Ask Billboard: How Many Songs About Summer Have Been Hits … During the Summer?
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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.
Related
Taylor Swift Extends Record for Most Hot 100 Top 10s Among Women With 'Cruel Summer'
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.
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