The sun, the beach, convertibles with their tops down, lazy days and crazy nights. Summer has been depicted, dissected, wished for, worshiped, and honored as much as any musical subject (with the possible exceptions of sex and drugs.)
Here's a look at some of the rock songs that best depict the (mostly) bright side of the long, hot summers of youth.
1. "Summer In the City" - Lovin' Spoonful
"Hot town, summer in the city ..." was the anthem for hot July nights in the summer of 1966 when it was a #1 single from the album Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful. It makes the back of my neck feel dirty and gritty just thinking about it.2. "Summertime" - Billy Stewart
"Fish are jumping and the cotton is high ..." suggests a "summer in the country" counterpoint to the Lovin' Spoonful's homage to hot weather. Billy Stewart's rendition -- the album version with more scat and a hot sax not heard on the radio single -- is the best. Nothing says summer quite like "Brrrrrrrrrrrr-up-ch-chuck-chuck-chooka-chuck-chuck...hooh!"3. "In the Summertime" - Mungo Jerry
Billy Stewart didn't have anything on these guys when it came to making vocal sound effects. Their first #1 single was imminently sing-alongable with lyrics like "Da da da dee da doo dee da dee da dee da da." They also had a solid list of great ways to waste your time "when the weather is fine ... " like swimming in the sea, driving fast, drinking, and having "women on your mind."4. "Summertime Blues" - The Who
Quick. Name a band or artist who hasn't covered this classic. This is one of the more "fun" versions (T Rex's running a close second) complete with some Ventures-like surf guitar riffs from Pete Townshend.5. "Hot Fun in the Summertime" - Sly and the Family Stone
The best version of this often-covered summer song about a "county fair in the country sun" is the one recorded by Sly and the Family Stone shortly after their performance at Woodstock in 1969. The fact that "them summer days" caused English teachers to cringe just made it that much more popular with a generation of rebellious youngsters.6. "All Summer Long" - Beach Boys
No self-respecting list of songs about summer would be complete without at least one song by the Beach Boys, for whom summer provided the basis for a musical genre unto itself. It's summer summarized: "T-shirts, cut-offs, and a pair of thongs ... we've been having fun all summer long."7. "Summer (Can't Last Too Long)" - Asia
Remember how we couldn't wait for summer, and how quickly it zipped by once it finally arrived? "I'll be making the most of summertime, crazy nights and lazy days ..." sums it up pretty well.8. "The Boys of Summer" - Don Henley
The theme is a little bit melancholy, but the summertime imagery is quite vivid, as in "Your brown skin shinin' in the sun, you got that top pulled down and that radio on ...". An electronic sound like a sea gull completes the imagery.9. "Summer of '69" - Bryan Adams
That summer seemed to last forever ... those were the best days of my life." Evenings at the drive-in and hours spent in a high school rock band give "Summer of '69" its charm.10. "Daisy Summer Piper" - Joni Mitchell
This is easily the best song about summer that you've never heard. Joni Mitchell wrote, but never recorded it, nor, as far as I can tell, has anyone else. It may be obscure, but the imagery is memorable:Daisy summer pipers come to town
Piping people out of doors
To see the magic all around
Listen now you'll hear his soundStare into a mirror pool
And laugh so princely vain
The skies become kaleidoscopes
With no two turns the same
