Studio Daze: "Sunshine Superman" Donovan

"Sunshine Superman" was a hit song written by the British singer/songwriter Donovan, featuring two of the top studio men working the London music scene at the time; Jimmy Page and John Baldwin (aka John Paul Jones).  Donovan wrote and recorded the song in the summer of 1965, and marked the beginning of his three year partnership with producer/hit-maker Mickie Most, who himself would go on to manage The Yardbirds. The album, "Sunshine Superman" would contribute to the ushering in of the new era of psychedelic rock. Donovan would later quip, "“Though he’s known for his power guitar, Jimmy [Page] is a real folk aficionado.”

Donovan wrote the song about his then girlfriend Linda Lawrence. Donovan met Lawrence on the set of Ready, Steady, Go! She had just ended a relationship with The Rolling Stones' guitarist Brian Jones, and was hesitant to get into another relationship with a famous musician. Despite her misgivings, the two quickly entered into an on again off again relationship that would last for five years and produce two children. Donovan would later comment on how Linda influenced his work, "Sunshine Superman, It's not a normal love song. On the face of it, the song is about being with Linda again." and later, "Linda's in all the songs. 'Sunshine Superman,' 'Hampstead Incident,' 'Young Girl Blues'... Linda's the muse."

Donovan and Linda Lawrence

Donovan was asked about Jimmy's involvement with his work in an interview with Rockandroll cirus, "We did some sessions in London and I was very lucky to have Jimmy on my records and he was extraordinary. He IS an extraordinary player and he played on 'Sunshine Superman' and 'Hurdy Gurdy Man' and he played on some other items which I think I have in my archive which I'm trying to find."

Jimmy Page was no doubt contacted to perform on the session by Mickie Most, who he had done work for in the past. He came in and performed the guitar work on it, providing the lead work, and letting Eric Ford handle the rhythm piece. It is very interesting to ponder that Jimmy would work with both his future manager, Most, as well as his future bandmate, John Paul Jones on this session. Donovan would later say, "We hired him to do a session at Abbey Road.”  Jimmy was reportedly paid 13 pounds for three hours of work.

Both song and album "Sunshine Superman" were recorded for Pye Records who also had Mickie Most under contract. However, Most would move to CBS before the album could be released. This prompted a lawsuit that delayed release of the album, so it didn't come out in the US until September, 1966, and wasn't released in the UK until 1967. This proved to be a letdown for Donovan, because this would have been viewed by critics as much more innovative if it had been released at its  scheduled time. The song proved to be a huge hit for Donovan, going number one in America, and number two in the U.K. "Sunshine Superman" would be Donovan's only number one single in The United States.

Donovan with Producer Mickie Most

On June 3rd, 2011, Jimmy reunited with Donovan at the Royal Albert Hall to accompany him on a performance of "Sunshine Superman" and "Mellow Yellow".