Summertime, and the listening is easy, songs are rockin’ and the volume is high. Which is to say, it’s time to talk about songs of summers past. Songs of the summer anchor us in a time and place.
You remember who your friends were, what you did, and where you went. There are absolutely people this summer who will always remember their love for Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” or Billie Eilish’s “Lunch,” Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” or Post Malone and Morgan Wallen ‘s “I Had Some Help.” It’s too early to evaluate those, though.
Come back in 40 or 50 years when I, or some AI simulation, will tell you how the summer and history turned out for those songs. This, though, we know: The Summer of ’74 was wild, man, with classic songs alongside some ‘what-were-we-thinking?’ tunes. The Summer of ’84 was much better, with breakthroughs by a number of artists still relevant today.
(And what of 1994? Check out our piece on the classic albums of that year celebrating their anniversary in 2024 here: https://bit.ly/3VjWROD .) Summer songs are in the ears of the beholder.
I picked 10 songs for each year, and yes, your list might differ. But I did try to cast a wide net and survey as much as personal memory and online research turned up. So tune in, and drop out of 2024 for the spin of the dial through summers past.
Summer songs of ’74 “Well, the rain exploded with a mighty crash, as we fell into the sun!” Oh my, what a terrific song this is. A suite.