Sunshine Pop Essentials

As the tumult of the ‘60s grew, people turned to music as a way to manage the anxieties and fears stoked by societal upheaval. Sunshine pop, a melding of the Beach Boys’ rich harmonies and layered production with slightly ramshackle aesthetics and melancholia-tinged lyrics, couched its messages of anxiety in melodies lifted from television ads and images of airborne balloons and kites. Even the most cheerful-sounding sunshine pop standard-bearers—the Turtles’ shimmering “Happy Together,” Harpers Bizarre’s “Come to the Sunshine”—have a sense of growing angst lurking underneath their relentless positivity. Acts like The 5th Dimension and The Mamas & The Papas rode these seemingly conflicting ideals to the top of the charts, imprinting themselves on the decade’s wild history. It’s no surprise: Sunshine pop’s songs are quite pleasing to the ear, but the worries they’re painting over in bright colors give that happiness added depth.