Writing about the start of summer and summer music got me to thinking about some of the classic rock groups from the 60’s and 70’s. My Dad had a rather eclectic taste in music. He was as comfortable listening to classical compositions from Brahms and Bach as he was grooving to the rhythms of Motown’s The Supremes and The Temptations. Consequently, I grew up in a home where one moment we were listening to Sinatra’s “Strangers in the Night” and the next we were listening to Ravel’s “Bolero.”
One of my Dad’s favorite rock groups was a band from Canada. The Guess Who scored big in the late 60’s and early 70’s with hits such as “American Woman,” “No Time,” and “These Eyes.” I never cared much for “American Woman” (not too crazy about the song’s message) but I just loved “These Eyes.”
So now that summer is on its way, enjoy these tunes from a band from the “Great Frozen Tundra” aka Canada.
Vati, danke für den Musikvati!
THE GUESS WHO – No Time (Beginning of the song is a tad “psychodelic” but it does get better!)
Summer is finally here! Summer in the Northern Hemisphere will officially arrive on Tuesday at 1:16 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). At the same time, winter officially begins for the Southern Hemisphere.
At that moment, the sun will reach the point where it is farthest north of the celestial equator. To be more precise, when the summer solstice occurs, the sun will appear to be shining directly overhead at a point on the Tropic of Cancer (latitude 23.5 degrees north) in the Great Bahama Bank, roughly halfway between Andros Island and central Cuba.
In pre-historic times, summer was a joyous time of the year for people who lived in the Northern latitudes. The snow had disappeared; the ground had thawed out; warm temperatures had returned; flowers were blooming; leaves had returned to the deciduous trees. Food was easier to find and the crops had already been planted and would be harvested in the months to come.
For modern man, the return of summer has a different significance than it had for our ancestors. All around the world, people celebrate summer time and the return of warm weather: trips to the beach, going surfing, attending baseball games (or for you Euro-types, going to football matches), picnics and family vacations. For bike fanatics (like me), summer time means more hours of sun light to go on longer bike rides. And let’s not forget, that “little” bike race held in France every July: the Tour de France (or TdF as the cognoscenti call it).
So enjoy the fantastic weather, put away your heavy winter clothes and get your daily dose of Vitamin D by exposing some skin to the Sun’s warm rays (of course, don’t forget to wear a good sunscreen).
Of course, summer time is not always all fun and games for everyone, as this cartoon, sent to me by Bird Thor, illustrates. (Thanks Bird!)
For me though, music and summertime are inextricably linked. I can still remember long summer nights, sitting on the swing my Dad had hung from one of the branches of the old oak tree that took center stage in our backyard, reading Jules Verne’ novels by the light of a flashlight, and listening to music.
One of my all-time favorite summer songs is SUMMER BREEZE, by the group Seals and Crofts. “Summer Breeze” came out in 1972-the same year I was born. The first time I heard it, I just fell in love with it. Since that time, I have learned to appreciate this song’s beautifully simple lyrics and lilting melody.
So, for your listening pleasure, and in remembrance of those long-ago carefree days of summer, here is Seals and Crofts, “Summer Breeze.”
