The Sunday Six

Happy Sunday and welcome to another imaginary time travel excursion to the beautiful world of music. With summer for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere now having arrived officially, I decided to give our itinerary a seasonal theme. Hope you’ll join me.

Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald/Summertime

Today, our trip shall start in April 1959, which saw the release of an album by jazz greats Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. Porgy and Bess features tracks from the George Gershwin opera of the same name. The orchestral arrangements are by Russell Garcia, who had previously arranged the 1956 jazz vocal recording The Complete Porgy and Bess. Here’s the Gershwin classic Summertime with lyrics by DuBose Heyward, who authored the novel Porgy on which the opera was based, and Ira Gershwin, George’s older brother. Gosh, what a gem!

Don Henley/The Boys of Summer

Let’s jump to the ’80s and what may be the ultimate summer song of that decade: The Boys of Summer by Don Henley. It was included on his sophomore solo album Building the Perfect Beast, released in November 1984. The song first appeared as the album’s lead single in October of the same year and became one of Henley’s biggest hits. On the recording, he had fine company: Mike Campbell (synthesizers, guitars, LinnDrum programming, percussion), Danny Kortchmar (synthesizers, guitars), Steve Porcaro (synthesizers) and Larry Klein (bass).

Seals & Crofts/Summer Breeze

Another summer song I’ve loved for many years is Summer Breeze by Seals & Crofts. And, yes, I’ve featured that summer classic in a previous Sunday Six itinerary three years ago, but this time, I’m breaking my general rule not to repeat tracks, given the summer theme. The soft rock duo’s best known song became the title track of their fourth studio album from September 1972. It was credited to both Jim Seals (born James Eugene Seals) and Dash Crofts (born Darrell George Crofts). Every time I hear this upbeat song, I can literally feel a warm summer breeze. Over the past week, it’s been more on the hot side!

Sheryl Crow/Soak Up the Sun

Time to pay a visit to the current century with Sheryl Crow gem Soak Up the Sun. The song first appeared in February 2002 as the lead single of her fourth studio album C’mon, C’mon, which dropped in April of the same year. Penned by Crow with her longtime co-writer Jeff Trott, Soak Up the Sun became one of her best-selling singles of the current century. Crow and Trott wrote the song following a conversation they had about the changing weather during a flight from New York to Portland, Ore. It also fell in Crow’s recovery period from a surgery, so they wanted to write an upbeat song. And a great picker upper it certainly is!

Red House Painters/Summer Dress

Our next stop takes us March 1995 and Summer Dress, a song from Ocean Beach, the fourth studio album by Red House Painters. Formed in 1988 in Atlanta, Ga. before relocating to California’s San Francisco, this band were one of the most prominent acts associated with slowcore, aka. sadcore. Wikipedia notes it’s a subgenre of indie rock characterized by subdued tempos with typically minimalist instrumentation alongside solemn and melancholic lyrical performances. I’m new to both the subgenre and the group, so I take their word for it. Summer Dress was penned by the band’s co-founder and primary songwriter Mark Kozelek (vocals, guitar). Red House Painters broke up in 2001. Perhaps too much sadness?

The Lovin’ Spoonful/Summer in the City

And once again we’re reaching our sixth stop and, as such, must wrap up. No Sunday Six can skip the ’60s, so let’s end it on a truly high note with The Lovin’ Spoonful and Summer in the City. Co-written by band members John Sebastian  and Steve Boone, together with John’s brother Mark Sebastian, the song first appeared in July 1966 as the lead single of The Lovin’ Spoonful’s fourth studio album Hums of the Lovin’ Spoonful, released in November of the same year. It became their biggest hit, topping the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the charts in Canada, surging to no. 3 in New Zealand, and reaching no. 8 in the UK. A touring version of The Lovin’ Spoonful led by Boone exists to this day.

Of course, this post wouldn’t be complete without a Spotify playlist of the above summer song goodies. Hope there’s something there you dig!

Sources: Wikipedia; Acclaimed Music; YouTube; Spotify