The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame is happy to announce the induction of Well Sing in the Sunshine, written and popularized by Canadian Gale Zoë Garnett. Singer-songwriter Royal Wood performs his rendition of the song as part of the Hall of Fame’s ongoing Covered Classics series.
We’ll Sing in the Sunshine was a global hit for Gale Zoë Garnett in 1964. Written at the young age of 14, the song presented an empowering message well before its time – a free-spirited young woman offering the alluring promise of a year-long love affair with no strings attached.
Garnett originally wrote the song for folksinger Hoyt Axton, who was first to record it in January 1963. It wasn’t until the following year, however, that We’ll Sing in the Sunshine achieved major success when Garnett, a young unknown Canadian artist at the time, recorded the song herself.
By November 1964, We’ll Sing in the Sunshine had topped music charts in Canada, the U.S, Australia, and in Garnett’s native New Zealand. The song won the 1965 Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Recording of 1964, beating out Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’, and eventually went gold, selling 3.5 million copies by 1979.
A long list of prominent artists have covered We’ll Sing in the Sunshine. Dean Martin sang it on his 1964 LP “The Door Is Still Open To My Heart”. A version by The Lancastrians, featuring then session guitarist Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), charted in the UK Top 50 that same year. The song has also been covered by assorted pop, folk and country stars including Wayne Newton, Helen Reddy, Dolly Parton, and as a duet by Sonny and Cher, to name a few.
We’ll Sing in the Sunshine Written by Gale Zoë Garnett Performed by Royal Wood For more information on the song We’ll Sing in the Sunshine
Royal Wood
Proclaimed a prolific songwriter and one of Canada’s major talents by critics, fans and the industry alike, Royal Wood released his 5th studio album “The Burning Bright” in 2014. The album registers a number of firsts for Wood, whose chart-topping 2012 release, the JUNO Award nominated “We Were Born To Glory,” firmly established him as one of the country’s most accomplished alt-pop singer/songwriters, producers, arrangers and multi-instrumentalists. Scheduled for release in 2016, Wood’s album “Ghost Light” exudes raw emotion and emanates a feel of the songwriters of the sixties and seventies. “This album for me was a return to creation for the joy of creation like when I was a kid. A true letting go and just allowing,” says Wood. The album marks an immense change in Wood’s life and his artistic path, where an advanced flare for creativity is brought to the forefront of his music and will continue to shine and cultivate.
