(dd September 2023) summer is behind us in the northern hemisphere but this episode will soothe to your ears with a few songs that may remind you about the warm and sunny days
| Title | Artist | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Wake Up Boo! | The Boo Radleys | “Wake Up Boo!” is the Boo Radleys’ biggest hit in the UK. Its release in March 1995 coincided with the emergence of Britpop as a driving force in mid-1990s British music. This track is an upbeat guitar-pop song in which vocalist Martin Carr contrasts his own optimism (“Twenty-five I don’t recall a time I felt this alive”) with his lover’s pessimism (“You have to put the death in everything”). I once got this song as my alarm ringtone. The Boo Radleys originally formed in Wallasey, England in 1988 and disbanded in early 1999. Their name is taken from the character Boo Radley in Harper Lee’s 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. |
| Mockingbird (ft. James Taylor) | Carly Simon | “Mockingbird” is based on a traditional American folk song sometimes known as “Hush Little Baby.” Inez and Charlie Foxx were brother and sister who recorded the song in 1963. Carly Simon released her version in 1974 as a duet with her then-husband James Taylor. The song captures the essence of love, loss, and resilience. |
| Summer Breeze | Seals & Crofts | Jim Seals and Dash Crofts are from Texas and started as a duo in 1965. Writers Darrell Crofts and Jimmy Seals, stated that “Summer Breeze” was very simple song about a man coming home from work and hearing the dog barking and things like that, and to a lot of people the song’s about looking for security. |
| Daydream | The Lovin’ Spoonful | “Daydream” by The Lovin’ Spoonful is John Sebastian’s lazy, laid back celebration of love on a summer’s day. This song was a major influence on Paul McCartney’s Beatles composition “Good Day Sunshine.” |
| Good Day Sunshine | The Beatles | “Good Day Sunshine” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album Revolver. It was written mainly by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. McCartney intended it as a song in the style of the Lovin’ Spoonful’s contemporaneous hit single “Daydream”. The recording includes multiple pianos played in the barrelhouse style and evokes a vaudevillian mood. Author Steve Turner writes that the Kinks’ “Sunny Afternoon” could have been another source of inspiration for McCartney. |
| Sunny Afternoon | The Kinks | “Sunny Afternoon” is a song by the Kinks, written by chief songwriter Ray Davies. Like its contemporary “Taxman” by the Beatles, the song references the high levels of progressive tax taken by the British Labour government of Harold Wilson. |
| Long Hot Summer | The Style Council | On 13 August 1983, Paul Weller’s new band ‘The Style Council’ entered the UK chart with ‘Long Hot Summer,’ which became the biggest of their seven top ten (and 15 top 40) hits. The title even reflected the weather: Britain had just enjoyed, or endured, what remained the hottest July on record until that was beaten in 2006. The lyrics describe the longing for a love that is passionate, real, and long-lasting, the desire to escape the mundane life of the city and find peace in a more simplistic environment where he can be truly happy and contented. The song speaks to the idea that life is about living in the moment and letting go of past regrets to find true happiness. |
| De zji | Ertebrekers | De Belgian band ‘Ertebrekers’ (Heartbreakers) sing in their Flemish dialect about spending time at the sea (‘De Zji’). |
| Face A La Mer (Massive Attack Remix) | Les Négresses Vertes | Written by vocalist and guitarist Stéfane Michel Mellino, describe a cemetery by the sea, where cypresses act as the silent guardians. There are iron beds planted in the sand, facing the sea. The protagonist suggests going to the cemetery to see their own name engraved on a stone and to greet the dead who rest there, intoxicated by life in the sunlight and warmth, as the cypresses sway in the silence. The band “Les Négresses Vertes” (Green Black Girls) is a French band from Paris that started in 1987. The original line-up included: Helno (Singer) (born Noël Rota in Paris, December 25, 1963 – January 22, 1993; also known as Helno Rota De Lourcqua), Jo Roz (also known as L’Ami Ro; real name Joe Ruffier des Aimes) (Piano), Stéfane Mellino (Guitar), Jean-Marie Paulus (Bass), [Laurent Gabriel=Gaby] (Drums), Matias Canavese (Accordion), Michel Ochowiak (Trumpet), Abraham Sirinix (also known as Abraham Braham) (Trombone) and Iza Mellino (Backing Vocals). |
| Cruel Summer | Bananarama | Bananarama are a British and Irish pop group, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. “Cruel Summer” played on the darker side of summer songs: it looked at the oppressive heat, the misery of wanting to be with someone as the summer ticked by. We’ve all been there! |
| 5 Years Time | Noah and the Whale | “5 Years Time”, also known as “5 Years Time (Sun Sun Sun)”, is the debut single by English folk rock band Noah and the Whale, featuring backing vocals by Laura Marling. Written by vocalist and guitarist Charlie Fink, this glorious summer song is about having fun being in the sun and enduring love. |
| Jonah and the Whale | Louis Armstrong | Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana. Jonah and the Whale is a traditional gospel song with roots dating back to spirituals sung by African American communities. Released in 1961, this jazz classic tells the biblical tale of Jonah and his incredible encounter with a gigantic sea creature, referred to as a whale. This iconic song not only captivates listeners with its melodic charm but also carries a profound message of redemption, faith, and personal growth. |
| Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days Of Summer | Nat King Cole | Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer” is a popular song composed by Hans Carste. In 1963, it was recorded by Nat King Cole, with English lyrics written by Charles Tobias on a theme of nostalgia. Cole’s version, arranged by Ralph Carmichael and produced by Lee Gillette. |
| Quando Calienta El Sol | Trini Lopez | Trini Lopez was an American singer, guitarist and actor Born: May 15, 1937 (Dallas, TX, USA); died: August 11, 2020 (Palm Springs, CA, USA) from complications of Covid-19 “Quando Calienta El Sol” is written by Los Hermanos Rigual, Cuban brothers Carlos and Mario Rigual. |
| La Madrague | Brigitte Bardot | “La Madrague” is a French song written by Jean-Max Rivière and composed by Gérard Bourgeois. It was made famous by Brigitte Bardot in 1963, and was reportedly inspired by Bardot’s house in Saint-Tropez. Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a French animal rights activist and former actress, singer, and model. |
| Het is weer voorbij die mooie zomer | Gerard Cox | “’t Is weer voorbij die mooie zomer” (summer’s gone) by Dutch singer songwriter Gerard Cox from 1973 is based on the melody of ‘City of New Orleans’ from American folk and country singer songwriter Steve Goodman in 1971. Cox wrote the song while staying in Compiègne in France. Gerard Cox was born on March 6, 1940 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. |
| Seasons In The Sun | Terry Jacks | Terrence Ross Jacks (born March 29, 1944) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for his 1974 hit song “Seasons in the Sun”. The song is based on Rod McKuen’s 1965 re-write of “Le moribond”, originally by Belgian singer Jacques Brel from 1962 and was originally intended for the Beach Boys, but they never released it. Jacks later released “If You Go Away”, another McKuen adaptation of a Jacques Brel song, titled “Ne Me Quitte Pas”. In the early 1960s, McKuen moved to France, where he first met the Belgian singer-songwriter and chanson singer Jacques Brel. |
| Where Have All The Flowers Gone | The Kingston Trio | Where Have All The Flowers Gone by the Kingston Trio is an original from American folk singer and songwriter Pete Seeger in 1955. The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group, in original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds, that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. In 1961, the Trio was described as “the most envied, the most imitated, and the most successful singing group, folk or otherwise, in all show business”. The name “Kingston Trio” was chosen because it evoked, through its association with Kingston, Jamaica, the calypso music popular at the time, and also on the uniform of three-quarter-length sleeved vertically striped shirts that the group hoped would help its target audience of college students to identify with them. |
| Kingston Town | UB40 | “Kingston Town” is a 1970 song by Lord Creator (Kentrick Patrick (21 August 1935 – 30 June 2023)). English reggae band UB40 covered “Kingston Town” in 1989 and released it as a single in early 1990. |
| Don’t Look Back (You’ve Gotta Walk) | Peter Tosh | “Don’t Look Back” is a song written by Smokey Robinson and Ronald White and recorded by The Temptations in 1965. Peter Tosh scored a hit in 1978 with a reggae version of the song, sharing vocals with Mick Jagger. |
| Wonderful World, Beautiful People | Jimmy Cliff | Jimmy Cliff (born July 30, 1944 in Jamaica) is a GRAMMY® Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame® Inductee, musician, actor, singer, songwriter, producer, and humanitarian. His wife is Moroccan/French/Jamaican, and has a daughter Lilty Cliff and son Aken Cliff. |
| Melody Tempo Harmony (ft. Jimmy Cliff) | Bernard Lavilliers | Bernard Lavilliers is a French singer, born Bernard Ouillon on 7 October 1946. In 1970 he released his first single as ‘Edgar de Lyon’. In 1979 buys a boat and leaves for Jamaica, New York and Brazil. Upon his return to France in 1980 he released his most successful album ‘O gringo’. ‘Melody Tempo Harmony’, a reggae duo with Jimmy Cliff from 1995 is his biggest success. |
| International Rumba | Musik Ye Afrika | South African band ‘Musik Ye Afrika’ released March 25, 1997 “International Rumba” which featured the percussion and drumming of the late Jethro Shasha and Louis Mhlanga the South Africa-based guitarist from Zimbabwe. The band members are Jimi Indi – Bass Guitar, Jethro Shasha – Drums/Percussion and Louis Mhlanga – Guitars. |
| Y’a d’la rumba dans l’air | Alain Souchon | “Y’a d’la rumba dans l’air” is a song written and performed by Alain Souchon released in 1977 with music composed by Laurent Voulzy. The intro is in Italian with the voice of Marie Ruggeri and the reply (« je sais, je sais… ») taken from the single “Maintenant je sais” from 1974 by Jean Gabin. |
| Belle Île En Mer, Marie Galante | Laurent Voulzy | Lucien Voulzy (born 18 December 1948), better known as Laurent Voulzy, is a French singer-songwriter, composer and musician. “Belle-Île-en-Mer, Marie-Galante”, released by Laurent Voulzy in 1986 was written by Alain Souchon and composed by Laurent Voulzy. The song title mentions two islands, “îles de Belle-Île-en-Mer” in Brittany where Voulzy was raised and ‘Marie-Galante’ in Guadeloupe, where his parents were born. |
| Sarandonga | Lolita | Sarandonga is a song composed by the Cuban duo Los Compadres, made up of Lorenzo Hierrezuelo and Francisco Repilado ‘Compay Segundo’, at the end of the 1950’s. Antonio González ‘El Pescaílla’, husband of Lola Flores and father of Lolita performed it in 1966. Lolita included her version of this song on her 2001 album Lola, Lolita, Lola. |
Sources
The information sources of the song facts include, but are not limited to, Wikipedia, songfacts.com, discogs.com, secondhandsongs.com, YouTube and artists’ related websites.
