Robby Snowden - Sunshine Rides On A Trolley (1967)

(Mike Appel - Don Henny - Ed Schnug)
 Australia
Original released version
#45 Melbourne #35 Perth

Single on Clarion, charted October-November 1967. This was the first released version of the song, copyrighted title Sunshine Rides On A Trolley Car.

Co-writer Appel’s name is misspelt as Attel on the Clarion label.

Single on Clarion by Western Australian pop star Robby Snowden (1948-2009) who relocated from Perth to Melbourne and had a handful of charting records 1967-68. For more details see No One Really Loves A Clown, his biggest hit.

A 1967 EP has his name as Robbie Snowden but it was usually Robby.

See also: Sheila, Surrounded By A Ray Of Sunshine and Freckles.

Members of The Balloon Farm - Sunshine Rides On A Trolley Car (1967)

(Appel - Schnug - Henny )
 USA
Original version: published work

The song was copyrighted in April 1967.

The title is Sunshine Rides On A Trollycar at US Copyright Office, Sunshine Rides On A Trolley Car at the ASCAP-BMI copyright site SongView.

The writers Appel, Henny and Schnug were members of New York band The Balloon Farm. They also wrote that band’s psych-pop classic A Question of Temperature (October 1967, #37 USA, charted 1968), later included on the landmark Nuggets 1 box set (1998).

Sunshine Rides On A Trolley Car has been referred to as an unreleased Balloon Farm song, but I can find no direct evidence that the band recorded a demo or intended release. It does seem likely, though, that one or the other existed.

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Before joining with Mike Appel and Jay Saks to form Balloon Farm, Edward Schnug and Donald Henny had been in a band called Adam where every member adopted the name Adam. The Balloon Farm line-up later released a single as The Huck Finn.

Mike Appel is now better known as an early but notable producer, writer and manager for Bruce Springsteen: see Richie Unterberger’s article at All Music Guide. His website is at MikeAppel.com.

The name Balloon Farm is after the club of that name in New York’s East Village, renamed from The Dom when Bob Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman became part-owner in 1966, and later called the Electric Circus. Dylan is usually cited as having coined the name but the details are hazy and there are different versions. He might have been talking about silver balloon sculptures by Warhol, or the speech balloons he pictured above the crowd.

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Adam, Balloon Farm, Huck Finn singles discography

Adam 1966
• Eve (Henny – Schnug – Mintzer – Fitzsimmons) / Where Has My Little Girl Gone (Adam Mintzer) on MALA 547

When The Balloon Farm’s Don Henny and Edward Schnug were in Adam, they adopted the names ‘Adam Dawson’ and ‘Adam Schnug’. All four Adams wrote the A-side of their single and Adam Mintzer, as ‘Adam Taylor’, wrote the B-side. James Fitzsimmons (‘Adam London’) had recorded as Jimmy London and played guitar on a Joey and the Ovations single.

Balloon Farm 1967
• A Question of Temperature (Mike Appel – Don Henny – Ed Schnug) / Hurtin’ For Your Love (Appel – Henny – Schnug – Jay Saks) on Laurie 3405
Balloon Farm 1968
• Hurry Up Sundown (Henny – Appel) / Farmer Brown (Appel), on Laurie 3445

Huck Finn 1968
• Two Of A Kind (Henny -Appel) / We’ll Catch The Sun (Appel) on Kapp 958

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Thanks to Bryan Fitzsimmons, son of James.

I gleaned some points from an apparently defunct post by Mop Top Mike at Spectropop Group.