Of course, this isn’t new territory
for us here in Forgotten Hits …
Three times we have polled our readers
as to their All Time Summer Favorites … the results of the last poll (held in
2010, which generated 9200 votes) can be found here: http://forgottenhits.com/your_all-time_summer_favorites
This has become a regularly programmed
feature on countless radio programs since the list first ran. (In fact, WRCO's Phil Nee will be counting down The Top 70 Summer Favorites ... plus a few "extras" ... on his Those Were The Days program on June 27th. And Me-TV-FM
regularly features songs from the list throughout their annual Summer Of Me
series ... which kicks off again this year on Saturday, June 20th.)
As is so often the case, Parade has taken the
opinions of their own staff when determining their list of All-Time Summer
Favorites … while we have opened up OUR poll to the oldies world at large in
order to obtain a wider variety of input … the opinion of ten thousand vs. the
opinion of a few staff members …
And, as a result, their list differs
quite drastically from ours in many respects.
(For one thing, the songs on our list are pretty well confined to 1955 –
1985, the era of music we typically cover here … and most of the voters who participated were probably around to hear and experience all of this music when first it came out. I’m guessing that the average age of the
Parade staff who put their list together is probably closer to 30-35 … meaning
the oldest songs they experienced first hand came out in 1985, which is just about the year OUR
poll time period basically ended.
But hey, SOME of these Summer Songs
are SO incredibly etched into our minds due to repeated airplay (and content)
that even 30-35 year olds have been exposed to it. (And let’s face it … most of this music is infectious
as hell!) So some of the results were actually quite satisfying.
For example, when all is said and done, SIX of our
Top 20 Songs matched.
Our #1 Song in all
three separate polls that we have run since the year 2000, “Summer In The City”
by The Lovin’ Spoonful, came in at #3 on their list. However, our #2 song, “A Summer Song” by Chad and
Jeremy, placed WAY down at #71 on their list.
And although they list about three versions of the song “Summertime,”
the biggest HIT version by Billy Stewart (#7 on our list) doesn’t even make
their Top 80 … and that’s just wrong.
“California Girls” by The Beach Boys
ranks at #1 on their list … and #9 on ours … but it has placed higher in the
past. (Katy Perry's "California Gurls" also made their list ... not a bad song ... and I wonder if we ran a new poll today if we might not see some votes for it, too.)
Noticeably missing from their list
are “Theme From ‘A Summer Place’” by Percy Faith, “I Get Around” by The Beach Boys, “California Sun” by The Rivieras (how do you leave out THAT one?!?!), the Martha
and the Vandellas version of “Dancing In The Street” (their list shows the
David Bowie / Mick Jagger version at #14!!!), “Fun Fun Fun,” another Beach Boys tune and one of the biggest
songs of summer EVER, “Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones, all of which were Top 20 Hits on
our final countdown list.
However, some of THEIR top ranked
songs were overlooked by OUR list and, hindsight, feel like they truly do
belong. I’m talking about songs such as “Here
Comes The Sun” by The Beatles, “Let’s Twist Again” by Chubby Checker, “Misirlou”
by Dick Dale, “Soak Up The Sun” by Sheryl Crow, “Escape” by Rupert Holmes, “Afternoon
Delight” by The Starland Vocal Band and “All Summer Long” by Kid Rock. (The Beach Boys’ tune “All Summer Long”
placed at #4 on our 2010 list.)
[For the record, nearly all of the above
songs listed above received votes when we did our last poll … they just didn’t receive
enough votes to make The Top 100.]
So, I’m thinking … it’s been ten
years since we last ran our Summer Favorites Poll … and lots more great summer music
is now part of our consciousness …
So maybe it’s time to run it again …
update our Summer Favorites List for 2020. (The First Day of Summer hits this
weekend … could there be a more appropriate time to do this?!?!)
As such, we’re asking ALL of the
deejays on our list to spread the word and ask their listeners to vote for
their all-time summer favorites …
Let them know that they can vote for
up to 20 of their all time faves … and the songs can either be ABOUT summer, a
big hit DURING summer or simply evoke the mood of summer … a feel good, fun in
the sun kind of song. (“California Sun” by The Rivieras, which came in at #13
on our last poll … and at one point placed as high as #5 … came out in
FEBRUARY!!! "Fun Fun Fun" by The Beach Boys was a February hit as well. But there aren’t many songs
that evoke the feel of summer as well as these two do!)
And we want YOU to start sending in your votes RIGHT NOW so that we can put together the latest, up-to-date Summer Hit List.
And, as an aside to the folks over at
Parade Magazine …
Here are a few songs you may want to
check out for yourselves …
Some GREAT summer music that made our
Top 100 but evidently isn’t on your
radar …
“Beach Baby” by First Class, “Wipe
Out” by The Surfaris (how do you leave off THIS one?!?), “See You In September”
by The Happenings, “Windy” by The Association, “Born To Be Wild” by Steppenwolf
(how do you leave out THAT one?!?!), “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by The Beach Boys (ditto!), “San
Francisco” by Scott McKenzie (the theme song from The Summer Of Love), “California
Nights” by Lesley Gore, “Light My Fire” by The Doors, “Summer” by War, “Surfer
Girl” by The Beach Boys, “The Warmth Of The Sun” by The Beach Boys, “Do It
Again” by The Beach Boys (See what I mean???
This could very easily turn into a Beach Boys Top 40 Countdown
instead!!!), “No Particular Place To Go” by Chuck Berry, “Action” by Freddy
Cannon, “Summer Wine” by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood, “Summer Sun” by
Jamestown Massacre (one listen and you’ll be hooked for life), “Sunny” by Bobby
Hebb and “California Dreamin’” by The Mamas and The Papas. (kk)
Use either of the two links posted above as a point of reference to narrow down your twenty favorites ... you'll find GREAT selections throughout. (Trust me ... once you get started, you'll find this to be MUCH more difficult than you first imagined)
And let the voting begin!!!
We'll take your input thru the 4th of July Weekend ... and then publish the final results shortly after that ...
So spread the word ... and get your votes in for YOUR Summer Favorites NOW!!! (kk)
Use either of the two links posted above as a point of reference to narrow down your twenty favorites ... you'll find GREAT selections throughout. (Trust me ... once you get started, you'll find this to be MUCH more difficult than you first imagined)
And let the voting begin!!!
We'll take your input thru the 4th of July Weekend ... and then publish the final results shortly after that ...
So spread the word ... and get your votes in for YOUR Summer Favorites NOW!!! (kk)
*****
DEEJAYS: WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!
PLEASE ASK YOUR LISTENERS TO VOTE FOR THEIR
PLEASE ASK YOUR LISTENERS TO VOTE FOR THEIR
TOP 20 ALL-TIME FAVORITE SONGS OF SUMMER …
and email those votes to kk@forgottenhits.com.
We’re updating our list from 2010 to
reflect today’s All-Time Summer Favorites.
Again, these songs can be ABOUT
summer, big hits during summer or simply evoke the proper mood of summer and
fun in the sun.
The First Day Of Summer is right around the corner. Let's get the ball rolling NOW and make this the definitive poll of Summer Favorites!
