It´s that time again. Final exams are over and students are finally giving that skin that has turned a bluish pale from too many cram sessions in the library a taste of the sun. People who have spent months watching the cost of airline tickets roller coaster are marking off their calendars as they count down the days until that dream vacation they scored at a ridiculously low price. Pools are opening and soon it will be impossible to find an empty spot on the deck where you can roast yourself like a chicken to achieve that perfect summer glow. Coastal towns are preparing for the hoards of rowdy teens, city folks and annoying tourists that will soon be invading their laid back bars and beaches. And teen girls are dreaming of romance as they pack their flip flops and terrycloth dresses for what they hope will be the most unforgettable few weeks of their life.

Yes, its summertime.

And in honor of this incredible season full of blazing sun, bathing suits, baseball and awkward family vacations, here are what I consider five of the top summer songs on Red Karaoke.

Whenever I think of summer songs, the first one that always comes to mind is without a doubt, Bryan Adam´s cheesy, but oh so exactly how it feels classic, Summer of ´69. The song, which peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985, is simply one of those feel good, reminiscent description of ¨the best days of my life¨ that can appeal to anyone who ever had a summer that felt like endless fun, when anything was possible and you were still young enough to feel invincible.

A completely different kind of nostalgia about summer comes in the form of Don Henley´s 1984 single, Boys of Summer. What a great incarnation of a middle-aged guy´s trip down memory lane. Summer love, lost forever. The slow passing of time and deep regret, but still that little bit of hope that maybe, no matter how old you are, you can get back to that time of your restless youth. It´s all there in the haunting rhythm as Henley sings, /A little voice inside my head said/ don´t look back, You can never look back/I thought I knew what love was/What did I know/Those days are gone forever/I should just let them go/. Note to self: Cherish every moment of this summer. Thanks, Henley, for the valuable lesson.

My third choice is a bit of a blast from the past. Back in the 70´s a popular British band, Mungo Jerry, recorded what would become one of the highest selling singles of all time at 23 million copies, In the Summertime. The song is a true embodiment of the feeling of summer; light hearted and carefree, not taking itself too seriously and having a good time. It was the band´s biggest success, spending 7 weeks at #1 on the UK charts, and also reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. Jamaican artist Shaggy covered the song in the 90´s, but in my opinion without any of the soul of the original record.

I´ve always found Kid Rock to be my personal guilty pleasure. I won´t lie, I´ve been a secret fan of his cocky attitude and style of mixing rap and country since Cowboy was released in 1999. When All Summer Long dropped in 2008, I was instantly obsessed, though I wasn´t the only one. The single, which heavily sampled Lynyrd Skynyrd´s Sweet Home Alabama and Warren Zevon´s Werewolves of London, had tremendous airplay in the summer of 2008, making it without a doubt the season´s anthem, and helping it arrive to the 18th spot on Rolling Stone´s Top 100 Songs of 2008. The song is yet another fun little trip down memory lane, as Kid recall´s his own summer love and dancing on the beach to Sweet Home Alabama.

My last choice is something I selected from the musical genre, and no, I´m not talking about the severely over karaoke-d duet Summer Nights from Grease. I´m actually referring to Our Last Summer, a sweet little diddy that I first heard in one of my favorite musicals, Mamma Mia! The song, which was written by Abba members Benny Andersson and Bjön Ulvaes, is a recollection of one summer Ulvaes spent as a teenager in Paris falling in love, and actually inspired the character Harry from the musical. Maybe it’s the sweet melody, or the fact that I too spent a summer studying abroad and falling in love, but this is one song I love to hear in the summer.

So, there you have my top five summer songs here on Red Karaoke, completely biased and based on no professional opinion at all. Agree with me? Think there are better choices? Tell me about it in our Summer Chat forum. Or, better yet, go sing your own summer karaoke and start celebrating the season.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 14th, 2009 at 11:09 and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.