The No. 1 Song On August 28, 1966 Sounds Even More Summery Today

The summer of 1966 was almost over by August 28, but one of the brightest, shiniest, most warm-weather-evoking songs ever occupied the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 that day: "Sunshine Superman" by Donovan. An early and definitive strike in the sunshine pop movement that would peak in 1967, Donovan's irresistible 1966 single oozes with summertime stuff — the excitement of a fun new fling, the power of sunbeams, and imagery of beaches and deep-sea diving — as Donovan compares himself to jaunty superheroes like the Green Lantern and Superman.

"Sunshine Superman" was only Donovan's second Top 40 hit, following 1965's "Catch the Wind," with wide swaths of American music fans not really buying into the Scottish singer's brand to that point: a folk-rock singer in the style of Bob Dylan, only breezier and not as critically acclaimed. Dylan never had a No. 1 hit, but his alleged musical clone did, albeit only after he embraced a new kind of music. "Sunshine Superman," a song that sounded like little else on the radio in 1966, went on to be Donovan's most successful smash and his signature song.

In 1965, Donovan aimed to pull back on the folk rock and embrace a mash-up of radio-friendly pop and psychedelia. After writing a wildly happy tune about new love and sunny days at the beach, he sought out producer Mickie Most, who had worked with the Animals and Herman's Hermits, to bring "Sunshine Superman" to fruition. After securing a complicated arrangement involving lots of traditional and nontraditional rock 'n' roll instruments alike, they recorded the song in just three hours on a Sunday afternoon.

However, "Sunshine Superman" languished on the shelf for seven months before Donovan could issue it as a single, as he didn't have a manager at the time, nor did he and Most have a contract in effect. Pye Records canceled the U.K. release of "Sunshine Superman" in early 1966, but it finally reached the U.S. in July. Donovan wondered if the song would flop because he'd been out of the spotlight for so long, but that didn't happen. It reached the Billboard Hot 100 within a week, and in just its sixth week on the chart, "Sunshine Superman" flew to the No. 1 spot. (When it was finally issued in the U.K. months later, it peaked at No. 3.)

More importantly, it launched Donovan's new vibe. He followed "Sunshine Superman" with other memorable, trippy, and optimistic '60s pop rock hits like "Jennifer Jupiter," a song about George Harrison's sister-in-law, "Mellow Yellow," and "Hurdy Gurdy Man."