What is it about the music of summertime? Could it be the warm weather or the anticipation of vacations? That time span between June 21st and September 21st that we await during the rest of the year? It’s summer music that makes this season so memorable. Here are my top 10 songs for summer.
Summer Music Songs
10. “Summer Nights” – Grease (Sorry, I couldn’t resist this one)
9. “Summer Rain” – Johnny Rivers
8. “Rockaway Beach” – The Ramones
7. “Summer in the City” – The Lovin’ Spoonful
6. “Hot Fun in the Summertime” – Sly and the Family Stone
5. “In the Summertime” – Mungo Jerry
4. “Summertime Blues” – Eddie Cochran
3. “Cruel Summer” – Bananarama
2. “Summertime” – Janis Joplin
1. “Sunny Afternoon” – The Kinks
Of course, nearly every Beach Boys song is summer music, regardless of when it was released or played. And there are others that are reminders of summer. Glenn Frey’s “You Belong to the City” with the line, “Moving through the crowds through the midnight heat” puts me into that sweaty summer night mindset. Or his compadre, Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer,” with the lyrics, “Out on the road today I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac…And those Wayfarers on, baby.” If that isn’t California summer imagery, I don’t know what is.
I’m sure you have your own summer musc playlist. Share it with Music Interview Magazine and turn our readers on to yours before “Summer’s Almost Gone” (The Doors).
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