by Amanda London· Published · Updated
As touched upon later in the article, this particular tune (“Good Morning Starshine”) was derived from a musical entitled Hair. Hair is considered to be one of the defining pieces of pop art from the 1960s, i.e. being reflective of what was going on during that particular decade. For instance, the main characters are hippies. And this song was inspired by one of the primary interests of that counterculture, which is astrology or what have you.
');var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; })();But that is not to say that the lyrics are astrological. Rather, the title references an astronomical phenomenon – in this case “starshine” – in a symbolic sense, which is actually a pretty common method as far as songwriting goes. And it can be said, all lyrics considered, that what the “starshine” represents is the hope of a new day, not only for the vocalist but also ‘his love’, and we would also presume his ilk, i.e. likeminded individuals.
So this is definitely a hippy song, or perhaps we can say more overarchingly a feel-good piece. And to note, besides for the sun, stars aren’t necessarily known to shine in the morning, like during the time of day when people tend to wake up. So it can be that the titular ‘star’ is in fact the sun.
Or if not, then Oliver would be referring to a time earlier than your traditional “good morning”, like when other stars are actually visible. But either way, what they represent from a symbolic standpoint is the intrinsic joy of life, so to speak.
Facts about “Good Morning Starshine”
This song is from a popular 1960s musical called Hair, which premiered off-Broadway in 1967. The artists who put said musical together – Galt MacDermot (1928-2018), Gerome Ragni (1935-1991 and James Rado – are credited as the writers of this piece.
And Oliver’s version, which came out during May of 1969 to be exact, was produced by the late Bob Crewe (1930-2014).
');var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; })();Oliver (1945-2000) was a singer from North Carolina who put together a string of what comprehensively can be considered mild hits, beginning with “Good Morning Starshine”, from the late-1960s into the early-1970s.
“Good Morning Starshine”, which was put out by a company called Jubilee Records was successful. It did in fact break the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart. It also broke the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100. Furthermore, it flew to number 1 in Canada.
Oliver
The reason why you probably never heard of Oliver, despite him scoring another notable hit in 1969’s Jean, is because his discography is pretty terse, ranging only about five years really. Furthermore, his music career was pretty short-lived.
By the looks of things, he more or less retired from the game in the mid-1970s. And by the mid-1980s, he had fully taken on the role of an inconspicuous househusband.
Unfortunately William Oliver Swofford, as he was legally named, passed away at age 54 as the result of cancer during the onset of the 21st century.
