As a young adult, 24 at the start of the decade, to be exact, I was still coming of age, trying to “find myself”, and stay afloat economically in the rich get richer Reagan era. “Reaganomics”, as it was known, was the epitome of trickle down economics in the decade of Gordon Gecko of the 1987 Oliver Stone film Wall Street. “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good”, Gecko intoned in the speech that summed up the decade better than any by a politician of the era. Here is my list of the best summer songs from the 80’s in chronological order:
Master Blaster, Stevie Wonder, 1981
This tribute to the late Master of reggae, Bob Marley, was on an album appropriately titled Hotter Than the Fourth Of July. The song is equally hot. When you’re in the middle of the makin’s of the master blaster jammin’. I miss Stevie Wonder, but hearing this one on the 80’s station will have to do. It holds up as one of the best summer songs to this day.
Hot In The City, Billy Idol, 1982
This is one of the few Idol songs that is vital as far as I’m concerned. The sneer, the spiked hair, the cockney accent. And those were his good points. This is one hot summer song, however. the first thing I think of is the scene in Big in which Tom Hanks’ character cranks this one up and sticks his head out of the moon roof of a limo in the Big Apple. I used to drive late at night in my Mercury Cougar complete with an electric moon roof like that. I’m tall enough that I could still reach the pedals. All the dreams and schemes, people are what they seem on a hot summer night, don’t be no fun, don’t forget that you’re young on a hot summer night, and then a long-legged lovely walks by and you can see by the look in her eye, don’t ya’ know that it’s hot in the city…
Down Under, Men At Work, 1983
This driving reggae influenced tune (with flute of all things) by the quirky Australian band that seemed to come out of nowhere, was all over the radio that summer. The lyrics don’t actually mention summer or the beach, but who cares? This is an essential song of summer anyway. It was controversial in Australia for a time, but I understand that it is now considered patriotic in the “land down under”.
The song is the story of an Aussie and the people he encounters on his world travels. Women glow and men plunder, Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder, you better run, you better take cover. My favorite line is: buying bread from a man in Brussels, he was 6 foot 4 and full of muscles, I said can you speaka my language, he just smiled and gave me a vegamite sandwich. Somehow, that doesn’t sound that tasty, but the song is. The flute part is based on Kookaburra, an Aussie children’s rhyme, giving the song a unique flavor and making it one delicious summer song.
Twistin’ By The Pool, Dire Straits, 1983
Gonna take a villa or a small chalet, Costa Del Magnifico you know, the cost of living’s so low, gonna be so neat, gonna be so cool, twistin’ by the pool. The infectious beat and the feel that Mark Knopfler and the boys were having so much fun, makes this one summer staple.
I Can Dream, Dan Hartman, 1984
This summer song was on the soundtrack of a summer flick called Streets of Fire, forgetable except for the appearance of a young Diane Lane. There was some confusion about the artist, the song was lip-synched by a 50’s Otis Day and The Knights type 50’s African American singer in the movie. However, the song was by a former member of the Edgar Winter Group, Dan Hartman, who died in 1994 of a brain tumor, a decade after his biggest hit. Moving sidewalks, I can’t see under my feet, climbing up from down here below, where the street sees me lonely for you, I can dream about you, if I can’t hold you tonight. The song holds up much better than the movie.
About the only thing I remember about the show is going in alone, the theatre was pitch dark, and groping for a seat with only a few patrons on hand. You’d think the odds were pretty good of settling in an unoccupied seat. However, as soon as I reached for the seat, I could feel something that felt an awful lot like a woman’s breast, lost my balance and sat in her lap. Needless to say, I was embarrassed and started to leave, but the lady was very gracious and insisted on my staying put while she and her daughter moved down. Nothing developed, we were both in relationships, but it makes for a good true story.
Glory Days, Bruce Springsteen, 1984
I had a friend who was a big baseball player, back in high school, he could throw that ‘speedball’ by you, make you look like a fool, boy, saw him the other day at this roadside bar, I was walkin’ in he was walkin’ out, sat down had a few drinks, talked about the old times, but all he kept talkin’ about: glory days, well they’ll pass you by, glory days, in the wink of a young girl’s eye. For we middle agers, that says it all. Neighbors probably heard the thunderous bass of this hit from blocks away in my ‘hood back in the day.
Bryan Adams, Summer Of ’69
Okay, the song has nothing to do with 1969, Adams has said in interviews. He was not quite 10 years old at the time. Got that out of the way. Standin’ on your mama’s porch, you told me that you’d wait forever, those were the best days of my life. Still a great summer song.
Walk of Life, Dire Straits, 1985
Here comes Johnny singin’ oldies, goldies, bebopalula, baby what I say, here comes Johnny singin’ I gotta woman, down in the tunnels, tryin’ to make it pay; he do the song about the sweet lovin’ woman, he do the song about the knife, he do the walk, he do the walk of life, he do the walk of life. Another infectious Dire Straits tune, this one about a street musician trying to make a living. That was the theme of one video of this song, the other being the famous video of sports bloopers which is better known. Again, no mention of summer. Again great summer song.
All I Need Is A Miracle, Mike And The Mechanics, 1986
Mike Rutherford of Genesis formed this separate band while remaining with Genesis. This is a story of a man who drove the love of his life away and now regrets doing so and seeks to make amends. I thought I was being cool, and I thought I was being strong, but it’s always the same old story, you never know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone, and if I ever catch up with you, I’m gonna love you for the rest of your life, all I need is a miracle, all I need is you. A summer release, good enough for me.
La Bamba, Los Lobos, 1987
Yeah, I know this Mexican folk song is older than our country and was a hit in the 50’s for Ritchie Valens, but this smokin’ hot song of summer from the 1987 movie of the same name still qualifies as a summer song for the ages. Having a little knowledge of Spanish, I even understand some of what it means. It means roughly, the shake or something like that. Una poca de gracia. A little grace. Another thumping bass line. Bueno.
Honorable mention: Something About You by the jazzy Level 42 and Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Tears For Fears. That’s all folks. Tune in next time for the best summer songs of the 90’s.
