Summer Songs Volume II

In The Summertime, Mungo Jerry
This might be the quintessential summer song of all in spite of (or because of) the very un-PC lyrics. One must recall that the song was written in 1969 and released the following year. The group, named after a cat in a T.S. Eliot poem, was popular in Europe for awhile but had just the one hit in the U.S. The words, set against a backdrop of a reggae/ska kind of beat begin: In the summertime when the weather is high, you can stretch right up and touch the sky, when the weather's fine, you got women, you got women on your mind, have a drink have a drive, go out and see what you can find. No list of summer songs is complete without this one.

School's Out, Alice Cooper
The first time I ever heard this tune was in the summer between my junior and senior years in high school. My parents, especially my Dad, would have been horrified to know I was listening to a hard rocking man going by the name of Alice (real name Vincent Fournier) and I suppose that was part of the attraction. Well, we can't salute ya' can't find a flag, if that don't suit ya', that's a drag and school's been blown to pieces! convey the message quite well for a teen in the 70's.

Saturday In The Park, Chicago
At the opposite end of the musical spectrum from Alice Cooper in 1972 was this hit by the former Chicago Transit Authority shortened to Chicago by then. This pre-Peter Cetera (yuck!) tune tells the story of a guy walking through the park on the 4th of July and the sights and sounds he encounters. Can you dig it? Yes, I can.

It Never Rains In Southern California, Albert Hammond
This is another story song from the summer of '72, this one about a young man making his way to the west coast in search of fame and fortune in the entertainment biz. Seems it never rains in Southern California, seems I've often heard that kind of talk before, it never rains in California, but girl, don't they warn ya', it pours, man it pours. Hammond penned a lot of songs over the years for other artists and because of this one and Down By The River, the "B" side, we can forgive Albert for writing "To All The Girls I've Loved Before" as cooed by Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias.

The Reading's Fine, Come On In!

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