Today’s classic early ’70s song of the day for the first day of summer is, fittingly, “In the Summertime” by Mungo Jerry. Released during early the early summer months of 1970, this one-hit wonder went #1 all around the world—except in the U.S., where it stalled at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Where was it #1? Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and West Germany. The U.S. was the outlier.
“In the Summertime” is a simple little skiffle number written and sung by bandleader Ray Dorset. He said it only took him ten minutes to write the song. The original version was only 2 minutes long, so to make it a proper single length they repeated the song on the recording with a slightly different mix the second time through; the two halves were separated by the sound of the engineer’s Triumph sports car roaring past the studio.
The song is the perfect summer song for at least one generation. As the lyrics say:
In the summertime, when the weather is high
You can stretch right up and touch the sky
When the weather’s fine
You got women, you got women on your mind
Have a drink, have a drive
Go out and see what you can find
Mungo Jerry was Ray Dorset on vocals, guitars, and foot stomps; Paul King on banjo and jug; Colin Earl on piano; and Mike Cole on acoustic bass. Dorset formed the band in 1970 in Ashford, Middlesex, England. While “In the Summertime” was the band’s only hit in the U.S., they had nine charting singles in the UK, including four top ten tunes (“In the Summertime,” “Baby Jump,” “Lady Rose,” and “Alright, Alright, Alright”). Though they’ve been through a plentitude of lineup changes (Ray Dorset is the only remaining original member), the band is still active today.
Happy summer, everybody!
