#34: Sunshine Girl by Herman’s Hermits

City: Edmonton, AB
Radio Station: CHED
Peak Month: April 1968
Peak Position #4
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #40
YouTube: “Sunshine Girl”
Lyrics: “Sunshine Girl”

Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone was born in a suburb of Manchester, England, in 1947. Keith Hopwood was born in 1946, in the same suburb of Davyhulme. Karl Anthony Green was born in 1947, also in Davyhulme. Derek “Lek” Leckenby was born in Leeds in 1943. Jan Barry Whitwam was born in 1946 in Manchester. Both Leckenby and Whitwam were members of a band called the Wailers who played covers by Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and other early rock recording artists. Peter Noone originally was in an amateur band called the Cyclones. He moved on to the Heartbeats in 1961, a Buddy Holly cover band. Just after he turned 14, Noone debuted on Coronation Street, playing the role of Stanley Fairclough starting in December 1961. In the fall of 1962 Herman’s Hermits was formed. Peter Noone was the lead vocalist. Karl Green played bass guitar. Keith Hopwood played rhythm guitar. “Lek” Leckenby played lead guitar and Barry Whitwam played drums.

In 1964 the group had a number one hit in the UK with “I’m Into Something Good”. The song was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, and originally recorded by Earl-Jean McCrea. She had been a member of a girl group called The Cookies who had hits with “Don’t Say Nothing Bad About My Baby” and “Chains”, that later covered by The Beatles. “I’m Into Something Good” became the first of 17 Top Ten hits for Herman’s Hermits in Vancouver (BC) between 1964 and 1968.

They had four number one hit singles in 1965 with “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat”, “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter”, “Silhouettes” and “I’m Henry The VIII, I Am”. In addition, 1965 saw Herman’s Hermits also charted in the Top Ten in Vancouver with “Wonderful World”, “The End Of The World” and “Just A Little Bit Better” – 7 Top Ten hits in total that year. By comparison, The Beatles had twelve charted songs that made the Top Ten in 1965 in Vancouver; The Rolling Stones had five Top Ten hits; The Dave Clark Five had for Top Ten hits in 1965, as did Petula Clark, the Searchers had three Top Ten hits; And the Kinks, the Yardbirds, Freddie and the Dreamers, and Gerry and the Pacemakers had just two Top Ten hits each in Vancouver that year.

Herman’s Hermits appeared in a few films in the mid-60s. In 1965, they appeared along with Connie Francis, Louis Armstrong and Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs in When the Boys Meet the Girls. In the film Herman’s Hermits sang “Listen People” which in 1966 became a Top Ten hit in Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. In 1966 Herman’s Hermits appeared along with Shelley Fabares in the musical film Hold On! The film included their hits “A Must To Avoid” and “Leaning On The Lamp Post”. In 1968 the band appeared in their final film, Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter. The film starred Stanley Holloway along with Herman’s Hermits. In the film they sang the title track and “There’s A Kind Of Hush”.

The band also appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Jackie Gleason Show and The Dean Martin Show. In 1966 they charted five more songs into the Top Ten in Vancouver (BC): “A Must To Avoid”, “Listen People”, “Leaning On The Lamp Post”, “This Door Swings Both Ways” and “Dandy”. While Herman’s Hermits were regularly appearing on the pop charts, they toured extensively in North America, the UK and Europe. They also went on tour to Australia, Japan and Brazil.

In 1967, they had one last international hit with “There’s A Kind Of Hush”. The B-side was “No Milk Today”. That year Herman’s Hermits managed one other Top Ten hit in Vancouver with “Don’t Go Out Into The Rain (You’re Going To Melt)”. In late December ’67, Herman’s Hermits recorded “I Can Take Or Leave Your Loving“.

In 1968 Hopwood and Leckenby created Pluto Music, used by The Clash to record their 1980 album Sandinista! Herman’s Hermits had a few more hit singles in the UK, New Zealand and Australia, including “Sunshine Girl”.

“Sunshine Girl” was cowritten by Geoffrey Stephens and John Carter. Stephens was born in London in 1934 and served in the Middle East for two years as part of his national service. He worked as a school teacher, air traffic controller and silk screen printer. In 1961, his comedy sketches as part of his Four Arts Society found their way onto the BBC’s Monday Night at Home programme. In 1964, he wrote “Tell Me When” which was a #5 hit in the UK and #7 in New Zealand for the Applejacks. While “The Crying Game” became a #4 hit in the UK for Dave Berry. Boy George successfully covered the song in 1992 where it topped the pop charts in both Canada and Iceland. In 1965, Stephens produced Donovan’s debut album and hit single “Catch The Wind”.

In 1966, Geoff Stephens formed the New Vaudeville Band who had a number-one international hit with “Winchester Cathedral”. The song earned Stephens a Grammy Award nomination for Record of the Year. Another song he wrote for that band, “There’s A Kind Of Hush”, became a Top Ten hit in 1967 for Herman’s Hermits, and a Top 20 hit for the Carpenters in 1976. He also cowrote “Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James”, a Top Ten hit for Manfred Mann in over a half dozen countries, and reaching number-one in Rhodesia. Other Top Ten hits Geoff Stephens wrote include “Sorry Suzanne” for the Hollies, which climbed to #1 in South Africa and Switzerland. Stephens wrote Mary Hopkins “Knock Knock, Who’s There?” in 1970, which topped the pop charts in New Zealand and Singapore, and was a Top Ten hit in nine other countries. In 1977, Stephens’ “Silver Lady” was a number-one hit for David Soul in both Ireland and the UK, and #2 in Argentina; “Goodbye Sam, Hello Samantha” for Cliff Richard which topped the charts in 1970-71 in Ireland, Malaysia and Rhodesia; “Daughter Of Darkness” for Tom Jones which peaked at #1 in South Africa; A number-one hit in 1972 for Wayne Newton in Australia and the USA titled “Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast”; A Top Ten hit for dana in 1973 titled “It’s Gonna Be a Cold Cold Christmas”; A number-one hit in the UK in 1973 for the New Seekers titled “You Won’t Find Another Fool Like Me”; and Carol Douglas’ number-one hit in 1975 titled “Doctor’s Orders”. Geoff Stephens died at the age of 86 in 2020.

John Carter was born in Birmingham, England, in 1942. Around 1961, he and songwriter and musician Ken Lewis formed Carter-Lewis and the Southerners that released over a half dozen singles between 1961 and 1964. In 1962, they wrote Mike Sarne’s Top 20 UK hit “Will I What?” In 1964, they provided backing vocals for The Who’s “I Can’t Explain”, and wrote “Is It True?” for Brenda Lee. In 1965, Carter and Lewis co-wrote “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat”, a Top Ten hit for Herman’s Hermits in Canada and the USA; And a #3 hit in the UK for The Ivy League titled “Tossing and Turning”.  In 1967, they wrote “Let’s Go to San Francisco”, an international Top Ten hit for the Flowerpot Men. As well, Carter and Lewis cowrote “A Little Bit O’ Soul” for the Music Explosion, which reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number-one in Canada. In 1974, Carter and Gillian Shakespeare penned a number-one hit in Canada for First Class titled “Beach Baby”. He also wrote “Dreams Are Ten A Penny” for Kincade.

“Sunshine Girl” is a song about a guy who gets excited by a female every time they are together. He wants to be with her all the time. However, he must go away, across the sea since he’s only met her on a summer holiday. But he vows he’ll return.

“Sunshine Girl” Peaked at #1 in Birmingham (AL), #4 in Edmonton (AB), #7 in Sarasota (FL), and #8 in Montgomery (AL).

The following singles, “Something’s Happening”, “My Sentimental Friend” and “Years May Come, Years May Go” all made the Top Ten in the UK between 1968 and 1970. Several of these were also Top Ten hits in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Norway. Herman’s Hermits last charting hit single in the UK and New Zealand in 1970 titled “Lady Barbara”. They split up in 1971.

Leckenby, Hopwood and Whitwam carried on under the Herman’s Hermits billing, adding a few other musicians and doing oldies tours. In 1986 they were they went on a 146-concert-date reunion tour of the USA with the Monkees, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap and the Grass Roots. Hal Carter managed the new iteration of the Hermits. (He was also the manager of the Swinging Blues Jeans). Carter said in 1994 that Herman’s Hermits  “supported the Monkees on their revival tour and they were playing to audiences of 15,000. Their show consisted of all the famous hits. On one big pop package with bands like Slade, the Equals and Suzie Quatro in Germany last year, they played to 25,000 people a day.”

“Lek” Leckenby died of 1994 after battling non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Karl Green remained with the reformed Herman’s Hermits until 1980, after which he left the music business. However, he returned to the stage in 2014 with the Karl Green Band. The band has released two albums. Barry Whitwam has remained with Herman’s Hermits since 1964, and with the post-1971 split iteration along with Leckenby and Green. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Herman’s Hermits have postponed their touring schedule of some 79 concert dates to 2021.

After Herman’s Hermits disbanded in 1971, Peter Noone pursued a solo career. This included recording a song David Bowie wrote titled “Oh! You Pretty Things”. Bowie also was a session musician for the single which climbed to #12 in the UK in 1973. Noone pursued an acting career in the USA. He also formed Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone. He performed during Expo ’86 in Vancouver on June 8th. Noone returned for a concert at the Red Robinson Theatre in the Vancouver suburb of Coquitlam on October 5, 2013. Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone were back at the venue – now renamed the Hard Rock Casino – in Coquitlam on March 4, 2016. In 2019 the Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone performed over 150 concert dates. Noone hosts a radio show on Sirus XM satellite radio.

Graham Gouldman ended up joining a band called Hotlegs in 1972, who promptly changed their name to 10cc. The four members of 10cc had actually recorded together in 1969 with “Sausalito (Is The Place To Go)”, credited to the bubblegum group the Ohio Express. Although, that single had mediocre success, stalling at #86 on the Billboard Hot 100. With 10cc, Gouldman sang backing vocals on “Donna”, a #2 hit in the UK in 1972; “Rubber Bullets” which became 10cc’s first number-one single in the UK; And “The Dean And I” a third Top Ten song in a row in the UK for the band; As well as other Top Ten hits in the UK in 1974: “The Wall Street Shuffle” and “Life is a Minestrone”. But it was with “I’m Not In Love” in 1975, that 10cc had an international hit, peaking at #2 in Vancouver. With 10cc, Gouldman continued to enjoy Top Ten success in the UK with “Art For Art’s Sake”, “I’m Mandy, Fly Me”,  “The Things We Do For Love”, “Good Morning Judge” and “Dreadlock Holiday”. Though, only “The Things We Do For Love” was a hit in North America. While “Dreadlock Holiday” climbed to #1 in Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the UK, and #2 in Australia and Ireland. Gouldman has continued to perform with 10cc for 38 non-consecutive years to the present.

September 7, 2024
Ray McGinnis

References:
“Obituary: Derek Leckenby,” Independent, June 9, 1994.
“20th Anniversary Reunion Tour,” Monkees Live Almanac.com.
Kent Kotal, “Forgotten Hits Interviews Peter Noone,” Forgotten Hits.com, 2005-06.
Bill Young, “Legendary Herman’s Hermits frontman, Peter Noone, talks music, the 60s and about ‘having fun’,” Tellyspotting.kera.org, August 10, 2019.
Robert Peacock, “Peter Noone: The Herman’s Hermits hitmaker talks about starring with the ever-popular Solid Silver 60s Show,” The Week Review, Glasgow, Scotland, March 7, 2019.
Gary James,”Barry Whitwam Interview,” Classic Bands.com, 2014.
Kevin Cooper, “Interview: Graham Gouldman,” UK Musicreviews.com.
Leo Barraclough, “‘Winchester Cathedral,’ ‘A Kind of Hush,’ ‘Crying Game’ Songwriter Geoff Stephens Dies,” Variety, January 3, 2021.
Joe Marchese, “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat: Cherry Red, Grapefruit Anthologize Songwriter John Carter’s Career on “My World Fell Down”,” The Second Disc, June 9, 2022.