Hot Fun in the Summertime by Sly and the Family Stone: This is the ultimate summer tune, hell it's in the lyrics. Jerry Martini and Cynthia Robinson provide a chill horn section, and Sly brings the laid-back vocals. Sly throws a little jab at Motown, at the time Motown was trying to keep up with the times and started making some music with the more psychadelic touches that Sly was already incorporating. One of those was Cloud Nine by the Temptations. So if you ever wondered what the hell the lyric, "I cloud nine when I want to" means, it's Sly's friendly little poke.
I Saw the Light by Todd Rundgren: Not to be confused with the Hank Williams Sr. song with the same title, this song is just super chill. It's the perfect road trip, windows and/or top down, cruising tune. Rundgren, an under-recognized musical genius wrote, produced, played every instrument, and provided all the vocals on this, along with every other song on his great album Something/Anything?. He's an interesting cat- he kinda had a feud with John Lennon, was reportedly part of a coin flip on who to kill between the two for assassin Mark David Chapman, and the actress Liv Tyler spent most of her childhood believing he was her father. Him and Steven Tyler both had relationships with Playboy Playmate Bebe Buell around the time of her birth.
The 'In' Crowd by Ramsey Lewis: This was originally a song with lyrics performed by Dobie Gray. One nite a waitress asked the jazz-pianist Ramsey to play a version of it. So he did, and this instrumental take on the song became a hit. This is perfect for chilling in the backyard at nite, and drinking a cold one.
Blue Sky by The Allman Bros: The great Dickey Betts wrote this for his Native-American girlfriend Sandy "Bluesky" Wabegijig. It's just a beautiful song with Betts and the late, great Duane Allman playing dual lead guitars. Dickey also sings the lead vocals usually reserved for Gregg Allman. The three minutes or so guitar bridge just weaves its way perfectly for some backyard times.
Blue Bayou by Linda Ronstadt: The greatest female vocalist of all time gives her take on this Roy Orbison song. Listen on a beach, on a patio, sweating or with a fan cooling you. Right when you hear that opening bass line it's relax time. She just has the purest, most perfect tone to her voice and Don Henley provides nice backing vocals.
It's All Right by Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions: Much like Rundgren, I feel Mayfield is an under-appreciated genius. He wrote civil rights and feel-good songs with the Impressions, and then in his solo career put out some of the sweetest soul and funkiest tunes. And most all of it with a message. He was a brilliant composer, multi-instrumentalist, and sweet singer. This particular song just puts you in a good place, it's great for any time of day when you just wanna "listen to the beat, kinda pat your feet...'cause you got soul, and everybody knows that it's all right".
Start out with those, there's multitudes more. Of course the Beach Boys are perfect for the season, really any album. Put in Stevie Wonder's under-the-radar classic album Music of My Mind, catch some rays, and let Steve paint a picture for you. Neil Young's Harvest or After the Goldrush chillin' on a hot summer nite. The Shangra-Las, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, or the Chiffons for some classic girl-group harmonies and relaxation. And when you have some laid-back company over, you can't go wrong with a huge jazz playlist filled with Coltrane, Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, Jimmy 'Pork Chop' Smith etc. The girls just kinda flow along in those summer dresses to the vibe, sippin' on Chardonnay...
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