The First Day of Summer

When I was a kid, summer meant fishing at the local creek, frisbee in the park with friends, and long lazy days of fun in the sun at the beach with my family — all accompanied by the tinny sounds of oldies on my trusty — if not entirely reliable — AM rdio.

Many moons have passed since those days.

Urban sprawl has taken what little fish remained from the creek where I once cast my line. The local beach looks cleaner than it has in years, but I am wary to set foot in it, let alone swim there.

AM radio has been taken hostage by sportscasters and the lunatic fringe of talk radio. Oldies for the youngest generation consists mainly of old school hip-hop or the grunge and alternative records their parents bought back in the early 1990s. The term Retro now represents the dance and pop hits of the 1980s. Even classic rock has narrowed down to a handful of songs played by an even smaller number of FM radio stations.

Radio itself has been largely replaced by satellite and internet broadcasts and the world of downloading.

Much to my dismay, many of the original hits of the 1950s and 1960s are now mostly forgotten, even though many of them were later re-made with a larger impact by artists with more lasting success.

Bert Berns and Jerry Ragovoy’s Cry Baby is best remembered in the emotion and power of a young Janis Joplin [1968].

Jesse Stone’s Money Honey has been recorded countless times, most notably on Elvis Presley’s 1956 debut LP.

Leadbelly’s Cotton Fields became a massive success for Credence Clearwater Revival in 1969 with their faithful rendition on their Willy & The Poor Boys LP.

Billy Boy Arnold’s I Wish You Would first came to me via The Yardbirds and later through John Hammond Jr.

The remainder of this compilation consists of hits long since retired that I felt needed a revival.

The Premiers‘ Farmer John is about as fun-in-the-sun as it gets.

I culled the Duane Eddy instrumentals from his 1958 Jamie label debut to set the mood for some late night cruising.

While they did well at home in the UK, the goofy antics and fuzz guitars of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich never translated into success on this side of the pond.

James Brown, Otis Redding, and Wilson Pickett became soul superstars in the mid-1960s while a collection of some of Little Richard’s best work [1964-1966] remained unreleased until the early 1970s because of financial troubles at Vee-Jay records. I Don’t Know What You Got features a young Jimi Hendrix on guitar.

Lonnie Mack is a largely unsung guitar hero who helped lay the foundations for the blues-rock era that would eventually produce Stevie Ray Vaughan.

The closing from Eddie Harris might seem out of place, but his 1961 jazz adaptation of Ernest Gold’s movie theme became the first ever gold-certified jazz album, a fact that helped push jazz in new directions throughout the 1960s.

Altogether, I think you will find this collection a fun and fine way to kick off…

The First Day of Summer:

1. Farmer John – The Premiers [1964] 2:35
2. Ramrod – Duane Eddy [1958] 1:41
3. Ain’t Gonna Do It – The Pelicans [1954] 2:25
4. Batman Theme – The Marketts [1966] 2:39
5. The Green Mosquito – The Tune Rockers [1958] 2:18
6. My Little Red Book – Love [1965] 2:28
7. Hold Tight – Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich [1966] 2:46
8. Let’s Go – The Routers [1962] 2:17
9. Little Latin Lupe Lu – The Righteous Brothers [1963] 2:48
10. Hey Now – Lesley Gore [1964] 2:12
11. I Don’t Know What You Got – Little Richard [1965] 4:11
12. Cry Baby – Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters [1963] 3:26
13. Rainbow – Gene Chandler [1963] 2:50
14. Stalkin’ – Duane Eddy [1958] 2:27
15. Stormy Weather – The Spaniels [1958] 2:29
16. 5-10-15 Hours – Ruth Brown [1952] 3:13
17. Three-30-Blues – Duane Eddy [1958] 3:32
18. Money Honey – The Drifters (w/ Clyde McPhatter) [1953] 2:58
19. Hey Miss Fannie – The Clovers [1952] 2:24
20. Memphis – Lonnie Mack [1963] 2:30
21. I Wish You Would – Billy Boy Arnold [1955] 2:52
22. Cotton Fields – The Highwaymen [1961] 2:13
23. Exodus To Jazz – Eddie Harris [1961] 2:01