Summer Songs, Memories & A Little History

This week I was having fun posting different summer songs from over the decades on my facebook page. Some have a particular beat that makes me feel good and others conjured up a few memories. One of the great things about music is it can be used to mark our history. It isn’t just what was going on in the world, but what was going on with ourselves. So why not continue the fun on here?!

Summer Birth

Surfin’ Safari, the Beach Boys first album introduced in 1962. You can’t think about summer songs without remembering the Beach Boys! At the same time, across the pond, the Beatles released their first single, Love Me Do.

Also happening in 1962, John Glenn, because the first man to orbit the earth. Walmart opened the first store in Arkansas, and Apartheid was condemned in South Africa by the United Nations. The first James Bond movie, Dr. No, was in the movies and Spiderman was introduced in the comic books.

Average Cost of a new house: $12,500.00 
Cost of a gallon of gas: 30 cents
Average Income per year: $5,556.00

And on August 30th – I was born! Sounds like 1962 introduced some pretty cool stuff … 🙂

Like the song, I would spend the next 50+ years riding the wave!

Giving Bruce Some Love

Fourth of July, Asbury Park aka Sandy, by Bruce Springsteen – 1973. A great summer song and as far as I was concerned, he was singing about me!

Average cost of a new house: $32,500.00 
Average Income per year: $12,900.00 
Cost of a gallon of Gas: 40 cents

Believe it or not, this song did not make any lists for top summer songs. I don’t know who these people are that make these lists, but shame on them! If you know me and we are truly friends, then you know Bruce is my man. I have to give credit to my big brother, Ed, for introducing me to him. For a couple of years, we lived in a house on Jefferson Avenue in Thornwood, NY and he was always playing Born To Run.

I have a few crazy memories of living in that house, but let me tell you a quick one. My mother was cleaning the house and saw a plant one of my brothers had in his room was not doing well. Mom has quite the green thumb and loves her gardening, so she moved it from one room to another for the sun, watered it and proceeded to clean. At some point, she found a High Times magazine. Since mom didn’t know what it was about, she perused it and eventually put it together that she was watering, and trying to save a marijuana plant.

I don’t know how many times I have seen Bruce in concert over the years, but he is THE BEST concert you will ever see. His Broadway show left me speechless. When I see him in concert, I stand, raise my hands in the air, and just feel his spirit move through me … like Spirits In The Night … it’s all right!

1980s Summer Songs

Katrina and the Waves, Walking on Sunshine – 1983. I felt the love!

Average cost of a new house: $82,600 
Average income per year: $21,070.00
Cost of a gallon of gas: $1.16

I can’t even remember much of 1983, as most of that year is foggy since I was always in a haze … but I will be damned if that song, to this day, doesn’t make me feel good. If you are ever down in the dumps, blast that song! That beat just makes you want to get up, throw your hands in the air and dance around the room. Get in your car, roll down the windows and play it loud … whatever it takes … hey, I will say it, say it, say it again, it will make you feel good!

I have to stick with the ’80s for one more:

Don Henley, Boys of Summer – 1984.

One of my favorite songs ever! Back in the day, I had a very brief, innocent summer romance. He was a few years older, in the navy and home for a short period of time. We were two lost souls, each with family stuff going on. Oh, and he also had a motorcycle! He was so cool and an escape from reality. I remember him telling me that I was a good girl and he was somewhat of a bad boy and didn’t want to take advantage of me, so he didn’t. A rare thing in my otherwise tumultuous life.

When he left near the end of the summer, he wrote me some letters and we kept in touch until we didn’t. I was a lousy letter writer! A year or two later either I reached out to him or bumped into him – again, my memory is a little foggy, but he told me that this song made him think of me. Funny how I had kind of completely forgot about him until writing this but it was a good memory coming back.

Years later, one of the first concerts Freddy and I went to see when we were dating, was the Eagles in their Hell Freezes Over tour. Fun story is the reason they came up with, “Hell Freezes Over” is because when they split, 14 years earlier, they said the only way they would get back together was when hell froze over. LOL … They played together, and each performed their own individual hits. A highlight for me was Don Henley playing this song. One of my favorite concerts! (This is a bootleg, the original is banned in this country.)

Last, but not least …

Summertime – Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff – 1991

Sadly, 1991 was also the year that Freddie Mercury announced he had AIDS and passed away.

Average cost of new house $120,000.00 
Average income per year $29,430.00
Cost of a gallon of gas $1.12

Obviously, I have a diverse taste in music. I go from the beach to classic rock to fun rock and now some smooth rap. I had three kids by 1991 – but the party and the BBQs were always at our house. Summertime is just a cool, summer song with a good vibe that talks about what summer means or what it meant back in the day. So sit back and unwind and bop while listening to this song …

Like Will Smith says in the song, I am invited to a BBQ at 4, so I’m going to end this here and continue enjoying my summertime! What are your favorite summer songs??? I would love to hear!

And I think we all know how much a new house and gas cost these days … sorry to all you youngsters, but the music just isn’t as good in the 2000s as it was back then.

Much love to all and those of you who have been riding the wave with me!

Sandy

#enlighten #empower #inspire #educate #BeKind and #enjoythemusic