In May 1985 the American-British group Katrina and the Waves released the single “Walking on Sunshine”. In 1985 it was not a massive hit: UK #8, US #9. But by 2024 “Walking on Sunshine” had become one of the most-licensed songs in global advertising. Per BMI 2019 data, licensing brings the song's writer - Kimberley Rew - over $1 million a year. The song has appeared in more than 100 major commercials (Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Samsung), 40+ films (from Look Who's Talking 1989 to The Secret Life of Pets 2016), and 60+ TV series. Across 40 years the song has reportedly earned its author over $25 million in licensing alone.
Katrina Leskanich: from Kansas to Cambridge
Katrina Leskanich was born in 1960 in Topeka, Kansas. Her father was an Air Force pilot, and the family moved to Cambridge, England in 1976 when she was 16. There she happened into the “Rock Garden” club and heard The Waves - a British power-pop band looking for a new vocalist after losing their previous singer.
The Waves were founded by two British musicians: Kimberley Rew (guitar, songwriter, formerly of The Soft Boys) and Vince de la Cruz (bass). They found Katrina through a local newspaper ad. Her American accent became an “exotic” feature inside British power-pop of the early 80s.
By 1984 Katrina and the Waves (renamed to include Katrina's name) had released two albums on the indie Attic Records - both commercial flops. The band was on the verge of breakup when Capitol Records signed them for a third album in 1985.
How Kimberley Rew wrote the song for two
Rew wrote “Walking on Sunshine” in 1982 - three years before recording. The lyric is about someone who, after a period of sadness, falls in love and feels “like walking on sunshine”. Rew told Mojo in 2013: “I wrote it for Katrina. I wanted the song to frame her American brightness. No one can sing „I'm walking on sunshine" with a British accent the way an American can”.
The lyric is simple: 12 verses repeated four times. The hook “I'm walking on sunshine, woah!” - that's the chorus. No metaphors, no plotlines. Pure joy expressed. Rew: “I wanted to write the happiest song I could write. Without irony. Without complexity. Just - „I'm happy, this is beautiful"”.
“We recorded it as an album track. No one thought it would be a single. The song sat on a shelf for three years - first on the 1983 indie album that nobody bought. In 1985 we re-recorded it with a new producer.”
- Kimberley Rew, Sound on Sound, 2012
Recording: Fontana Studios, London, March 1985
The second “Walking on Sunshine” (1985, the released version) was cut at Fontana Studios in London. Producer - Pat Collier, ex-guitarist of The Vibrators. Collier added “bright” production: a four-piece horn section (trumpet, two soprano trumpets, trombone) that plays call-and-response on the choruses and a solo on the bridge.
The instrumental is simple: Rickenbacker 360 guitar (Kimberley Rew), Fender Precision bass (Vince), Ludwig drums (Alex Cooper), Yamaha CP-70 keys. Tempo - BPM 109, mid-tempo. Length - 3:58.
The key recording moment was Katrina's vocal. She cut the main vocal in two takes, both at identical intensity. In a 2010 interview Katrina said: “I don't sing this song - I shout it. From the first line I'm at maximum volume. This isn't bel canto, it's pure energy. Vocal teachers would say I'm destroying my throat. But in 1985 I was 25, and I could”.
- Key: D major, no modulations
- BPM: 109
- Length: 3:58
- Album: Walking on Sunshine (May 1985, Capitol Records)
- US sales: 1 million singles (Gold)
- Worldwide: over 3 million
- Licensing revenue estimate (1985-2024): over $25 million
Chart history
The single dropped on 29 April 1985. UK - #8 UK Singles Chart. US - #9 Billboard Hot 100. Canada - #5. Australia - #7. The album Walking on Sunshine reached #25 Billboard 200. Not record-breaking, but enough to make Katrina and the Waves known in the US.
The band was nominated for the 1986 Grammy for Best New Artist (lost to Sade). That was their only major recognition in the 80s.
From flop single to ad-world staple
After “Walking on Sunshine” Katrina and the Waves released two more albums, neither matching the hit. The band broke up in 1988. But in 1989 something shifted: director Amy Heckerling took “Walking on Sunshine” for the film Look Who's Talking - a comedy about a talking baby. The film grossed $300 million and put the song back in public consciousness.
From 1990 “Walking on Sunshine” became a standard advertising asset. The reason: its positivity is universal. You can drop it under any ad - cars, insurance, chocolate, banks. It's the sonic equivalent of joy.
Per Forbes (2019), “Walking on Sunshine” has been used in more than 100 major ad campaigns:
- Coca-Cola (1998, 2006, 2014)
- McDonald's (1995, 2003)
- Nike (1997)
- Samsung Galaxy (2012)
- BMW (2017)
- Claritin (allergy medication, 2008)
- Huggies (diapers, 2001)
A single major Super Bowl Sunday ad placement costs $500,000 to $2 million for one-time use. Kimberley Rew, as songwriter, collects 75-100% of those fees depending on contract.
Why the song is so “universal”
Structurally “Walking on Sunshine” works because of its lack of specificity. The lyric isn't about a particular person, country, or culture. “I used to think maybe you loved me, now baby I'm sure” could be sung by anyone, about anyone. That makes the song ideal for any advertising situation.
Musically - same story. Key of D major - the most optimistic of the majors, with the “brightest” sound. BPM 109 - comfortable walking tempo, neither too fast nor too slow. Structure - strict I-IV-V-I, as in most pop. Not a single “strange” note or chord.
This is the rare case where pop-standardness turned out to be the main commercial advantage. “Walking on Sunshine” doesn't stand out on any one detail - which is exactly why it fits anywhere.
Katrina today
Katrina Leskanich has lived in London since 2000. In 2011 she tried a solo career with the album Blisland, which went unnoticed. Since 2015 she has been touring with the nostalgic show “Katrina and the Waves: Walking on Sunshine Tour” - 40-50 dates per year across the UK and US.
In a 2017 BBC Radio 2 interview she said: “I've been singing „Walking on Sunshine" every night for 39 years. I'm sick of it. But the audience isn't. They sing it with me, and I see their faces. I can't leave this song. It's living its own life”.
What to listen to next
For 80s power-pop context: Katrina and the Waves “Walking on Sunshine” → Pat Benatar “We Belong” (1984) → The Bangles “Manic Monday” (1986). Three different models of the female rock vocalist of the 80s - all three with solid guitar riffs and major-key energy.
And for the “song that earned more through licensing than through sales” parallel, try Yello's “Oh Yeah” (1985). Two songs that outlived their era purely via film and advertising rather than radio. “Walking on Sunshine” and “Oh Yeah” are classic examples of a sync hit: where licensing revenue dwarfs record sales.