Thursday, May 14, 2009

Summertime!

OK--the last final exam has been handed out, completed and collected. And the stack of papers on my desk has been graded. I even have the Excel spreadsheet all set up, ready to calculate on one click of my finger (oh, so much easier than the old days of adding machine, pencils and endless calculations late into the night!).

So, what's next?

~SUMMERTIME~



True, I am a tad early, as far as the weather is concerned. Our cool spring continues--laced with days of crazy rain--that replenishes our parched earth, which suffered from a dearth of snow this winter.

Summertime got me to thinking of summers when I was in college. We would empty out our dorm rooms, and head off to various locations. With my parents in Africa, I sought summer work where I was a live-in maid. That meant travelling to Canada, and saying goodbye to my college boyfriend for the summer. And who knew if we would still be a couple when we returned to college in the fall? The romance usually didn't last.

Perhaps that separation tinged with the possibility of a stalled romance helped inspire some of the summer songs of my youth. One such sobby song was Bryan Hyland's "Sealed with a Kiss." And, yes, I know that song really (make that REALLY) dates me. So be it.

"Sealed with a Kiss" is number 53 on Entertainment Weekly's assembled list of the 100 Greatest Summer Songs of All Time.


Herewith the top 25:

1 The Lovin' Spoonful ''Summer in the City'' Summer of '66
2 The Beach Boys ''California Girls'' Summer of '65
3 Alice Cooper ''School's Out'' Summer of '72
4 Martha and the Vandellas ''Heat Wave'' Summer of '63
5 The Drifters ''Under the Boardwalk'' Summer of '64
6 The Doors ''Light My Fire'' Summer of '67
7 Martha and the Vandellas ''Dancing in the Street'' Summer of '64
8 Madonna ''Borderline'' Summer of '84
9 Sly & the Family Stone ''Hot Fun in the Summertime'' Summer of '69
10 The Rolling Stones ''(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction'' Summer of '65
11 Eddie Cochran ''Summertime Blues'' Summer of '58
12 The Hues Corporation ''Rock the Boat'' Summer of '74
13 The Beach Boys ''I Get Around'' Summer of '64
14 Grand Master Flash & the Furious Five ''The Message'' Summer of '82
15 Mungo Jerry ''In the Summertime'' Summer of '70
16 Rod Stewart ''Maggie May'' Summer of '71
17 The Beatles ''A Hard Day's Night'' Summer of '64
18 The Surfaris ''Wipe Out'' Summer of '63
19 The Beach Boys ''Wouldn't It Be Nice'' Summer of '66
20 The Police ''Every Breath You Take'' Summer of '83
21 Raspberries ''Go All the Way'' Summer of '72
22 The Carpenters ''(They Long to Be) Close to You'' Summer of '70
23 Jefferson Airplane ''White Rabbit'' Summer of '67
24 Elton John and Kiki Dee ''Don't Go Breaking My Heart'' Summer of '76
25 Bob Dylan ''Like a Rolling Stone'' Summer of '65


To see the remaining 75, go here. You can also read the fun descriptions of these songs. Among my other favorites are numbers 5, 15, 35, and 47. And I can always listen to number 73--summertime or anytime.

Any favorites of yours in the list? Do tell.

7 comments:

Anvilcloud said...

I remember that song. We moved and I left my girlfriend behind. We did write a few letters on which she wrote SWAK.

Dog_geek said...

Fun list! It is a bit odd that there's nothing on that list past the early 80's, though... surely there have been a few great summer songs in the past 25 years?

KGMom said...

Dog Geek--I think in the early 80s, they dispensed with romance, moved summertime indoors what with ubiquitous air conditioning, and--oh yes-- dispensed with rock in favor of rap. Are there rap summer songs? I don't know; I prefer rock.

Unknown said...

I can't think about summery songs yet. I still have a huge stack of papers to be graded, projects that the kids are working on, a play to put on, and a month of school left. My jealousy knows no bounds!

NCmountainwoman said...

My favorite did not make the top 25. "Stand by Me." It was made even more special as the song my son selected for the mom/son dance at his wedding!

The list brings back so many wonderful memories of carefree days spent on the beach. Such great rock stations to listen to on our transistor radios! Those were the days, my friend.

JeanMac said...

Numbers 16 and 24. Thanks for the memories. Oh, enjoy your well earned vacation.

Mary C said...

The link had quite an impressive list, Donna. Of course, I'm also dating myself by admitting I remember most of the ones listed in the late '50s and most of the '60s. I graduated from high school in '64 and I remember going to Ocean City, MD that summer. (I lived in Baltimore then.) And I guess the tune I would remember best would be by The Drifters singing "Under the Boardwalk." And I so enjoyed a lot of Beach Boys tunes back then. Little did I know then that I would be living in California ten years later.