BARRY LEVINE: Nothing rocks out like summertime

One of the nice aspects of the summer season is the number of memorable songs written about this time of year.

Here are nine songs with summer or a derivative of the word in the title that are guaranteed to be heard in coming days. The songs are listed in chronological order.

“Summertime Blues” was written and recorded by rockabilly singer Eddie Cochran and it climbed to No. 8 in 1958. It was Cochran’s biggest hit. The song was placed in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and was ranked No. 73 in “Rolling Stone” magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in March 2005. Cochran, 21, was killed while riding in a taxi in London on April 16, 1960. Rockabilly singer Gene Vincent was riding in the taxi, but survived the accident.

The Jamies’ 1958 hit “Summertime, Summertime” reached No. 26 on the charts. “Summertime, Summertime” was considered s doo-wop song because of its a cappella harmonies. The song was re-released in 1962 and became a hit again, rising to 38. The song’s fame far eclipsed the band’s. The tune was used in commercials for Buick, Ken-L Ration Burger Time Dog Food and Applebee’s. It was also featured in the 1978 film “Fingers.”

The biggest hit with summer in the title was “A Summer Place” by Percy Faith from the movie by the same name starring teen heartthrobs Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee. The song was No. 1 for nine weeks in 1960. The nine weeks atop the charts was a record that lasted until Debby Boone’s “You Light up My Life” was No. 1 for 10 weeks in 1977.

One of the premier teen idols of the late 1950s and early 1960s, Canadian-born Paul Anka, had one of his 12 Top 10 hits with “Summer’s Gone” in 1960. Anka amassed 32 Top 40 hits from 1956 to 1983. A prolific songwriter, Anka penned Frank Sinatra’s signature song “My Way” as well as Johnny Carson’s theme song.

“Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer” was the iconic Nat “King” Cole’s final Top 10 hit, climbing to No. 6 in 1963. Cole died of lung cancer two years later at age 46. Among Cole’s other great hits were “Mona Lisa,” “Night Lights,” “Unforgettable,” “To the Ends of the Earth,” and “The Christmas Song.”

Even the Brits got involved with summer songs. After clicking with “Yesterday’s Gone” early in 1964, Chad & Jeremy had their biggest hit in August of that year with “A Summer Song,” which rose to No. 7. Duo member Chad Stuart wrote the song with a few minor contributions from Jeremy Clyde. The tune was different than most of Chad & Jeremy’s songs as it had a folksy sound to it.

No list of songs would be complete without one from Francis Albert Sinatra. Originally written in German in 1965, Johnny Mercer re-wrote “Summer Wind” in English and it first was recorded by Wayne Newton, Bobby Vinton and Perry Como, but Sinatra had the biggest version, peaking at No. 25 in 1966. The song originally appeared on his album “Strangers in the Night.”

Discovered by the legendary Bo Diddley, Billy Stewart recorded his unique interpretation of George Gershwin’s song, “Summertime,” in 1966 and it quickly became a Top 10 hit. The follow-up single was Stewart’s cover version of the Doris Day hit “Secret Love,” which became another hit for Stewart. Gershwin wrote “Summertime” in 1934 for the 1935 opera “Porgy & Bess.” Stewart was killed in an auto accident in 1970 at age 32.

Formed in Greenwich Village in New York, The Lovin’ Spoonful was one of the most successful groups of the mid-1960s, collecting 10 Top 40 hits. Only one of those reached No. 1 – “Summer in the City,” which grabbed the top spot for three weeks in August 1966. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song 101st on its list of the Top 500 rock ‘n’ roll songs of all time.

This week in rock history: The 5th Estate reached No. 11 on the Hot 100 on July 3, 1967, with their version of “Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead” from the 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz.” … “I Get Around” became the first No. 1 single for The Beach Boys on July 4, 1964. … Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers had an operation on July 5, 1966, to remove nodes on his vocal cords. … The Essex, from the U.S. Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune, N.C., had the No. 1 song with “Easier Said Than Done” on July 6, 1963.

Two versions of “Sh-Boom” hit the Top 10 on July 7, 1954. The original version by a black group, The Chords, was No. 9, and the cover version by a white group, The Crew Cuts, was No. 5. … “Teddy Bear” became Elvis Presley’s eighth No. 1 hit in the previous 15 months on July 8, 1957. It would remain at the top of the charts for seven weeks. … A landmark occurred on July 9, 1955, when Bill Haley’s “Rock Around The Clock” reached No. 1. Music historians acknowledge the song as a dividing line, separating Rock ‘n’ Roll from everything that preceded it.

Barry Levine is an entertainment writer for The Albany Herald. He can be reached at [email protected].