Len - Steal My Sunshine Lyrics

"Steal My Sunshine" is a song by Canadian alternative rock band Len from their third studio album, You Can't Stop the Bum Rush (1999). The song was initially released on the soundtrack to the 1999 crime comedy film Go, which resulted in the song receiving heavy airplay. It was later released to contemporary hit radio as the lead single from You Can't Stop the Bum Rush on June 22, 1999, by Work Group.

Co-lead singer Marc Costanzo, as well as Gregg Diamond - who wrote the Andrea True Connection's 1976 single "More, More, More", sampled as the new song's instrumental backing track, are credited as songwriters; this was a posthumous writing credit for Diamond, who died three months before the album's release. Production was helmed by Costanzo under the stage name Mumble C. According to Costanzo, the song is about feelings of elation he experienced while attending an outdoor electronic music festival.

The song was recorded at Four Ways Studio B and mixed by John King of the Dust Brothers at One on One South. "Steal My Sunshine" was one of the first demos recorded for You Can't Stop the Bum Rush, although the song almost remained unreleased due to it not making much of an impression on the band.

Marc Costanzo went to a rave during a time when he and his sister Sharon had gone several months without speaking. While out, he was listening to old disco music with Brendan Canning, and heard the 1976 disco hit "More, More, More". Marc decided to loop part of the song's bridge and wrote and composed "Steal My Sunshine" over the instrumental.

The song was recorded on a vintage early 1980s 8-track 1/2 inch recorder. Marc stated that "Steal My Sunshine" did not make much of an impression on him, so Len did not originally plan to release it. The master recording remained under his bed for months.

When producing "Steal My Sunshine", Marc Costanzo wanted to make a song similar to the Human League's 1981 synth-pop single "Don't You Want Me". As a result, the song's structure is characterized by alternating between male and female vocals from Marc and Sharon. Costanzo has explained that the lyrics were about the aforementioned rave and the events that took place there.

"Steal My Sunshine" received positive reviews from music critics, who praised its sample usage and considered the song a quintessential summer hit. The song peaked at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100, giving Len their first and only entry on the chart. As a result, Len is often deemed a one-hit wonder.

Internationally, "Steal My Sunshine" also reached the top 10 in Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The song remains Len's most successful single, being certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).