Matt King and I recently recorded a podcast in which we each list what we think are the top-ten summer songs of all time. Not surprisingly, a few songs appeared on both of our lists. Here's the podcast, followed by links to the songs:
Eddie Cochran, "Summertime Blues": Eddie Cochran died tragically in 1960 at the age of 21. He remains a giant of early rock-and-roll, a representative of the energetic and gritty rock that shook up the boredom of late 1950s culture. "Summertime Blues," with its theme of a rebellious youth getting hit with rejection from all the "adults" in society, is for me the archetype of the great summer song.
Led Zeppelin, Dancing Days: We wanted at least one heavy metal tune on the list, and Zep obliged. "Dancing days are here again, as the summer evenings grow." This song actually has a line in it that has perplexed Zeppelin fans for decades: "I saw a lion he was standin' alone/with a tadpole in a jar." Sounds like a dream. Or an acid trip.
DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, "Summertime": Before Will Smith became a famous actor and Academy Awards ceremony pugilist, he was the rapper known as The Fresh Prince. "Summertime," a nostalgic reflection on growing up in Philly, was one of his and DJ Jazzy Jeff's biggest hits.
Dick Dale and his Deltones, "Misirlou": What would a list of great summer songs be without including at least one from the Surf genre? Quite possibly the greatest rock guitar player in history, Dick Dale absolutely tore it up with his cover of an old Middle Eastern tune called "Misirlou." Dale's version is now over 60 years old (it was released in 1962) and it still sounds as dynamic and fresh as ever. Amazing.
Lana Del Rey, "Summertime Sadness": Lana Del Rey, the Queen of Melancholy, gives us a summer song that is 180 degrees from the typical cheeriness of that season's songs. This is not a song you want to request the DJ play at your best friend's August wedding.
The Beach Boys, "All Summer Long": Before the release of the transformational "Pet Sounds" in 1966, the Beach Boys were know as the ultimate west coast pop band, writing and singing mostly upbeat and cheerful tunes that reinforced the image of California as the youth mecca of the world. "All Summer Long" is one of those tunes.
The Lovin' Spoonful, "Summer in the City": Released in 1966, this tune was not typical for the Lovin' Spoonful, whose output up to that point had been a kind of folk-country-pop-rock hybrid. "Summer in the City" features John B. Sebastian's most soulful vocals, and unlike most summer songs it actually laments the daytime heat.
Olivia Newton John and John Travolta, "Summer Nights": We include this song in honor of the late Olivia Newton-John, whose performance as Sandy Olsson in the 1978 film "Grease" becomes more iconic with each passing year. Every cisgender high school boy had a crush on Olivia in 1978. Trust me, I know.
Alice Cooper, "Schools Out": "School's Out" was one of the first songs I remember hearing on the radio, and as a middle-schooler at the time I found it amusing. Today it's hard to imagine an artist writing a fantasy about a school being "blown to pieces" without being accused of somehow advocating for it to happen.
Seals and Crofts, "Summer Breeze": Released in 1972, Jim Seals' and Dash Crofts' "Summer Breeze" was an early 1970s anthem symbolizing America's movement away from the turbulence of the 1960s. In that sense it was very much like the Eagles' "Take It Easy" which was released in the same year. I remember hearing them frequently played back-to-back on AM radio.
Bob Marley, "Three Little Birds": From the 1977 album "Exodus," Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" is classic reggae. Marley's politically charged anthems (e.g. "Redemption Song," "War," and many others) make it easy to forget that a large part of his art was and is a simple celebration of life. "Three Little Birds" is a wonderful representation of that part of him.
Bryan Adams, "Summer of '69": Canadian rocker Bryan Adams' summer classic came out at the height of the electro-pop music revolution inspired by MTV going on at the time. Not only did "Summer of '69" represent a worthy contribution to the summer song genre, but it also assured the rock audience that rock-and-roll was not dead.
The Go-Go's, "Vacation": Billboard magazine called this 1982 song the "perfect summer record" that was "uptempo, optimistic and the aural companion for lazy days at the beach." The Go-Go's hated making music videos, and guitar player Jane Wiedlin claims that in the "Vacation" famous water skiing scene the band members are actually drunk.
Norah Jones, "Sunrise": In 2005 Norah Jones won a Grammy Award for best pop vocal performance for this poignant folk ballad. If we think of summer mostly as the season of love, this song would have to be the anchor of the soundtrack.
Mungo Jerry, "In the Summertime": Mungo Jerry leader Ray Dorset claimed that he wrote this 1970 catchy summer classic in 10 minutes. In this #metoo era, the song's sexism does not come off as funny and irreverent as it might have in 1970. However, there is one lyric in the song that we should probably all take to heart: "Life's for living."
The Drifters, "Under the Boardwalk": For anyone's who's ever had or contemplated having a summer tryst, the Drifters' 1964 will always bring back that feeling.
Glenn Frey, "The Heat Is On": The late Glenn Frey recorded this song in 1984 for the hit movie "Beverly Hills Cop" starring Eddie Murphy. Given that the climate crisis has made summers much hotter for many around the world, "The Heat Is On" might be a contender for the 21st century International Anthem.
Martha and the Vandellas, "Dancing in the Street": Martha and the Vandella's glorious 1964 version of this song is perhaps the greatest example of the sound of the Motown House Band, the Funk Brothers. Given the emergence of street protests in support of civil rights in the early 1960s, this song can rightly be heard as a metaphor for the political activism of the time.
