Top 30 Summer Songs (according to Billboard)

[Jughead]

I guess Billboard put out a list of top 30 summer songs of all time. The most recent entry is from this year, the oldest way back in the 1950's. Here's the list...do you agree?

30. Surfin' Safari/THE BEACH BOYS (1962)
29. Summertime/BILLY STEWART (1966)
28. Wipeout/FAT BOYS AND THE BEACH BOYS (1987)
27. Cruel Summer/BANANARAMA (1983)
26. Summertime Blues/EDDIE COCHRANE (1958)
25. A Summer Song/CHAD & JEREMY (1964)
24. Suddenly Last Summer/THE MOTELS (1983)
23. Surfer Girl/THE BEACH BOYS (1963)
22. Summer Breeze/SEALS AND CROFTS (1972)
21. School's Out/ALICE COOPER (1972)
20. Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days Of Summer/NAT KING COLE (1963)
19. Summer Love/JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE (2007)
18. California Gurls/KATY PERRY f. SNOOP DOGG (2010)
17. Saturday In The Park/CHICAGO (1972)
16. Summer Girls/LFO (1999)
15. California Girls/THE BEACH BOYS (1965)
14. Summer/WAR (1976)
13. Under The Boardwalk/THE DRIFTERS (1964)
12. Summer Of '69/BRYAN ADAMS (1985)
11. In The Summertime/MUNGO JERRY (1970)
10. The Boys Of Summer/DON HENLEY (1984)
09. Summer Nights/JOHN TRAVOLTA & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (1978)
08. Surfin' U.S.A./THE BEACH BOYS (1963)
07. Hot Fun In The Summertime/SLY & THE FAMILY STONE (1969)
06. Summertime/DJ JAZZY JEFF & THE FRESH PRINCE (1991)
05. Endless Summer Nights/RICHARD MARX (1988)
04. Surf City/JAN & DEAN (1963)
03. Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini/BRYAN HYLAND (1960)
02. Wipe Out/THE SURFARIS (1962)
01. Summer In The City/THE LOVIN' SPOONFUL (1966)

That's the list...a TON of Beach Boys songs on it at that!

Any you think should be on there?

[m c dornan]

Well, it's missing my fave Beach Boys summer song- All Summer Long.

"Wipeout"? How can an instrumental be a summer song?

[dave910]

I Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer - Stevie Wonder.

Kind of melancholy because the song discusses a breakup. I get sad when I hear this song because my Dad passed away on the first day of Summer seven years ago.

On a much lighter note I enjoy "Magic" by the Cars because Summer is mentioned four times in the first two lines of the song.

[Ken]

After having a look at the list, it appears that most of the essentials are included.


I have the "Summer mix" CD that I made for my vehicle playing in windows media player as I type this. I would add the following tracks to the list that I have included on my CD, they are:

Holiday Road - Lindsay Buckingham
Centerfield - John Fogerty (I've always thought of it as a Summer tune but maybe it's technically associated with Spring(?)
California Sun - The Rivieras
Summer Rain - Johnny Rivers
Vacation - The Go - Go's
Heatwave - Linda Ronstadt (Martha & The Vandellas is good too, but I went with Linda's version for this compilation)

[H2IZCOOL]

Can't believe I didn't see this post until now. (I guess my head wasn't really on straight during the summer (as if it is now!)

Anyway, I am curious as to what Billboards criteria were for ranking the songs. Was it simply a chart ranking? If so, you probably can't argue with their order. But I wonder about songs they left off. Like "See you In September." The Happenings version peaked at #3 in 1966. It certainly should be up there!