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A Beloved ’70s TV Star Just Pulled Off One of the Most Unexpected Concert Cameos
Barry Williams joined the Smashing Pumpkins on stage in Chicago to perform ‘The Brady Bunch’ classic ‘It’s a Sunshine Day. in a surprise crossover moment.
Nostalgic concertgoers in Chicago just received a fun and unexpected treat. During a pre-Lollapalooza performance, The Brady Bunch star Barry Williams joined the legendary Smashing Pumpkins on stage to perform the iconic ’70s hit “It’s a Sunshine Day.”
Rolling Stone acknowledged that the combination of Williams and the Smashing Pumpkins might seem to come out of left field. However, as the media outlet noted, those who follow lead vocalist and guitarist Billy Corgan‘s podcast likely were less surprised. The Brady Bunch star appeared on Corgan’s show, The Magnificent Others, in May, so the two had recently connected.
Williams, 71, is best known for playing Greg Brady, the oldest son, on the beloved ’70s television series. “It’s a Sunshine Day” was performed on the series in 1972, with all six Brady kids playing a role in the production.
Even now, over 50 years later, it doesn’t take more than a few notes of the song for The Brady Bunch fans to recognize it and start singing along.
How did Smashing Pumpkins fans react to the surprise guest performer?
On Reddit, one concertgoer commented, “I understand that this is on brand with the good ol’ days. I understand that no one saw it coming and it was a pleasant surprise. But I will say that while I didn’t hate the experience, I didn’t love it, either.”
Another Redditor who thoroughly enjoyed the surprise cameo gushed, “What a treat! I love this song and the collaboration!”
Someone else added, “This is so cool and really made me smile!!”
“I grew up with both the Pumpkins and the Bradys so this is just awesome to me. I wonder how many in the audience were like WTF??? [To be fair] it is a catchy tune and the backup singers made it,” a separate Reddit user raved.
More than 50 years after “It’s a Sunshine Day” debuted on The Brady Bunch, the song continues to bring fans together in unexpected places. Williams’ surprise appearance was a rare crossover pop-culture moment that appealed to multiple generations of fans, and perhaps even created a few new ones.
