Iggy Pop and jazz legend Dr. Lonnie Smith have released a cover of the Donovan classic ‘Sunshine Superman’.
As per Consequence of Sound, it’s a cut from Smith’s new album Breathe, released later this month. Breathe is scheduled for release on March 26th via Blue Note Records and it can be pre-ordered here.
‘Sunshine Superman’ was one of the defining songs of the 60’s, a sunny and dreamy psych-rock hit. Yet the punk energy of Iggy and the jazz skills of Smith somehow come together to make the cover work in its own way. Maybe a proto-punk provocateur and a Hammond B-03 organist belonged in the ‘Summer of Love.’
It seemed like a wonderfully organic collaboration, judging by Smith’s explanation: “I was playing with my trio at Arts Garage in Delray Beach in Florida,” Smith said. “Iggy would come by and say he wanted to play with me. I let him play slaparoo and he loved it. He enjoyed playing with us. We thought about recording a few songs, so we went in with my trio backing us up, and it worked.”
‘Sunshine Superman’ isn’t the only song the pair worked on. They also covered the Timmy Thomas song ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’, this time taking a song from the 70’s. That song impressed Smith so much that he made it the opening song on his upcoming album.
Smith, a member of the George Benson quartet in the 60’s, is definitely used to working with some big names (albeit not of a punk nature): he’s performed with the likes of Etta James, Gladys Knight, and Queen of Twitter Dionne Warwick through the years.
Iggy has always been fond of an intriguing cover or two. He covered Elvis Costello’s ‘No Flag’ but in French – because why not – and also collaborated with Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme in 2015.
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Check out ‘Sunshine Superman’ by Dr. Lonnie Smith (featuring Iggy Pop):
