Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99…wear sunscreen.
“Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen” is a song that somehow made it onto the radio in the 90s. Chances are you’ve heard it before, and thought “this song is different”, and you were right. As a kid I always wondered how a spoken-word song about making good decisions in life could make it that big. After hearing it again as an adult, every piece of advice in the song holds true. I think that was a bit of the charm. But, I couldn’t stop there so I took to the interwebs and wanted to know more about the song this is what I found…
It was released by Australian film director Baz Luhrmann and was actually a commencement speech to the class of 1997 by Mary Schmich. Luhrmann used the essay in its entirety on his 1998 album “Something for Everybody” turning it into his hit single “Everybody’s Free To Wear Sunscreen.” With spoken-word lyrics over a mellow backing track, the song was an unexpected worldwide hit, reaching number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and number one in the United Kingdom.
As I said, it really holds true as an adult. I didn’t understand as a kid, but I do now. Do yourself a favor and click play on the video above and listen to the song again. If it doesn’t teach you young whippersnappers anything about life, it should at least bring back some memories from the 90s for us older folk!
