The Silent Sun

"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 mono single on 2 February 1968.^[2] A stereo mix of it appears on their debut album, From Genesis to Revelation.

B-side"That's Me"

Released2 February 1968 (1968-02-02)
July 2006 (2006-07) (reissue)

RecordedDecember 1967

GenreBaroque pop

Quick facts Single by Genesis, from the album From Genesis to Revelation ...

"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 (1968-02-02) July 2006 (2006-07) (reissue)
Recorded	December 1967
Genre	Baroque pop
Length	2:13
Label	Decca (UK) Parrot (US)
Songwriters	Tony Banks Peter Gabriel Anthony Phillips Mike Rutherford
Producer	Jonathan King
Genesis singles chronology
"The Silent Sun" (1968) "A Winter's Tale" (1968)
"Carpet Crawlers 1999" (1999) "The Silent Sun 2006" (2006)

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"The Silent Sun" is a fusion of folk rock and pop rock with orchestral strings and romantic lyrics. On both the single and album releases it was credited as being written by "Genesis." As of the single release the group consisted of Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel, Anthony Phillips, Mike Rutherford, and Chris Stewart, though John Silver had replaced Stewart by the time of the album release. In interviews the band has said that "The Silent Sun" was written solely by Gabriel and Banks.^[3]

The song 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.