Best Summer Songs?

So my Stuck in the '80s compadre Steve Spears and I are planning a future podcast about summer: summer movies, summer music, that "forbidden" summer when Steve and I went skinny-dipping at midnight and would never speak of our "splashing" again.

We have the movies pretty well planned out, but we still need that killer soundtrack. So gimme good songs for summer! (Cruel Summer! The Boys of Summer! Summertime Girls!) You can focus on the '80s if you like. Or you can let it all hang out of your banana hammock and gimme summer songs from all decades. 'Cause that's how we roll here at Pop Life.

Comments

[erin]

As much as I hate to admit it, I think Natasha Bedingfield's Pocketful of Sunshine (just the song, not the album) is going to be on permanent rotation in my iPod this summer.

[Sean Daly]

I reviewed that albuma few weeks ago. She's like Pink for nuns.

"Pocketful of Sunshine" was definitely the catchiest thing on here.

[Forever Fiancee]

I just had a vision of you and Spearsy singing a duet - "Summer Nights" from Grease - and now I don't feel so well!

[Ray]

Sticking with the 80s, These are my picks.

"Power of Love" -- Huey Lewis and the News
"Walking on Sunshine" -- Katrina and the Waves
"Eyes Without a Face" -- Billy Idol
"Panama" -- Van Halen
"Hold On Loosely" -- 38 Special
"You Might Think" -- The Cars
"Girls Just Want To Have Fun" -- Cyndi Lauper
"Rio" -- Duran Duran
"Would I Lie To You" -- Eurythmics
"Heat is On" -- Glenn Frey
"Conga" -- Gloria Estefan
"Vacation" -- Go-Gos
"Wish I Had A Girl Like That" -- Henry Lee Summer
"Self Control" -- Laura Branigan
"All Night Long" -- Lionel Richie
"Kiss Me Deadly" -- Lita Ford
"Land Down Under" -- Men At Work
"Little Red Corvette" -- Prince
"Bille Jean" -- Michael Jackson
"Legs" -- ZZ Top

[kmcg]

School's Out - Alice Cooper
Under the Boardwalk/Sand in My Shoes - Drifters
Summer Breeze - Seals and Crofts
Asbury Park, 4th of July (Sandy) - Bruce Springsteen
Girls in Their Summer Clothes - Springsteen
Here Comes the Sun - Beatles
Good Day Sunshine - Beatles
You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
Any song by Beach Boys (e.g. Catch a Wave)

[Gary]

"I've got a drink in my hand, got my toes in the sand. All I need is a beautiful girl."

Beautiful Girls - Van Halen

[MaiSitter]

Summer of 69~ Bryan Adams

[Bassnote]

Atomic Tan - The Clash
Blister In The Sun - Violent Femmes
Sunny Places - Shady People - Corey Hart
Sunshine In The Shade - The Fixx
Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams
Summer Sun - Shooting Star
Summer Of Love - The B-52's
Summer Nights - Survivor
Summer (Can't Last Too Long) - Asia
Beach Song - The Dead Milkmen
The Beach - New Order
I Go Swimming - Peter Gabriel
The Weather Is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful - Jimmy Buffett
Sailing - Christopher Cross
Rag Top Day - Jimmy Buffett
Dancing In the Street - Van Halen
White Hot Day - Simple Minds
Summertime Blues - Brian Setzer
Loved By The Sun - Jon Anderson
Sweet Freedom - Michael McDonald
Summertime Girls - Y&T
Hot In The City - Billy Idol
Hot You're Cool - General Public

[MaiSitter]

Some non 80's
Island in the Sun ~ Weezer
Ocean Avenue ~ Yellowcard
Margaritaville~ Jimmy Biffet
Summer Breeze~ Seals & Crofts
Jamming ~ Bob Marley
Summertime~ Kenny Chesney
Soak Up the Sun~ Sheryl Crow

[Phil]

Some great stuff...Got to include some non-80's:

Ticket to Ride - Beatles
(plus lots of others by The Beatles)

Sumemrtime Blues - by Eddie Cochrane, The Who, Blue Cheer

Summer in The City - Lovin' Spoonful

Light My Fire - The Doors (album, not the A.M. radio version)

Hush - Deep Purple

In The Summertime - Mungo Jerry (truly a one-hit wonder)

Summertime - Billy Stewart

Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant

[jane]

Some (really) old school selections:

"Garota De Ipanema" -- Stan Getz and Tom Jobin, with Astrud Gilberto on vocals (maybe my favorite song in the entire world, next to "Night and Day")

Speaking of which...

"Too Darn Hot" -- many versions, but let's go with Erasure's off the "Red, Hot and Blue" compliation

"Grazin' in the Grass" - Friends of Distinction

"Summer Wind" - Francis Albert, baby

"Dancing in the Street" - Martha and the Vandellas

"Summertime" -- many versions, the most current being Fantasia's

"Some Like It Hot" -- Power Station

Seconding Ray's suggestion of "Hold on Loosely", as it reminds me of the summer before I went off to college and worked as a lifeguard/swimming instructor at a local pool. Best job I ever had. Without question.

[CHAD]

sean
you gotta throw in some OUTFIELD tunes. as a hardcore fan(have all the cds and such), i'd say here are a few: your love, everytime you cry, say it isnt so, winning it all, voices of babylon, my paradise, bangin, since you've been gone, all the love. i might also throw in summertime girls-y&t, mine all mine, why cant this be love, dreams-van halen, (you can still) rock in america, when you close your eyes, the secret of my success-night ranger, give to live, i cant drive 55-sammy hagar, stone in love, dont stop believin-journey, that aint love, tough guys-reo speedwagon, the power of love-huey lewis and the news, in my dreams-dokken, etc.

[Marissa]

Jeez, my eyes can't focus and my brain can't fully function after the imagery of Sean and Steve frolicking at midnight. They say it's a myth, but a double full moon existed that night.

[sparky]

Pocket Full of Sunshine? That song should have been named Pocket Full of Feces.

[sparky]

Wow Chad, I like your style. Huge Van Hagar and Night Ranger fan.

How about Pour Some Sugar on Me - Def Lep. That was a fave of the Wilkes-Barre 500 crew

[CHAD]

thanks sparky, i guess i could throw on some leppard. i do like hysteria, but pyro is my fav. photograph, rock of ages, armageddon it, pour some sugar on me, lets get rocked, and from the new cd, i'd put go, nine lives,and bad actress. a few more i might do is, pleasant valley sunday-the monkees, surrender, the flame, and dream police-cheap trick. if i think of some more, ill post.

[El Mike]

Since Steve was willing to expand the 80's to include 1979, let's hope he'll stretch them the other way to 1991, so you can include two of the best summer songs:

Summer Vacation - The Party
Summertime - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

If we have to stay pure 80s, then I agree with Sean's suggestion:

Cruel Summer - Bananarama

and would add:

Holiday Road (theme from Vacation) - Lindsey Buckingham
La Isla Bonita - Madonna
Holiday - Madonna
Holiday Rap - MC Miker & DJ Sven

From the 80s...

Summer of Love - B-52's
Pulling Mussels (From A Shell) - Squeeze
Mimi on the Beach - Jane Siberry

And a couple from beyond the 80s...

August Day Song -- Bebel Gilberto
Last Day of Summer -- Kirsty MacColl

[GlennS.]

Oops, that's my list above (starting with Summer of Love...) Once again, I should never try posting before I've had my morning caffeine.

[sparky]

Don't know if anyone else has put it down, but this being a Tampa paper and all, what about The Miami Vice Theme? Any takers.

[D]

if we're going with TV themes, sparky, what about the Hawaii 5-0 theme? total classic.

[Gina V.]

Hi, Sean. How about the theme from "Jaws" after a Beach Boys song? Or X's "Under the Big Black Sun"? To mix it up. I'm heading back to DC in a few weeks. The summer's there are just as ridiculously hot as they are here, aren't they? Give my love to Spears. Miss you guys.

[Sean Daly]

Gina V, my first love. Hate that we're losing you to DC again. The summers in the nation's capital might be worse at their peak -- but hell, at least they're shorter. By September, you're starting to cool down a bit; by October, it's sublime.

Down here, you're still sweating your rump off on Halloween.

[scooterbucs]

What no Pat Benatar? You can't have an 80's playlist without her! How about "Invincible" which was played throughout the great 80's summer movie "The Legend of Billie Jean"? Then there's always "Love is a Battlefield", "Hit Me with Your Best Shot", "Hell is for Children," "Treat Me Right" and "You Better Run" from the "Crimes of Passion" album.

[KateB]

Though I'm an '80s girl through and through, I have to ditto MaiSitter's "Summer Breeze."

[CHAD]

well summer breese by shaw/blades is a good choice as well.

[sparky]

Since we have ventured into non 80's I can't believe that we have left off the original boys of summer:

The Beach Boys & Jan and Dean

and while I am at it why not throw Wipeout in there. We can put it in there twice. Once the original Safaris version and then the 80's remake by the Fat Boys and Beach Boys.

[Marissa]

Oh Sparky! You hit that nail on the head with the Fat Boys with the Beach Boys. I love that song! It's funky and goes perfectly with a margarita.

[Marissa]

How about some love for Richard Marx and the cheesy love that is "Endless Summer Nights"?
I saw him in concert when he opened for REO Speedwagon. Oh yeah. I'm a rocker chick.

[sparky]

That song is like a Classic Blue Blazer, goes well with just about anything.

[jane]

Jan & Dean! Great suggestion, sparky. "Surf City" is a great tune, as is "Little Old Lady from Pasadena".

I remember watching Deadman's Curve, the movie about them and Jan's car accident when I was a wee lass and getting a major crush on Richard Hatch, who played Jan and Bruce Davison, who was Dean. Sigh.

[sparky]

Jane, I as a wee lad, as you say, met Jan and Dean at a concert at a now defunct amusement park (Rocky Glen). I was a fan of J&D due to my father, who had fabulous musical taste (also introduced me to Buddy Holly, Simon & Garfunkel, and Neil Diamond). Dad was working late and I saw in the paper that Jan & Dean were playing the Glen so my mother and I went up to see the show. This was post crash, and although Dean had a little trouble with some things he sang the music flawlessly. We met them after the show and they autographed my album cover. Still have it today with all my sports stuff.

[Marissa]

I was reminded by my sister that the first concert I ever attended was "The Loving Spoonful" at Indiana Beach or some place like that. I was 2 years old.

[jane]

That is too cool, sparky. And your dad did have fabulous musical taste -- I listen to Simon & Garfunkel on a regular basis. Saw them a couple of years ago -- had terrible seats, but just hearing them (as it would be a stretch to say I saw them) live was an amazing experience.

My parents should have had such taste -- I was treated to a steady diet of Burt Bacharach, Claudine Longet and Herb Alpert. All of which I really appreciate now, but as a "wee lass" it wasn't all that cool. We were the only house on the block without a Beatles or a Stones album in the stereo console.

[Marissa]

"Boys of Summer" ~ Don Henley / The Ataris (but not DJ Sammy -- yuk)
I might have overlooked it on the lists above

[sparky]

My favorite song as a kid was Jerimiah was a Bullfrog - Three Dog Night. I remember singing it with my Dad as we tooled down the road in his Econoline van with me riding on top of the engine compartment between the front seats, because in those days (early 70's) who needed seatbelts. My version was Jerimiah was Bullswog, cause I was around 5 and didn't do f's real well. We had quite the duet.

[Eric62]

Funny how these things end up lodged in your brain, but one of my best friends got his first car (and therefore his first car stereo) around the summer of 79, and his eight-track of Eddie Money's Life for the Taking was always nearby. We listened to that tape so many times I still cant hear Gimme Some Water without expecting the middle-of- the-tape "click-clack'' somewhere during that song.

[jane]

My favorite songs as a kid: "Winchester Cathedral" by The New Vaudeville Band (talk about a one-hit wonder!), "Barbara Ann" by the Beach Boys and "I'm a Believer" by the Monkees. I can remember sitting on the bathroom counter and singing "Winchester Cathedral" with my dad while he shaved.

And too true about not needing seatbelts in the early '70s. I used to ride around playing on the floor of the back seat. Safety first!

[sparky]

My two favorites spots in a car as a kid were between the seats in van, especially in the winter because the heater wasn't real good and the cover over the engine was warm, and in the back window deck of my father's 69 Chrysler New Yorker. The thing was SO BIG you could really lounge out over the back deck.

[Marissa]

I remember roller skating (they attached to our sneakers) and singing,"Brand New Key" by Melanie. Clearly, I thought it was about roller skates and bicycles.

Hearing "Shambala" by Three Dog Night conjures up a memory of piling into a station wagon and heading to a swimming area called, The Shores of Kilarney. Not nearly as majestic as it sounds, but it gave us relief from the summer heat.

[jane]

Love that -- lounging in the back window deck.

I had a friend whose mom drove a station wagon with that backward facing rear seat. We'd ride there, even when it was just the two of us as passengers and make the "honk your horn" sign at all the cars going by. Used to make her mom so mad.

[jane]

Eric, I had a roommate in college with a '79 Chrysler that had an 8-track player. Meat Loaf's "Bat Out of Hell" was on HEAVY rotation one summer and I always feel like I should be riding around in a car when I hear "Paradise By the Dashboard Light." This roommate was also my one friend who swore she drove better drunk than sober. Which made perfect sense to 19-year-old intoxicated sorority girls. I roll my eyes and thank my lucky stars every time I think about it.

[CHAD]

hey marissa, huge richard marx fan here as well. he just put out a download cd on his website. its a duo record with matt from vertical horizion. he does some acoustic versions of some of his tunes, plus a new one as well.

[Marissa]

Thanks for the heads up, chad. I'll check it out.

[Nan]

'Hot Fun in the Summertime' by Sly and the Family Stone. The tune was #2 in 1969 on the US chart, but it is timeless. I was 11 in '69, but still loved it, probably because my dad was in the radio business and we had a radio playing in at least one room of our house from dawn till dusk (AM frequencies were off the air after sunset). This songs screams summer!

Cheers!
Nan in Alabama (formerly of KY)

[Meg in Mass.]

Here's my 2 cents:

Vacation-The Go-Go's
Summer of 69-Bryan Adams
Summer Nights-Van Halen (total anthem for me when I was a teen)
Cruel Summer-Bananarama
Magic-The Cars
Summertime Girls-Y&T
99 In The Shade-Bon Jovi ("Whoa, tell the boys Im on my way/I've got the radio blasting in my old man's Chevrolet/I've got a party in my pocket and you know I just got paid/ I'm feelin' fine, it's 99 in the shade")
Your Love-The Outfield
Rain In The Summertime-The Alarm
Rio-Duran Duran
Rockaway Beach-The Ramones
Remember, Walking In The Sand-Aerosmith version
Sea of Love-Honeydrippers version
California Girls/Just Like Paradise-David Lee Roth