Sunglasses at Night explained

Sunglasses at Night
Cover:Sunglasses at Night (Corey Hart album - cover art).jpg
Type:single
Artist:Corey Hart
Album:First Offense
B-Side:At the Dance
Released:January 21, 1984
Recorded:1983
Studio:London, England
Length:5:20 (LP version)
3:53 (7"/video version)
Label:Aquarius (Canada)
EMI America (U.S.)
Prev Title:"She Got the Radio" (promo, Canada only)
Prev Year:1983
Next Title:It Ain't Enough
Next Year:1984

"Sunglasses at Night" is a song by Canadian singer Corey Hart. It was released on January 21, 1984 as the first single from his debut album, 1983's First Offense, and became a hit single in the United States, officially rising to number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the week that ended on September 1, 1984.[1] The song combines an unflagging synthesizer hook, characteristic arpeggio, rock guitar and cryptic lyrics. AllMusic has since described it as "an instant classic with its distinctive melody and catchy chorus".[2]

According to co-producer Phil Chapman, the recording sessions for the album took place in a studio whose air conditioning/heating vents were directly above the mixing console. Air from the vents blew directly into the faces of the control room personnel, so they often wore sunglasses to protect their eyes. Hart, working on a new song, began to improvise lyrics that included the line "I wear my sunglasses at night."

Composition

The song is performed in the key of B minor in common time with a tempo of 127 beats per minute. Hart's vocals span from F3 to A4.[3] [4] The song’s synthesizer riff uses a descending upper-leading tone sequence through the chords Bbm, Gdim, Gb, and Bbm (the Gb resolving to the F in this chord).

Music video

The music video, directed by Rob Quartly, shot at the Don Jail in Toronto, reflects the vision of a "fashion" police state, with scenes of Hart in a prison cell, without sunglasses, being strong-armed by police officers and paraded past various citizens wearing their regulation shades. Near the end of the video, Hart is taken to the office of a female police officer (who releases Hart in the song's end), played by Laurie Brown,[5] who later became the host of The NewMusic as well as a VJ on MuchMusic. This video uses the shorter single version instead of the longer album version.[6]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1984)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 16
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[8] 24
Germany (Media Control Charts)[9] 21
US Billboard Hot 1007
US Cash Box Top 100[10] 7

Year-end charts

Year-end chart (1984) Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report)[11] 94
US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[12] 36
US Cash Box[13] 62

Covers and media

In 2002 a remix by the Canadian and French duo Tiga and Zyntherius peaked at #25 in the UK singles chart.[14] British grime artist Skepta released a 2009 version that sampled the original, which reached #64 in the same chart.[15]

The song was featured in the 2002 video game on the fictional in-game radio station Wave 103. NME journalist Mark Beaumont credited the game for increasing awareness of the original 80s version.[16]

In 2024, German-American model and television host Heidi Klum released a cover with production by Dutch DJ and record producer Tiësto.[17]

Notes and References

  1. Corey Hart . . 2019-12-14 . 2022-03-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220308140959/https://www.billboard.com/music/corey-hart . live .
  2. Web site: First Offense. Simon Cantlon. AllMusic. 2012-08-24. 2023-11-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20231110032145/https://www.allmusic.com/album/first-offense-mw0000650237. live.
  3. Web site: Corey Hart "Sunglasses At Night" Sheet Music in Bb Minor (transposable) . Hart. Corey. Musicnotes.com. 29 September 2014 . 2017-12-20.
  4. Web site: Spot On Track - The Spotify Tracker. www.spotontrack.com. en. 2017-12-20. 2024-06-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20240612192208/https://www.spotontrack.com/login. live.
  5. Book: Ward, Christopher. Is this Live?: Inside the Wild Early Years of MuchMusic. 2016. 68. Random House of Canada. 9780345810342. 2020-10-03. 2024-06-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20240612192032/https://books.google.com/books?id=kdoiDQAAQBAJ&q=laurie+brown+sunglasses+at+night&pg=PA68#v=snippet&q=laurie%20brown%20sunglasses%20at%20night&f=false. live.
  6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56HSPQHSqEE Corey Hart "Sunglasses at Night" official video
  7. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. St. Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. Illustrated. 134. 0-646-11917-6. N.B. the Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 12 June 1988.
  8. Web site: Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada.
  9. Web site: Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Corey Hart – Sunglasses at Night (single). de. GfK Entertainment. 2016-04-12.
  10. Web site: CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending September 1, 1984 . 2018-01-13 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20121001104240/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/19840901.html . 1 October 2012 . Cash Box magazine.
  11. Web site: Kent Music Report No 548 – 31 December 1984 > National Top 100 Singles for 1984. Kent Music Report. Imgur.com. 8 January 2022. 8 January 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220108032026/https://i.imgur.com/MyookoA.jpg. live.
  12. December 22, 1984 . Talent Almanac 1985: Top Pop Singles . TA-19 . Billboard . 96 . 51 .
  13. Web site: The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1984 . January 1, 2018 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120930234839/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/1984YESP.html . September 30, 2012 .
  14. Web site: SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT by TIGA AND ZYNTHERIUS . . 26 February 2024.
  15. Web site: SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT by Skepta . . 26 February 2024.
  16. Web site: Beaumont . Mark . Seven Songs You Only Know And Love If You Played Grand Theft Auto: Vice City . NME.com . NME . 26 February 2024 . 2016 . 12 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240612192204/https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/seven-songs-you-only-know-and-love-if-you-played-grand-theft-auto-vice-city-7558 . live .
  17. Web site: Mier . Tomás . How Heidi Klum and Tiësto Gave a Classic Eighties Song a 'Whole New Life' . RollingStone.com . Rolling Stone . 27 March 2024 . 2024.