Enchantment, Sunshine | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 52^nd edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Sunshine” by Enchantment.

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 52^nd edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Sunshine”, performed by Enchantment.

“Hello sunshine / It’s mighty good to see you doing fine / And although, it’s been a long, long time / I still find that you’re heavy on my mind.” Oh, those matters of the heart, Enchantment – they never fail. On the nearly five-minute gem, “Sunshine”, the R&B collective laments a past relationship. “But there’s only one thing wrong /  I don’t see you any night when I get home,” the conclusion of the first verse plays out. Bummer! “Sunshine,” which appears on Enchantment (1976), was written by lead singer, Emanuel “E.J.” Johnson alongside producer, Michael Stokes.  Stokes puts his foot into the production, which is lush and sophisticated – idiomatic of 1970s soul.  What makes a marvelous, 70s soul backdrop? Strings, keys, guitar, robust bass line.  “Sunshine” checks off all those instrumental boxes.

Keying in on the songwriting, those pesky matters of the heart get even peskier: “Tell me, is it true what they say, baby? / That you’re married / And have a baby on the way.” Ooh-wee, that’s hard, particularly since there is still mad love from the perspective of the singer.  While that’s a key moment, the biggest moment is undoubtedly the chorus – the section to beat:

“Sunshine has faded away

(Sunshine has faded away baby)

My skies are cloudy and grey

(Ooh skies are cloudy and grey baby)

And I can’t stop these tears

(I can’t stop these tears from falling)

From my eyes from my eyes

(From my eyes yea yea from my eyes).”

Besides relatable songwriting, the vocal performances are elite.  This includes both lead and supporting vocals, which are crucial to the tracks success.  The love pain is authentically conveyed.  Combine that with tuneful melodies and a stupendous instrumental and “Sunshine” is nothing short of – wait for it – sunny! Although “Sunshine” performed best on the R&B charts, it also impacted the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at no. 45.  This soul song is > its performance on the pop charts, PERIOD!

Enchantment // Enchantment // Roadshow // 1976

Enchantment, Sunshine: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 52 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Roadshow; OpenClipart-Vectors, Speedy McVroom via  Pixabay]