Tom Hartman - Sunshine Woman

I've received another request via my St. Louis record show post and thought that I'd take care of it, right away. A fan of the Aerovons wanted me to post Tom Hartman's "Sunshine Woman" and here it is.

I have to admit that I'd only heard of the Aerovons in passing before today and hadn't heard any of their music. A quick search yielded both an interesting story and some interesting music.

The tale of the Aerovons is better told on other sites around the web but here's a brief sketch. The band was formed in St. Louis, circa 1966. They had a fascination with the Beatles to the point that they held out on recording until they reached London's Abbey Road studios in early 1969. Hartman was the chief songwriter and to say that his compositions had a strong Beatles influence would be an understatement. Originally a quartet, the Aerovons lost one member before recording even began and then another a few months later. EMI, who had planned to release an album, thus scrapped the project and the disc wasn't released until a recent CD issue.

A couple of years later, Tom Hartman went to Los Angeles, where he hooked up with producer Mike Post, who would later gain fame as composer and hitmaker of several TV theme songs. Released in 1971, "Sunshine Woman" is a terrific example of glam rock and early power pop. This time, Hartman's song sports a strong tip of the cap to the Rolling Stones, with a bit of the Who tossed in. It's yet another sadly forgotten and obscure rocker. I'm happy to post it here for your enjoyment.