On This Day in 1966: Donovan Scored His Only No. 1 Hot 100 Hit, “Sunshine Superman,” Featuring Two Future Led Zeppelin Members

U.K. folk great Donovan reached his commercial peak on this day (September 3) in 1966, when his psychedelic-pop classic “Sunshine Superman” topped the Billboard Hot 100.

 “Sunshine Superman” knocked The Lovin’ Spoonful’s classic “Summer in the City” from the No. 1 spot on the chart, and was replaced at the top of the tally after one week by The Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love.”

“Sunshine Superman” was released in the U.S. in July of 1966. It was the title track of Donovan’s third studio album, which arrived stateside in August 26 of the same year.

Jimmy Page, who was then an in-demand session musician, played lead guitar on the track. Page’s future Led Zeppelin bandmate John Paul Jones contributed electric bass to the recording.

Sunshine Superman was the first of several Donovan albums produced by Mickie Most. The British producer also was known for his work with Herman’s Hermits, The Yardbirds, and The Jeff Beck Group. It became Donovan’s highest-charting album in the U.S., peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard 200.

“Sunshine Superman” was inspired by Donovan’s relationship with Linda Lawrence, who dated the singer briefly in 1965 after Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones broke up with her. Linda split with Donovan at the end of that year because she was uncomfortable with the attention she was getting as the girlfriend of a pop star.

After the breakup, Lawrence became Donovan’s muse, and he wrote many songs for her. “Sunshine Superman” includes Donovan vowing that he will win Linda back. The song features references to LSD (“sunshine”) and the London music scene. It also boasts some braggadocio, as Donovan compares declares his superiority to Superman and another superhero, the Green Lantern.

In a 2011 interview with Mojo, and quoted by SongFacts.com, Donovan reflected meaning behind “Sunshine Superman.”

“It’s not a normal love song,” he said. “On the face of it, the song is about being with Linda again. But sunshine is a nickname for acid. The Superman is the person capable of entering higher states because it’s not easy to go into the fourth dimension and see the matrix of the universe in which everything is connected.”

Donovan eventually reconnected with Lawrence in 1970, and the couple have been married since that year.

Jimmy Page Played “Sunshine Superman” with Donovan at a 2011 Concert

Page reunited with Donovan at a special concert in June 2011 celebrating the Sunshine Superman album at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The show featured Donovan performing the album in its entirety, backed by the London Contemporary Orchestra.

Page unexpectedly hit the stage to play guitar on Donovan’s rendition “Sunshine Superman.” Jimmy later returned during the encore to take part in a performance of Donovan’s 1967 hit “Mellow Yellow.”