunshine" is a song by Canadian alternative rock band Len from their third studio album, You Can't Stop the Bum Rush (1999). The song was initially released on the soundtrack to the 1999 crime comedy film Go, which resulted in the song receiving heavy airplay. It was later released to contemporary hit radio as the lead single from You Can't Stop the Bum Rush on June 22, 1999, by Work Group. Co-lead singer Marc Costanzo, as well as Gregg Diamond – who wrote the Andrea True Connection's 1976 single "More, More, More", sampled as the new song's instrumental backing track, are credited as songwriters; this was a posthumous writing credit for Diamond, who died three months before the album's release. Production was helmed by Costanzo under the stage name Mumble C. According to Costanzo, the song is about feelings of elation he experienced while attending an outdoor electronic music festival.
The song was recorded at Four Ways Studio B and mixed by John King of the Dust Brothers at One on One South. "Steal My Sunshine" was one of the first demos recorded for You Can't Stop the Bum Rush, although the song almost remained unreleased due to it not making much of an impression on the band. An indie pop and dance-pop song, "Steal My Sunshine" features siblings Marc and Sharon Costanzo trading lead vocals. The song was written during a period in which the siblings were not speaking to each other.
"Steal My Sunshine" received positive reviews from music critics, who praised its sample usage and considered the song a quintessential summer hit. The song peaked at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100, giving Len their first and only entry on the chart. As a result, Len is often deemed a one-hit wonder. Internationally, "Steal My Sunshine" also reached the top 10 in Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The song remains Len's most successful single, being certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
- ^ Bush, John. "You Can't Stop the Bum Rush". AllMusic.
- ^ Sendra, Tim. "Non Stop '90s Rock - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ a b Rolling Stone Staff (June 25, 2022). "The Best Summer Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
The late-Nineties was full of light hip-hop influenced alt-pop bands...and this brother-sister duo from Toronto topped them all with this buoyant shot of Beck-esque bubblegum.