Since we’re in the sticky thick of summer here in the northern hemisphere, how about a week of summer-themed classic songs? With that in mind, let’s start with a literal summer song, “A Summer Song” by Chad & Jeremy. The duo released this one right in the middle of summer, in July 1964, and it went to #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“A Summer Song” was written by the group’s Chad Stuart, along with Clive Metcalfe and Keith Noble. Chad and Clive were hanging in Chad’s apartment one evening and Chad started jamming on four chords on his acoustic guitar. Clive came up with the melody, Keith later added lyrics, and a classic song was born.
Chad and his partner Jeremy Clyde worked out the pretty harmonies, added it to their live act, and eventually committed it to record. That said, the duo didn’t really think they had a hit on their hands. As Chad later remarked:
“We never thought ‘Summer Song’ could possibly be a single. It was just a pretty, romantic song. Or so we thought…you never can tell, can you?”
“A Summer Song” was so popular it got covered by a lot of other artists, from the Doodletown Pipers to Christine Lavin. I’m particularly partial to the 1965 version by the Lettermen. (As a personal aside, I loved the harmonies on “A Summer Song” so much I always wanted to do an arrangement of it for choir, but never got around to it. It would have been fun.)
Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde were two Brits who started singing together in 1962. They had their first hit in 1963 with “Yesterday’s Gone” (#21 on the Billboard Hot 100) and went on to record a string of singles, although none were as popular as their first two. They benefited somewhat from being British during the British Invasion years, but broke up in 1968.
During the height of the British Invasion, in 1966, the boys guest starred (as themselves) on the hit ABC-TV show Batman. While visiting Gotham City, they had their voices stolen by the evil Catwoman (played by the delicious Julie Newmar). It was all in good fun, of course, and Batman and Robin (Adam West and Burt Ward) utimately saved the day—and the boys’ voices.
Chad & Jeremy have reunited a few times over the years for one project or another. Chad Stuart officially retired in 2016 and passed away in 2020 of pneumonia following a fall, aged 79. Jeremy Clyde still tours as a solo act; he’s 82 years old.
