Lesley Gore, Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 79^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows” by Lesley Gore. 

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 they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 79th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows”, performed by Lesley Gore. 

“Sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows / Everything that’s wonderful is what I feel when we’re together.” Aww 🥰! “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows” is the fifth track on Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts, the 1963 album by Lesley Gore.  A brief number, “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows” runs just north of one minute and a half. Regardless, that’s ample time for Gore to ‘do her thing.’ “Sunshine…” was penned by Howard Liebling and Marvin Hamlisch.  Musical legend Quincy Jones produced.  A pop hit, it peaked at no. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Notably, in Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts, “Sunshine” precedes a bigger hit, “You Don’t Own Me”.

“Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows” is fun… and innocent.  When Lesley Gore released it, she was a teenager. Bubblegum pop wasn’t around in the early 1960s, but cutesy, playful, and tongue-in-cheek music was prevalent.  “Sunshine…” features a quick tempo with an epic groove established from the beginning.  Supporting Gore is a sound orchestration, especially those articulated horns.  Shout out to the background vocals too, which are lush and add to the depth of the sound.  Of course, Gore is the star, singing about young love! “Sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows / Everything that’s wonderful is sure to come your way / When you’re in love to stay,” she asserts on this ultra-sunny cut. A few more notes.  There is a well-executed modulation, something seldom heard in modern pop.  And fittingly, the brief but fun and memorable “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows” gets a dramatic, grand ending.

Lesley Gore // Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts // Mercury // 1963

Lesley Gore, Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 79 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Mercury; OpenClipart-Vectors, Speedy McVroom via  Pixabay]