A look at hit songs from summers past
Looking for lasting value in a “song of the summer” is like hoping for epic romance in a fling. It’s no surprise the term entered the lexicon in reference to a one-hit wonder: The Knack’s My Sharona was described by Toronto critic Liam Lacey in 1981 as 1979’s “runaway song of the summer.” But by the end of 1979, he noted, backlash against the song had “set in with a vengeance.”
There were all-conquering summer songs well before then that ruled airwaves and invaded brainwaves; among them were Elvis Presley’s Don’t Be Cruel and The Rolling Stones’ (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction. But over the course of the MTV era — which also began in 1981 — they’ve become more standardized.
Nowadays, the Platonic ideal of the summer hit single is an ubercatchy, throwaway track that references the season, sun, partying and non-committal liaisons, combined with nostalgia for all of these things: “Those were the best days of my life,” as Bryan Adams would have it. They’re also accompanied by lighthearted, colourful videos — the visual equivalent of cotton candy. Increasingly rare exceptions (The Police’s Every Breath You Take, Prince’s When Doves Cry) only prove the rule.
In 2017, however, the idea that a song of the summer can achieve true cultural dominance is losing hold. The way we listen to music is more fragmented: Drake made no music video for One Dance, Billboard’s No. 1 of summer ’16, and the prevalence of streaming services that are gated off from one another makes it unlikely one song will be heard everywhere.
What’s more, musicians are hedging their bets: The video for one of this year’s song-of-summer contenders, DJ Khaled’s partypeople posse cut I’m the One, features ridiculously rampant product placement, from alcohol to headphones to vaporizers.
“The money never lie, no,” sings Justin Bieber on the hook, highlighting the cynicism inherent in a genetically engineered summer song.
Bieber is also featured on the remix of Despacito, by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, which was recently crowned the most streamed track of all time.
This list celebrates a few summer favourites that have managed to stick around.
BANANARAMA Cruel Summer (1983)
Leave it to the Brits to gripe about the weather, even when it’s hot (“I sit around/Trying to smile/ But the air is so heavy and dry”), but the London trio offsets their glum lyrics and minor-key hook with a jaunty attitude, a jangly beat, and a video full of Dukes of Hazzard-inspired hijinks. What’s more, in great summer-hit tradition, this song climbed the charts after soundtracking a summer blockbuster: in this case, The Karate Kid.
NELLY Hot in Herre (2002)
This horny hip-hop hit offers a checklist of summer-song characteristics, including a fantastically silly video (the club gets so hot, the roof literally catches fire), immediately out-of-date pop culture references (“Vokal tank top”), a gruff/ sweet boy/girl duet, an irresistible beat (courtesy The Neptunes), an immediately identifiable catchphrase and an indelible hook.
BLACK EYED PEAS I Gotta Feeling (2009)
This hit became ubiquitous by offering a pleasure so guilty, it should be condemned; it’s so determinedly big and dumb, you can feel your IQ ebbing away with each repetition of that nagging chorus, and with every whoop and toast (“Drank!”). But it’s the most benign of earworms, defying you not to smile when you hear it.
DJ JAZZY JEFF & THE FRESH PRINCE Summertime (1991)
Just as George and Ira Gershwin’s Summertime was the uber-summer jam, this is the prototype summer pop smash, advertising its own seasonal-specific utility: “It’s cool to dance/But what about the groove that soothes, that moves romance?” Will Smith was the master of the smooth, soft sell, back when he was fresh and the living was easy.
DAFT PUNK FEAT. PHARRELL Get Lucky (2013)
Robin Thicke may have won the battle for Song of Summer 2013 with Blurred Lines, but the robots won the war — with a little help from Pharrell, and Nile Rodgers’ chic guitar. This slinky ode to being “up all night to the sun” is destined to be reborn in summers to come: The legend of the phoenix lives on.
BRYAN ADAMS Summer of 69 (1984)
Few rock hits encapsulate summer, but Adams’ defiantly triumphant celebration of a time when “it was now or never” breaks the mould. How else to be nostalgic about 1969 than with guitars? (Except that Adams has said the song is really about sex, which makes it even more of a song of the summer.)
RIHANNA FEAT. JAY-Z Umbrella (2007)
Robyn Fenty has graced many a summer chart — including this year with Kendrick Lamar on Loyalty — but she delivered her coup de grace while singing in the rain. The beat lopes; Jay-Z struts; Rihanna stutters and offers shelter from the storm, reminding us: “When the sun shine, we shine together.”
THE SUNDAYS Summertime (1997)
“Two peas from the same pod, yes we are/Or have I read too much fiction?” sings Harriet Wheeler, as her husband David Gavurin’s guitar whirls giddily through this slice of indie-pop perfection. The lyrics describe the uncertainty inherent in a summer fling, but it’s hard not to fall head-over-heels for the winsome chorus.