The Silent Sun

"The Silent Sun"
"The Silent Sun"
	2006 reissue sleeve
Single by Genesis
from the album From Genesis to Revelation
B-side	"That's Me"
Released	2 February 1968; July 2006 (reissue)
Recorded	December 1967
Genre	Baroque pop
Length	2:13
Label	Decca (UK); Parrot (US);
Songwriter(s)	Tony Banks; Peter Gabriel; Anthony Phillips; Mike Rutherford;
Producer(s)	Jonathan King
Genesis singles chronology

"The Silent Sun" (album title "Silent Sun") is a song by English rock band Genesis. It was written when the band's producer, Jonathan King, first discovered them, before he decided to produce an entire album, a heavy investment. Knowing that King was a fan of the Bee Gees, they wrote the song specifically to capture his attention.^[1] The song was released as a single on 2 February 1968.^[2] A different recording of it appears on their debut album, From Genesis to Revelation.

"The Silent Sun" is a fusion of folk rock and pop rock with orchestral strings and romantic lyrics. On both the album and single releases it was credited as written by the entire group (which then consisted of Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel, Anthony Phillips, Mike Rutherford, and John Silver), but BMI records (see BMI work #29909132) does not credit Silver, and in fact the single version of the song was recorded before Silver joined Genesis, when Chris Stewart was the drummer. Moreover, in interviews the band has said that "The Silent Sun" was written solely by Gabriel and Banks.^[3]

It was reissued in very limited quantities in July 2006 as a CD-single under the title "The Silent Sun 2006", with "When the Sour Turns to Sweet 2006" as its B-side, and credited to "Peter Gabriel and Genesis". The versions on this CD-single are remix/remaster versions with overdubbed drums,^[4] also available on the 2006 reissue of the band's 1969 debut album. Since this is the last official single release by Genesis, this makes "The Silent Sun" both the debut and the final single released by Genesis.

Personnel

Tony Banks – piano, backing vocals
Peter Gabriel – lead vocals
Anthony Phillips – acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Mike Rutherford – bass, backing vocals
Chris Stewart – drums

Additional personnel

Arthur Greenslade – orchestral arrangements

References

^ Genesis: A History (1990).
^ "Deutscher Genesis Fanclub it / Genesis / Genesis: Vor 45 Jahren erschien "The Silent Sun"". Genesis-fanclub.de. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2017. See also here.
^ Giammetti, Mario (2020). Genesis 1967 to 1975 - The Peter Gabriel Years. Kingmaker. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-913218-62-1.
^ Giammetti, Mario (2020). Genesis 1967 to 1975 - The Peter Gabriel Years. Kingmaker. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-913218-62-1.

This 1960s single-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Genesis: A History (1990).

[2] "Deutscher Genesis Fanclub it / Genesis / Genesis: Vor 45 Jahren erschien "The Silent Sun"". Genesis-fanclub.de. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2017. See also here.

[3] Giammetti, Mario (2020). Genesis 1967 to 1975 - The Peter Gabriel Years. Kingmaker. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-913218-62-1.

[4] Giammetti, Mario (2020). Genesis 1967 to 1975 - The Peter Gabriel Years. Kingmaker. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-913218-62-1.

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v t e Genesis
Tony Banks Mike Rutherford Phil Collins Peter Gabriel Anthony Phillips Chris Stewart John Silver John Mayhew Mick Barnard Steve Hackett Ray Wilson
Studio albums	From Genesis to Revelation Trespass Nursery Cryme Foxtrot Selling England by the Pound The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway A Trick of the Tail Wind & Wuthering ...And Then There Were Three... Duke Abacab Genesis Invisible Touch We Can't Dance Calling All Stations
Live albums	Genesis Live Seconds Out Three Sides Live The Way We Walk, Volume One: The Shorts The Way We Walk, Volume Two: The Longs Live over Europe 2007
Compilations	Turn It On Again: The Hits Platinum Collection The Last Domino? – The Hits
Box sets	Genesis Archive 1967–75 Genesis Archive #2 1976–92 Genesis 1976–1982 Genesis 1983–1998 Genesis 1970–1975 Genesis Live 1973–2007 R-Kive BBC Broadcasts
EPs	Spot the Pigeon 3×3
Singles	"The Silent Sun" "The Knife" "Watcher of the Skies" "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" "The Carpet Crawlers" "A Trick of the Tail" "Your Own Special Way" "Follow You Follow Me" "Many Too Many" "Go West Young Man" "Turn It On Again" "Duchess" "Misunderstanding" "Abacab" "No Reply at All" "Keep It Dark" "Man on the Corner" "Paperlate" "Mama" "That's All" "Home by the Sea" "Illegal Alien" "Taking It All Too Hard" "Invisible Touch" "Throwing It All Away" "In Too Deep" "Land of Confusion" "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" "No Son of Mine" "I Can't Dance" "Hold on My Heart" "Jesus He Knows Me" "Never a Time" "Tell Me Why" "Congo" "Shipwrecked" "Not About Us" "The Carpet Crawlers 1999" "The Silent Sun 2006"
Other songs	"The Musical Box" "Get 'Em Out by Friday" "Supper's Ready" "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" "Firth of Fifth" "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" "The Lady Lies" "Behind the Lines" "Domino" "Anything She Does" "Driving the Last Spike" "Fading Lights"
Video albums	In Concert Three Sides Live The Mama Tour Live at Wembley Stadium The Way We Walk The Video Show Live in London When in Rome 2007 Genesis Movie Box 1981–2007
Tours	Selling England by the Pound Tour The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Tour A Trick of the Tail Tour Wind & Wuthering Tour Invisible Touch Tour We Can't Dance Tour Calling All Stations Tour Turn It On Again: The Tour The Last Domino? Tour
Related musicians	Bill Bruford Chester Thompson Daryl Stuermer Nick D'Virgilio Nir Zidkyahu Anthony Drennan Daniel Pearce
Related articles	List of Genesis medleys Brand X Flaming Youth Mike and the Mechanics GTR Stiltskin Simon Collins Sound of Contact Jonathan King Tony Smith The Musical Box Six of the Best Genesis: Together and Apart The Farm
Genesis discography List of Genesis band members Genesis awards Category