Friday, July 29, 2022

Weekend Listomania (Special "In the Summer When It Sizzles, And I'm Not Even in Paris" Edition)

Well, it's late July and we've got our air conditioning turned up to the max. That being the case, here's a little fun project for us all -- Top Best or Worst Pop/Rock Songs about This Time of the Year.

And my Top Seven nominees are...

7. Chad and Jeremy -- A Summer Song

Glorious harmonies and acoustic guitar work that reduces you to tears.

6. Brian Hyland -- Sealed With a Kiss

Utter dreck. In my high school, we used to sing it as "Kissed by a Seal."

5. The Jamies--Summertime Summertime

I still don't know if that song sucks or not.

4. Eddie Cochran -- Summertime Blues

C'mon -- rock 'n' roll doesn't get any cooler.

3. The Kinks -- Sunny Afternoon

I'd never seen that clip before, but that's about as sublime as it can be.

2. The Tearjerkers -- Syracuse Summer

"The California sun shines all the time/but East Coast Summer's are a different kind/They don't last as long so they mean a little bit more..."

And the all time great pop song about the beauty of summer is...

1. The Beach Boys The Warmth of the Sun

C'mon -- who else?

Okay -- and who would your choices be?

Have a great weekend, everybody!!!!

20 comments:

Brian said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
getawaygoober said...

Chuck Prophet - Summertime Thing

Blue Ash Fan said...

Tommy Tutone -- Sounds of a Summer Night
That guy charging way too much for tickets -- Girls in Their Summer Clothes
Fountains of Wayne -- The Summer Place
Cheap Cassettes -- Endless Summer Ends
Chris Stamey -- The Summer Sun
Elvis Costello -- The Other Side of Summer

Shriner said...

Where is "Hot Fun In The Summertime"? An egregious error leaving that off!

paulinca said...

Bruce's "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" is a great song and it's a nod to every summer song from the '60s that influenced him as a kid. The song gets better the older I get.

paulinca

Anonymous said...

summer in the city -lovin' spoonful
in the summertime- mungo jerry
96 degrees in the shade- third world
starless summer sky- marshal crenshaw. marginalt

Alzo said...

Stumbled across this a few years ago and have been a fan ever since:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp169ELvyS4

Alzo said...

I'm shocked that you skipped Lovin' Spoonful's Summer in the City. Too obvious?
Still, there's...
Mungo Jerry: In the Summertime (don't roll your eyes- it's great)
Seals and Crofts: Summer Breeze (don't roll your eyes- it's pretty)
The Undertones: Here Comes the Summer
Sparks: Over the Summer
ELO: One Summer Dream (speaking of pretty songs)
Jonathan Richman: That Summer Feeling
War: Summer
Bananarama: Cruel Summer

and when it's winding down, The Kinks: End of the Season

Dave Leonatti said...

Cosmic Rough Riders: Revolution in the Summertime
Danny Wilson: Second Summer of Love
Jeb Loy Nichols: Summer Came
Chris Rea: Looking for the Summer
Datri Bean: Slow Down Summertime
Great Big Sea: When Summer Comes

Tinpot said...

@ Alzo: thanks for that. Not sure yet about the music, but the video was amazingly evocative.

Here's a favorite summer song of mine...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqGc8W0ETyA
A different mood, but gorgeous writing and performance.

dorethyroad@aol.com said...

The Jamie's- Summertime Sumertime
The Happenings - See you ln Sept.
Tradewinds - Only Surfer boy in NYC
Freddy Cannon - Palisades Park
Alice - Schools Out
Surfaces- Wipe Out
Martha/Vandellas - Dancing in the street
Otis - Dock of the Bay
Drifters - Under the Boardwalk

Butch said...

Donovan-Sunshine Superman

Anonymous said...

Girl Don't Tell Me , BBoys

dorethyroad@aol.com said...

Steve not to interrupt your weekend -
some good posts comments ?
rob

JB said...

Martha and the Vandellas, Heat Wave seems appropriate.

Peter Power Pop said...

Palmdale - "Here Comes The Summer" (2010)

Peter Power Pop said...

Billy Thorpe - "It's Almost Summer" (1975)

Peter Power Pop said...

Sherbet - "Summer Love" (1975)

M_Sharp said...

"You Bring The Summer" - The Monkees
"Summertime" - Billy Stewart
"A Summer Place" - Deke Dickerson and Los Straightjackets
"Corvette Summer" - Luther Russell
"Here Comes Summer" - The Dave Clark Five
"Surfin' Safari" - The Beach Boys
"Summer Wind" - Mr. S

Alzo said...

Okay, to put a cherry on this List-o-mania, here is the top-selling single of the Rock 'n' Roll era with 'summer' in its title:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt7SPm7N6D8