Songs of Summer
Posted on July 22, 2016
by Eric P
A song of the summer isn’t the same thing as a song about summer. Anyone can write a song about summertime – the Fresh Prince (“Summertime” from 1981) did it, and so did Jonathan Richman (“That Summer Feeling” from 1984) and Hüsker Dü (“Celebrated Summer” from 1984) and Bananarama (“Cruel Summer” from 1984). The challenge is recording a song that the culture (and the radio) adopts as the song of the summer. Every once in a while someone might manage to record a song about the summer that also manages to become the song of the summer (“Summer in the City” by The Lovin’ Spoonful from 1966), but that almost seems like too desperate a plea for attention. The trick is to come up with a combination of chords and rhythm and word sounds optimized to make everyone you know blare it at pool parties and from open car windows, regardless of what the lyrics are actually about. Hey, if Rick Springfield did it, how hard can it be (“Jessie’s Girl” from 1981)?
Here’s a sampling of songs from past summers, all available through the Toledo Lucas County Public Library. Warning: the following may trigger involuntary spasms of nostalgia.
Formats: CD |
Formats: CD |
Featured Image Credit: Sun by Eric P.
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