Jonathan Edwards

Anyone who took U.S. History in high school is probably more familiar with 18th century theologian Jonathan Edwards than with the Jonathan Edwards who went gold with the song “Sunshine” in 1971. Hear that song on the radio or look it up on YouTube, though, and everyone knows every word to the chorus. Some 41 years after that song went kaboom, Edwards is still touring of the strength of it, as well as on the strength of his long career full of solid Americana records, like Honky-Tonk Stardust Cowboy, and his record for kids, Little Hands. Edwards is pretty white-bread—he hosted a PBS series about traveling America’s waterways, for crying out loud—but even vanilla can be appealing every once in a while. 

Updated 04/18/2012