Sunshine of Your Love

"Sunshine of Your Love"
"Sunshine of Your Love"
	Polydor Records European cover
Single by Cream
from the album Disraeli Gears
B-side	"SWLABR"
Released	November 1967 (album); December 1967 (US single); September 1968 (UK single);
Recorded	April–May 1967
Studio	Atlantic, New York City
Genre	Psychedelic rock; hard rock; blues rock;
Length	4:08 (album version); 3:03 (US single edit);
Label	Reaction/Polydor (UK); Atco (US);
Composer(s)	Jack Bruce; Eric Clapton;
Lyricist(s)	Pete Brown
Producer(s)	Felix Pappalardi
Cream US singles chronology
Cream UK singles chronology

"Sunshine of Your Love" is a 1967 song by the British rock band Cream. With elements of hard rock and psychedelia, it is one of Cream's best known and most popular songs. Cream bassist and vocalist Jack Bruce based it on a distinctive bass riff he developed after attending a Jimi Hendrix concert. Guitarist Eric Clapton and lyricist Pete Brown later contributed to the song and drummer Ginger Baker plays a distinctive tom-tom drum rhythm.

The song was included on Cream's best-selling second album Disraeli Gears in November 1967. Atco Records, the group's American label, was initially unsure of the song's potential. After recommendations by other label-affiliated artists, it released an edited single version in December 1967.^[a] The song became Cream's first and highest charting American single and one of the most popular singles of 1968. In September 1968, it became a modest chart hit after being released in the UK.

Cream performed "Sunshine of Your Love" regularly in concert and several live recordings have been issued, including on the Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005 reunion album and video. Hendrix performed faster instrumental versions of the song, which he often dedicated to Cream. Several rock journals have placed the song on their greatest song lists, such as Rolling Stone, Q magazine, and VH1. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included it on its list of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll".

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

^ Russo, Nicholas (2015). 'Feels Like We Only Go Backwards': Nostalgia and Contemporary Retro Rock Music (Doctor of Philosophy thesis). School of the Arts, English and Media, University of Wollongong.
^ ^a ^b Bambarger, Bradley (6 September 1997). "Polydor Gears Up for Its Cream Retrospective". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 36. p. 116. ISSN 0006-2510.
^ Cite error: The named reference VH1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cash Box (30 December 1967). "Looking Ahead". Cash Box. Vol. 29, no. 23. p. 18.

[2] Russo, Nicholas (2015). 'Feels Like We Only Go Backwards': Nostalgia and Contemporary Retro Rock Music (Doctor of Philosophy thesis). School of the Arts, English and Media, University of Wollongong.

[Polydor-3] Bambarger, Bradley (6 September 1997). "Polydor Gears Up for Its Cream Retrospective". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 36. p. 116. ISSN 0006-2510.

[VH1-4] Cite error: The named reference VH1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Spotlight-6] Cash Box (30 December 1967). "Looking Ahead". Cash Box. Vol. 29, no. 23. p. 18.

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