Best Summer Songs

[Gem]

Tis the season... The days are longer, the need for a jacket is lessening, you stare at your grass knowing you'll soon have to tackle it... Spring is in the air, and closing in on Summer.

(although we still have April showers to come I know)

I'm putting together a CD which I mean to do every year but never get around to it... Basically, all the songs that remind me of Summer. So far I've got:

Bryan Adams - Summer of 69

Will Smith & Jazzy Jeff - Summertime

R Kelly - Remix to Ignition

Underdog Project - Summer Jam

T-Spoon - Sex on the Beach

DJ Sammy - Boys of Summer

That bloody Ketchup song that was around a few Summers ago...

Just to name a few. Of course I know I'm missing Beach Boys, but I have their album already so I don't really wanna double up on songs... Also I know they may not be brilliant songs, but they're Summery to me all the same.

Anyway, what song(s) remind you of Summer? Any special memory or just in general?

Yes. I do want some other songs to add

[Maksimov]

Atomic Swing's "Soul Free" is one that reminds of summer. Can't find a link to it, but their songs "Stone me into the Groove" and "Panicburgh City" also remind me of a great summer several years ago. Feel good music for great times!

[Maksimov]

Ok these songs are special mainly because of the memories I have of hearing it...when and where that is. Well, Garbage's "Push it" and Beastie Boys' "Super Disco Breakin'" remind of a certain summer. Ah, the memories. There's others...I'll get back on this later.

[BackInBlue]

Doesn't really remind me of summer but my favourite summer song is Summer 68'(not 69) by Pink Floyd. Love that song.

[Maksimov]

Talking of Pink Floyd, "Arnold Layne" reminds of a great summer! No...I'm not old enough to remember it when it came out originally, but one summer the EP with the first three singles was played A LOT! So, "See Emily Play" makes me think of that great summer..."Paint Box" and "Apples and Oranges" too!

Couldn't find a link to 'Candy and a Currant Bun', though.

[Backbiter]

katrina and the Waves - Walkin On Sunshine

Isley Bros - Summer Breeze

[Maksimov]

Talking of 'Summer Breeze', Jackie Mittoo's 'Summer Breeze' reminds me of summer!

[clubhappy]

Summertime by DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince is always a feel good summer tune .

Lola's Theme ''Shapeshifters . First heard it in Ibiza in May 2004 , for the rest of the summer it was the biggest track on the Island and became a massive summer hit everywhere.

Summer Madness ''Kool and the gang '' its an instrumental and is sampled in ''Summertime '' above mentioned track.

The Hustle ''Van McCoy , all i remember is that it was a huge summer tune in , i think 1976 ??

''Your my heart , your my soul '' ''Modern Talking . Always reminds me of working in Cyprus in the summer of 1988 .

Are friends electric ''Tubeway army . Ok its not technically a summer tune but it always takes me back to the summer on 1979 , sitting on a wide open park , gangs of us , watching females pass by , and this was a huge hit at the time.

Ride on time ''Black box '' . 1989 and dance music exploded . It was the first real piano dance No 1 and hit the top spot in July that year . I was a poser then and driving down the road with that blasting out the window felt great

Plenty more to come i'd say .

Neighbour cut his grass yesterday and i could smell the freshly cut grass from here , ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, summer's here soon .

[midlandblue]

Lovely Day... Bill Withers

[ossie13]

In the Summertime.....Mungo Jerry

[loz]

I always liked the sound of the Velvet Underground's 'Who Loves the Sun' on a warm sunny day (even though the actual lyrics are in direct contrast to any sense of summer jolliness!)

When I think of summer songs I either of songs I like to listen to whilst drinking beer in the park or songs I like to listen to when driving with the windows down! (you can sstill do that in the country without choking to death ).

With that in mind, as well as the VU track I would also opt for things like:

Donovan - Sunshine Superman

Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone

Nick Drake - Hazey Jane I

and so - you get the idea - quite mellow tracks!

I guess other, more obvious, candidates are

Van Morrisson - Brown Eyed Girl

Martha & the Vandellas - Dancing in the Street

Mungo Jerry - In the Summertime

Loving SPoonful - Summer in the City

The Drifters - Under the Boardwalk

[bjd]

a cheesy one but hows about Don Henleys 'The Boys Of Summer'...

[yorkleyblue]

OK, I have a few summer song memories

Seasons in the Sun - Terry Jacks - Got it played by the DJ at the Codrington specially for a girl I fancied and she rewarded me outside after

Silver Machine - Saw Hawkwind at Stonehenge. Most of their stuff was sh*t but this is classic

New York New York - This played every night in a beach bar on Majorca during one of the very best holidays we have ever had

Radar Love - Played by Bit on the Side Live at the Rock and Blues Festival We went on after Motorhead, played a full set but had to stop halfway through for the strippers (see previous posts about disappearing truncheons) and played this song as a four piece band. It was totally amazing having hundreds of air-guitarists playing along with me

Drive - The Cars Sadly, not a good summer memory, but the use of this and the film that went with it at Live Aid has stayed with me ever since. The incongruity of sitting in the sun watching and listening to this filled me up

There's probably loads more but I now gotta go do some work

Kev

[Maksimov]

The Breeders - "Saints"

"Summer is ready, when you are!"

[BlueBeard]

Virtually anything by the Beach Boys or Jan & Dean bring back happy memories of summer!

Also, from the 60's

The Kinks - Sunny Afternoon

Scott McKenzie - San Francisco

Desmond Dekker - 007 (Shanty Town)

The Move - Flowers In The Rain

Marmalade - Lovin' Things

Hollies - Carrie Anne

Supremes - The Happening

Tremeloes - Even The Bad Times Are Good

Small Faces - Itchycoo Park

Honeybus - I Can't Let Maggie Go

The Herd - I Don't Want Our Loving To Die

Blood, Sweat & Tears - You've Made Me So Very Happy

Jackie Wilson - (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher

The Love Affair - Bringing On Back The Good Times

or the 70's

Mr.Bloe - Groovin' With Mr.Bloe

Nicky Thomas - Love Of The Common People

Marmalade - Rainbow

Jackson 5 - The Love You Save

East Of Eden - Jig-A-Jig

Mungo Jerry - Lady Rose

Temptations - Just My Imagination

Bob & Marcia - Pied Piper

Tams - Hey Girl Don't Bother Me

Rolling Stones - Tumbling Dice

Drifters - Saturday Night At The Movies

Chi-Lites - Oh Girl

Johnny Nash - I Can See Clearly Now

Alice Cooper - School's Out

Terry Dactyl & The Dinosaurs - Seaside Shuffle

Hot Butter - Popcorn

Supremes - Automatically Sunshine

Linda Lewis - Rock-A-Doodle-Doo

Isley Brothers - Summer Breeze

Cockney Rebel - Judy Teen

George McCrae - Rock Your Baby

First Class - Beach Baby

10cc - I'm Not In Love

Johnny Nash - Tears On My Pillow

Typically Tropical - Barbados

Bee Gees - Jive Talkin'

Four Seasons - Silver Star

Peter Frampton - Show Me The Way

The Real Thing - You To Me Are Everything

Isley Brothers - Harvest For The World

Tavares - Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - Here Comes The Sun

Eagles - Hotel California

The Jacksons - Show You The Way To Go

Boz Scaggs - Lido Shuffle

Donna Summer - I Feel Love

Floaters - Float On

Jonathan Richman - Roadrunner

I'm not saying these songs are all classics, but they all remind me of summer - [sigh] think I'll go and lie down on the beach!

[Maksimov]

Another song that reminds of a certain summer from years ago is "Sun Hits the Sky" by Supergrass. For some reason I couldn't find the music video for it, just some live versions.

"Instant Repeater '99" by Soundtrack of our Lives reminds me of summer too.

Goldbug's version of "Whole lotta love" is also pretty good cover version and it reminds of a summer from years ago.

One summer Beck's 'Odelay' was released in the summer of 1996 and the whole album reminds me of that summer.I'll provide a link to "Devil's Haircut", even if it's not my favourite from that album, but it's a good.

"Time of the Season" by The Zombies is a pretty good golden oldie.

And ofcourse Undertones' "Here Comes the Summer has to be mentioned. Well, it's got the word 'summer' in it.

[mad_mac]

Virtually anything by the Beach Boys or Jan & Dean bring back happy memories of summer!

Also, from the 60's

The Kinks - Sunny Afternoon

Honeybus - I Can't Let Maggie Go

Jackie Wilson - (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher

or the 70's

Marmalade - Rainbow

Drifters - Saturday Night At The Movies

Jonathan Richman - Roadrunner

I'm not saying these songs are all classics, but they all remind me of summer - [sigh] think I'll go and lie down on the beach!

THere are some great ones on there

marmalade are a great band, loved the song 'i see the rain"

Roadrunner is one of my favourite songs of all time

Good vibrations by the beach boys, and a few other ones of theirs are always decent.

Lets stick together, Al green.

A quick one while he's away

again not sure why, but associate them with Summer

Mungo Jerry is another synonimous with summer

Anyway, BB, I am really impressed by the inclusion of Honeybus. I actually am very good friends with the guitarist from this band, Ronnie Douglas. He is a top bloke, they were on the verge of becoming really big untill Honeybus's drummer made a pass at Brian Epstein....the deal was dropped.

Anyway, just glad to see that one in their

[Maksimov]

"...They're not calling you the new George Epstein you know..."