THE HIT HAMMER: The Lovin' Spoonful's "Summer in the City"
- Ryan Paris
- May 19, 2020
- 3 min read
(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please refer down below)
The Lovin' Spoonful - "Summer in the City"
Hit Number 1: August 13, 1966
Stay at Number 1: 3 Weeks
The Lovin' Spoonful finally got their big break. They spent the first half of 1966 as chart regulars, but were unable to get to the top spot. They did get to #2 twice with "Daydream" and "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind", but that's kind of like getting to the World Series and losing it. (Both those songs are 7s by the way) They were so close to topping the charts, but with decent songs with missing pieces. Both of their #2 hits were slightly limp, and sounded like there was high potential not being met. Then came "Summer in the City", which sounded a lot heavier than the group's previous hits.
John Sebastian, the group's lead singer, had the primary songwriting credits, but also got some help from his brother, Mark, and the band's bassist, Steve Boone. The song fittingly hit #1 in the summer of 1966, and it's about how the summer days beat down on you, making all the people look "half dead". But then when night arrives it's a "different world". That's the time to go out and meet a girl, and dance and have fun all night in the cooler summer nights. It should be noted, that in 1966, New York City suffered from a heat wave, with temperatures 90 degrees or higher for 34 straight days. It was the most brutal stretch since 1869, the first year that weather data began to be collected. There were probably lots of people walking around looking "half dead" and "hotter than a match" as the songs says. That might have been what helped "Summer in the City" make it to #1.
In "Summer in the City", the moods change in the verses and the chorus. In the verses, the song is faster, and describes the dreaded summer days, where everyone is miserable. You can't go outside, cause the weather is too hot. It's impossible to go out and do anything without being fried alive. However, in the chorus is when they start talking about the cool nights, and that's the time to go out and live life. The song slows down a bit, and it even sounds "happier". You'd have to listen to the song yourself to get a feeling on what I'm getting at there. All in all, the song is a no-doubt banger, and rocks out a lot more than the Lovin' Spoonful's previous hits.
There's no lack of activity in the song, which helps propel it into a nice, full song. There's a subtle, strutting keyboard riff, and a guitar riff that goes along with it. Those two things together sound really cool. There's a brief period in the song where you can hear construction noises, car horns, and other bustling city noises you would expect to hear in the middle of a city. If you close your eyes and listen to the whole song, you can picture yourself in a big city, where the weather is hot, and you're just waiting for nighttime to arrive. So I guess you can say "Summer in the City" also does a great job on painting a picture, which is usually a good thing a song can do for you.
"Summer in the City" would prove to be the Lovin' Spoonful's only #1 hit, and they weren't together for very long either, breaking up in 1969. They would form reunions here and there, and apparently there's a formation of the group still around today, though front man John Sebastian is not a part of it. He'd have an okay solo career after his Lovin' Spoonful days though, and believe it or not, we will see him again in this blog.
GRADE: 8/10
JUST MISSED:
Speaking of songs with unfilled potential, Bobby Hebb's soulful yet still kind of bland "Sunny" peaked at #2 behind "Summer in the City". It's a 6.
SONGS REFERENCED:
The Lovin' Spoonful - "Daydream"
The Lovin' Spoonful - Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind"
MY INSPIRATION / MORE INFORMATION:
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