Ask Billboard: How Many Songs About Summer Have Been Hits … During the Summer?
Written by djfrosty on July 13, 2023
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Let’s open the latest mailbag.
Hot Fun in the ‘Summer’-time, and Other Times:
Hi Gary,
To add to the many times that the season called “summer” (and “verano” in Spanish) has appeared in the Billboard Hot 100’s top 10, Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” happens to reach the tier during summertime (in the Northern Hemisphere).
It made me wonder: How often are songs with the word “summer” in their titles hits at that most fitting time of year?
Thanks,
Pablo Nelson
Summering in Oakland, Calif.
Hi Pablo,
Fun question. (And per your mention of “verano,” Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti topped the Billboard 200 albums chart during spring, summer and fall last year. A man for all seasons, he has charted the set in the top 20 each week since it debuted at No. 1 in May 2022.)
Swift’s “Cruel Summer” was released in summer 2019 and is now a Hot 100 top 10 (and an officially promoted single) in summer 2023.
But a look at all the songs with “summer” in their titles that have hit the Hot 100’s top 10 reveals not such seasonal synchronization.
Here’s a rundown, first, of every Hot 100 top 10 with “summer” in its title that peaked outside of summer, from the first to the most recent:
Peak Date, Peak Position, Title, Artist
- Sept. 29, 1958, No. 8, “Summertime Blues,” Eddie Cochran
- Feb. 22, 1960, No. 1 (9 weeks), “The Theme From A Summer Place,” Percy Faith and His Orchestra
- Oct. 17, 1964, No. 7, “A Summer Song,” Chad & Jeremy
- Oct. 18, 1969, No. 2, “Hot Fun in the Summertime,” Sly & The Family Stone
- Nov. 25, 1972, No. 6, “Summer Breeze,” Seals & Crofts
- Sept. 25, 1976, No. 7, “Summer,” War
- Sept. 30, 1978, No. 5, “Summer Nights,” John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John & Grease Cast
- Nov. 19, 1983, No. 9, “Suddenly Last Summer,” The Motels
- Sept. 29, 1984, No. 9, “Cruel Summer,” Bananarama
- Feb. 9, 1985, No. 5, “The Boys of Summer,” Don Henley
- March 26, 1988, No. 2, “Endless Summer Nights,” Richard Marx
- June 9, 2007, No. 6, “Summer Love,” Justin Timberlake
- Feb. 20, 2016, No. 6, “Summer Sixteen,” Drake
That makes for 13 songs with “summer” in their names that have peaked in the Hot 100’s top 10 outside of summer.
Now, the Hot 100 top 10s with “summer” in their titles that have peaked in the region during summertime:
Peak Date, Peak Position, Title, Artist
- June 29, 1963, No. 6, “Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer,” Nat King Cole
- Aug. 13, 1966, No. 1 (3 weeks), “Summer in the City,” The Lovin’ Spoonful
- Aug. 27, 1966, No. 10, “Summertime,” Billy Stewart
- Sept. 12, 1970, No. 3, “In the Summertime,” Mungo Jerry
- Aug. 31, 1985, No. 5, “Summer of ‘69,” Bryan Adams
- Aug. 3, 1991, No. 4, “Summertime,” D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
- Aug. 19, 1995, No. 3, “Boombastic”/”In the Summertime,” Shaggy
- Aug. 22, 1998, No. 10, “Cruel Summer,” Ace of Base
- Aug. 28, 1999, No. 3, “Summer Girls,” LFO
- Sept. 21, 2013, No. 6, “Summertime Sadness,” Lana Del Rey vs. Cedric Gervais
- July 19, 2014, No. 7, “Summer,” Calvin Harris
- Aug. 29, 2020, No. 6, “7 Summers,” Morgan Wallen
- July 15, 2023, No. 7 (to date), “Cruel Summer,” Taylor Swift
That amounts to … also 13! (The number is, of course, synonymous with Swift.)
So, perhaps surprisingly, songs with “summer” in their titles have peaked in the Hot 100’s top 10 during summer exactly half the time. Expanding the scope, and seemingly more expectedly, 17 of the 26 songs above have spent time in the top 10 during the summer.
That nine such songs peaked outside the Hot 100’s top 10 during cooler months also isn’t that shocking, considering that many sport lyrics reminiscing about summer, such as “Suddenly Last Summer,” “The Boys of Summer” and “Endless Summer Nights.”
Meanwhile, Swift scores another Hot 100 record: She now has the highest charting hit called “Cruel Summer.” With its 13-7 jump, it surpasses the No. 9-peaking classic by Bananarama, as well as Ace of Base’s No. 10-peaking cover.