The summer jam is an institution that’s probably as old as music – from Sousa marches played on the town common to the latest Lady GaGa single blaring out of a convertible as it passes.
You know the songs I’m talking about, the ones that seem to be everywhere for a couple of months and years later can still bring back memories of the summer after your senior year of high school or the first time you vacationed at the beach without your parents.
Sometimes they come from the hot movie of the summer, like “Summer Nights” from “Grease,” or “When Doves Cry” from “Purple Rain.”
Others just capture that carefree feeling that comes with the warmer months, like The Go-Go’s “Vacation,” Sheryl Crow’s “All I Wanna Do” or Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl.”
And a few transcend the generations and resurface as part of the soundtrack of every summer, like Martha and the Vandellas’ “Heat Wave,” The Beach Boys “California Girls,” or Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville.”
Over at Rhapsody, they’ve done a pretty good job of compiling a list of some of the all-time great summer jams, but I can think of dozens that got missed, like Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop,” ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky,” Bananarama’s “Cruel Summer,” Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf,” Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” and Smash Mouth’s “Walking on the Sun.”
And let’s not forget one of the cheesiest summer jams ever, Terry Jacks’ maudlin 1974 hit “Seasons in the Sun.”
So what do you think are some of the best summer songs ever? What songs do you think will be this year’s summer jams?
While you think of your favorites, here are a few from Rhapsody’s list (which is in no particular order, by the way).
Lovegame (Dave Aude Radio Edit) by Lady GaGa
California Girls by The Beach Boys
Umbrella Featuring Jay-Z by Rihanna
Vacation by The Go-Go's
All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Crow
Summer Nights by John Travolta
Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani
Jack And Diane by John Mellencamp
Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffett
Day 'N' Nite (Original Explicit) by Kid Cudi