As I drove home yesterday, an old song came on the radio and with it came a flood of childhood memories....and it started me thinking. Did you ever notice how just hearing a song can bring you back to another time, another place? The song I heard epitomized summer back in its day and took me right back to the early 70s and what summer was like then. There was no internet, no video games and certainly no IPods. We made do with an old transistor radio and a game of kickball in the street. And in a cliché-filled memory, I recalled how we stayed outside all day, came home only for lunch or to beg money for the ice cream truck and were in for the night only when the street lights came on. That was how it was, back when "life was slow...and oh so mellow..." Please pass my apologies on to Gladys Knight and the Pips.
Getting back to the song on the radio, I began to think of all of the great summer songs that get so much airplay this time of year. I checked the Billboard website and found the Top 30 Summer Songs (by chart ranking) since the inception of the charts in 1958. The list includes so many favorites ; Hot Fun in the Summer Time, Summer Nights and the Boys of Summer, to name a few . Each of these songs reminds me of where I was, not necessarily geographically, but in my life. Grease was the biggest movie during the summer of 1978 and it's songs filled the airwaves. Didn't everyone know all of the moves to Greased Lightning? For a young teenager, there couldn't have been a more fun summertime soundtrack. And Don Henley's the Boys of Summer? Here in Massachusetts, in the heart of Red Sox Nation, it's a perfect warm weather tune.
The majority of the top tunes charted in the 1960s but all decades had at least one song. There were lots of Beach Boys songs, two versions of Wipe Out and one Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. Two different songs, both called California Girls, made the list. Sadly, the Beach Boys song ranked at number 16 with Katy Perry grabbing the top spot. Don't get me wrong, Katy Perry is definitely fun but, well, the Beach Boys are (in my humble opinion) great! As I viewed the impressive list, I was able to listen to all of the songs, either the original or a live version. It was a fantastic way to spend an afternoon and my family couldn't help but get caught up in the music. With such a variety of styles and eras represented, there was a song for everyone's taste.
As I finished up my musical interlude, I tried to recall last summer. I actually had to cheat and go back to my computer to pull up some of the photos that I had taken. Then I remembered how we had passed on a big family vacation, opting for shorter trips and long weekend ventures. We did lots of local stuff, like the Stone Zoo, visiting the U.S.S. Constitution and taking in the sand castle contest on Revere Beach. Shamefully, I must admit that last year was the very first time that I had climbed to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument. In sharp contrast to these not-so-long-ago events, I remember vividly things that happened when I was younger. Were these things so much more important? Were times really easier? Hard to say why our minds recall certain things or choose not to...but doesn't having a back track of music make things more memorable? I think so. I wonder what summer memories my own children will hold dear, what songs will be the soundtrack for their youth. Only time will tell...
Incidentally, the song that I heard on the radio, the one that sparked this idea into a column, was the 1972 smash, Summer Breeze. Sung by Seals & Crofts, the tune had a soft mix of guitar, banjo and the very distinct sound of a toy piano. The duo's vocal harmony gave the song such an easy, laid back quality that, for me, speaks of summer; of taking the time to enjoy good weather, spending a day on the beach or just hanging out with friends. Being able to relax, maybe even being a little lazy, isn't that what summer is for? I am sure there will be many summer breezes this year and hope that we can seize these moments ... "Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind..."
Thursday, July 14, 2011
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