Crushes, Beaches and Beats: The 10 Songs That Brightened My Summer(s)

The countdown has started, and I’m not happy about it: summer is coming to an end. In a flash, you’re saying goodbye to what once felt like endless daylight (depending on where you are on the globe), high temperatures (climate change is taking no prisoners), light clothes, festivals, and a flirtation in the air that’s so easy to succumb to during this season… I love the summer! And summer hits! That’s why I compiled a list of the 10 songs that brightened my summers!

Who can resist a good summer hit that survived the test of time? Do rejoice, because the good weather, the sunshine and the beach are here to stay for a few more days, at least in our hearts and in your playlists. Never Date an Artist because they have the power to rearrange the season’s calendar, even if for a couple of minutes at a time. Shall we begin?

10 – “On The Beach” (1986) – Chris Rea

I first listened to this song as an adult woman, working at an oldies radio station. Back then, I gained comprehensive knowledge of music artists, their lives, struggles, gossip, and impressive talent. However, because I was so young when I started, I had never listened to some of the songs on the playlist. Chris Rea’s “On The Beach” was one of them.

I remember the track being included on a summer playlist, and it was as if I could feel the sea breeze touching my skin in the studio. And the voice? Who can resist Chris’s effortless, sensual voice? “On The Beach”, of all places! Takes me back to the place I know… Why do I suspect I know that place as well? We all do! That’s why we can’t let them go: the song, and that special spot on that beach that only us, and perhaps a lost lover, are so well acquainted with.

Chris Rea takes us there in a 5-minute track, and it doesn’t seem like enough time to reminisce. I’m always hopeful the outro lasts a few more seconds. Just a little bit longer. A little bit… more.

9 – “Summer in the City” (1994) – Joe Cocker

I’m from the music video generation. I remember when the release of a new music video from a major artist ended up in the news. I’m talking about traditional news services, not MTV or VH1. And forget about social media: there was no concept of it at the time. That’s how I learned about Joe Cocker’s version of The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Summer in the City”: the black-and-white video was shown at the end of a newscast.

Joe Cocker’s voice has always intrigued me. I’ve always felt that his timbre was on the edge of being too deep, too raspy, too raw. But, somehow, it finds just the right balance to be marvellous, captivating, and warm. Warm – now, there’s an adjective that combines perfectly with a summer hit that has the season in the title.

Without that video drawing my attention to the song, I would not have kept this version of it in my memory. But it remains lively and pleasant to this day.

8 – “Love is Strong” (1994) – The Rolling Stones

Another great black-and-white music video is The Rolling Stones’ “Love is Strong” directed by David Fincher.

Your love is strong, and you’re so sweet

You make me hard, you make me weak

Love is strong, and you’re so sweet

And some day, babe, we got to meet

Such intense emotions for someone they’ve actually never met! And it’s not like they could see their socials or slide into DMs in the 1990s. Nevertheless, they made them hard and weak at the same time. Who are we talking about? Who knows?! And it’s not relevant, to be honest. The exacerbation of feelings is well represented in the video by gigantic figures strolling around New York City. Those are The Rolling Stones themselves and some models who seem to have leapt out of a hip fashion catalogue’s summer edition.

David Fincher, the director of Seven, Fight Club and The Social Network, did a groundbreaking job with the “Love is Strong” music video. Today, having Godzilla-size figures walking around and shaking their hips (yes, Mick Jagger!) through a city doesn’t seem like an extraordinary feat. But it definitely was in 1994! Fincher was praised for the video’s realism and seamless production with a Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video and an MTV award for Best Special Effects.

As to the song itself, it may not be Rolling Stone’s most memorable hit, but it fulfilled its purpose: it gave us a summery track always to go back to when the temperatures are high, the clothes are cool and light, and our emotions can barely fit our chest because the love is strong and our summer crush is so sweet.

7 – “Crush” (1998) – Jennifer Paige

And talking about crush… This one was a last-minute entry! How could I have forgotten Jennifer Paige’s “Crush”? Curiously, that song got stuck in my head by the end of the summer despite having been released in June. It was Brandy and Monica’s fault, to be honest: the summer of ’98 was theirs. But you’ll read all about it later on the countdown.

Comforting like a morning summer breeze, secretly hopeful, seemingly uncomplicated, enigmatic, bright and sunny like the weather, the lyrics in Jennifer Paige’s slightly smoky voice remind us of the undefining, exciting, and ineffable nature of a crush. But let’s not make too much out of it: It’s just a little crush/ Not like I faint every time we touch. We did, actually, and some of us would run and tell everything to our best friends about it.

Do you still remember that summer crush?

6 – “Tempted to Touch” (2004) – Rupee

Let’s now jump into the 2000s with a song that has crept into every summer party since Rupee released it in 2004: “Tempted to Touch”. The lyrics are quite straightforward, directed at “all the ladies in the dance”, aka “each and every princess”. They talk about loss of control and the temptation to touch sexy, wining bodies. How this song stood the test of time on lyrics alone still eludes me. However, the melody is undeniably captivating.  

Fortunately, everything seems under control throughout the song. Yet, Rupee lets you know that something might happen before the end of the night if he manages to fulfil his burning desire: “I wanna hold you so tight” (How tight?). There is a level of cringeness to the lyrics, but they’re very tame considering the overall message. Also, there’s no evidence that anyone succumbed to temptation in the making of the song.

Thus, “Tempted to Touch” is just that, the diary entry of a lonely man next to the counter, wearing a leather jacket in the club, vodka cola in hand, and staring at twisting, dancing bodies, while his skin yearns for body contact. OK, that was mean… (But it doesn’t make me wrong!). I apologise, Rupee. This is what happens when we look at the lyrics without the melody.

Truth be told, “Tempted to Touch” is a banger and is bound to represent the summer for as long as climate change remains a concern.

That’s all for now, but the summer hits countdown continues…

If you’d like to find out who occupies the top 5, click below. But before you do, scroll down to the comment section to share your list — What songs brightened your summers? I told you mine, go ahead and tell me yours.