Ranking The 21 All-Time Best Songs About Summer

Summer is officially here. The first day of the Meteorological Summer and the Astronomical Summer have passed and we are in the thick of it. What does that mean? It’s time to queue up the best songs with ‘Summer’ in the title so we can craft the perfect playlist.

When I started out with this, I was initially thinking I’d rank the best songs about Summer. It quickly became obvious there was too much leeway there. Where does it start and end? So I narrowed the selections down to the 21 best songs with ‘Summer’ in the title and honestly, it was still challenging having to cut some absolute bangers from this list.

Ranking The 21 Best Songs With ‘Summer’ In The Title

A few things that stand out here are (1) how many songs use the same or similar names, and (2) how there are lots of musicians who have produced legendary hits about sad Summers. For most people, Summer is the best season of the year. In actuality, it’s the 3rd ranked season behind Fall and Spring, only ahead of Winter (for most).

We all just live in a perpetual state of nostalgia towards childhood when we had carefree Summers, no school, zero responsibilities, and nothing but freedom. So it is interesting to see how many of the best songs with ‘Summer’ in the title aren’t what I would describe as ‘classically uplifting.’ Before I rant any more, however, let’s check out the 21 all-time best songs with ‘Summer’ in the title.

1. ‘Summer of ’69’ by Bryan Adams

This song has been covered by quite a few Pop Punk groups, also by Taylor Swift, The Foo Fighters, and Nickelback, but there is no substitute for the original. Bryan Adams co-wrote it with Jim Vallance and it has one of the best opening guitar riffs of its era.

2. ‘The Boys of Summer’ by Don Henley

Is this my favorite son with ‘Summer’ in the title of all the best songs with ‘Summer’ in the title on this list? Perhaps. It is hard to pick just one but Don Henley was cooking up FIRE in the studio when he dropped ‘The Boys Of Summer’ in October of 1984.

Don Henley wrote the lyrics to this song but the music was written by guitarist Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers who played the music for Tom Petty but Tom didn’t think it was a fit for what they were working on at the time. His mistake. This song rips.

3. ‘Summer’ by Calvin Harris

Calvin Harris‘ ‘Summer’ has 1.7 BILLION with a B streams on YouTube. I can’t even begin to fathom what the global cumulative total is between Spotify, Apple Music, Radio, etc. And it has only been out since 2014! Calvin Harris is the singer, songwriter, and producer of this track. He could have easily retired off this one song alone. Unreal.

4. ‘Cruel Summer’ by Bananarama

There are a few covers of this song, notably one from Ace of Base, but Bananarama’s original ‘Cruel Summer’ is the GOAT. It was immortalized as a track in 1984’s The Karate Kid and this is a Summer song that quite literally never gets skipped when it comes on the playlist.

5. ‘Summertime Sadness’ by Lana Del Rey

The first of several songs with ‘Summer’ in the title that isn’t all sunshine and daisies, ‘Summertime Sadness’ by Lana Del Rey was everywhere for years when she released the song back in 2012. With 874 million views and counting on YouTube it is one of the most popular Summer songs of all time.

6. ‘That Summer’ by Garth Brooks

You didn’t think this list would be entirely classic rock and club music, did you? Garth Brooks has an endless catalog of hits but ‘That Summer’ is certainly up there among his greatest of all time.

It was released in 1993 for Garth’s album The Chase and later appeared on his albums The Hits, The Ultimate Hits, and his live album Double Live. Would he be ran out of the music industry if he released this song in 2026? Quite possibly. Just don’t listen to the lyrics too closely…

7. ‘Cruel Summer’ by Taylor Swift

Featured as the second song in Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour set list every night during the most successful tour in music history, ‘Cruel Summer’ has nearly 300 million views on YouTube in the past six years. It feels weird to already have a second song in these rankings named ‘Cruel Summer’ but it is what it is.

8. ‘Summer Girls’ by LFO

Most people would say LFO is a one-hit wonder band. Millennials of a certain age would argue they had two big hits, ‘Summer Girls’ and ‘Girl on TV’ or ‘Every Other Time.’

Whatever camp you land in, we can all agree that ‘Summer Girls’ came out of nowhere, with nonsensical lyrics, and it was stuck in everyone’s heads for the entire Summer of 1999 and even months into 2000 because the radio never stopped playing it.

9. ‘Summertime’ by Kenny Chesney

Kenny Chesney is a man that has salt in his veins. He’s an avid offshore fishermen and his sport fishing yacht can often be seen parked in the Key West marina. He has written countless songs about Summer but ‘Summertime’ gets the nod here.

Kenny Chesney‘s co-writer on ‘Summertime,’ Craig Wiseman, was working on a different song with Tim McGraw at the time when he took a break, stepped outside, and took in the smells and sounds of the first ‘real’ night of Summer. The song practicallywrote itself after that.

10. ‘Summer Madness’ by Kool and the Gang

This is the only fully instrumental song on the list. If it doesn’t ring a bell by the name, hit ‘play’ and you’ll know it for sure.

‘Summer Madness’ by Kool and the Gang was recorded in 1974 and has been sampled countless times throughout the years in R&B and Hip-Hop. It has also made appearances in pop culture through Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Rocky (1976), and a 2006 LeBron James commercial for Nike, just to name a few.

11. ‘Summertime Blues’ by Alan Jackson

Released in 1994, ‘Summertime Blues’ by Alan Jackson is one of those Country Music songs that transcends the genre. People who will look you in the face and tell you they hate Country Music will hear this song and know every word.

12. ‘Doin Time’ (Summertime) by Sublime

Sublime‘s ‘Doin Time’ (Summertime) is a track I’ve listened to no less than a thousand time. It was released in 1997 and the opening lyrics of ‘Summertime and the living’s easy’ sets the mood for the entire song. I’m not one to throw around ‘it’s a vibe’ very often as a descriptor but it really is a fantastic vibe-setting track from Sublime.

13. ‘Summer Cannibals’ by Patti Smith

Patti Smith released ‘Summer Cannibals’ as a single in 1996 with Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith. If you’re a Patti Smith fan then you know the hits like ‘Gloria’ and ‘Redondo Beach’ to name a few. But ‘Summer Cannibals’ deserves a spot in the rotation of legendary Patti Smith songs.

14. ‘Summer Love’ by Justin Timberlake

Justin Timberlake was operating on another level when he released FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006). ‘Summer Love’ was written/produced by JT, Timbaland, and Nate ‘Danja’ Hills. It’s not unfair to say that this album, Justin Timberlake’s second solo studio album, made him into the global superstar he became.

15. ‘Summer in the City’ by The Lovin’ Spoonful

I feel like there’s at least a 5% chance that if you throw on a Classic Rock station on SiriusXM between June and September that this song is playing. ‘Summer in the City’ by The Lovin’ Spoonful is a Summer classic.

Released in 1966, this song has stood the test of time and still gets regular airplay. In terms of all-time legendary Canadian rock songs, this one deserves to be in the conversation.

16. ‘In the Summertime’ by Mungo Jerry

Released in 1970 by British rock band Mungo Jerry, ‘In the Summertime’ is anther classic from that era like the one above. Songwriter Ray Dorset said after the song’s release that it only took him 10 minutes to write the song using a second-hand Fender Stratocaster. It would go on to reach #1 on charts in 21 different countries around the world.

17. ‘Summer Breeze’ by Seals & Crofts

Released in 1972 by Seals & Crofts, ‘Summer Breeze’ was a smooth rock anthem of that era. This is the kind of song that gets constant airplay on sailboats and inside tiki bars filled with Boomers. That’s not a bad thing at all! It just has a time and a place where you are most likely to hear this legendary track. Rolling Stone once named it their No. 13 ‘best Summer song’ of all time.

18. ‘Summertime’ by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

There are now multiple generations of Americans and people worldwide who only know Will Smith as a movie actor and don’t have any memory of his days as The Fresh Prince with DJ Jazzy Jeff, and that’s a shame. Will Smith famously refused to use profanity in his raps and such was the case in ‘Summertime’ by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, which was released back in 1991.

19. ‘Long Hot Summer’ by Keith Urban

Australian Country Music star Keith Urban knows a thing or two about long hot Summers, even if their Summer is upside down and backward compared to ours here in America. Urban released ‘Long Hot Summer’ in 2011 and took over Country Music airwaves for months on end. The music video featuring Summer Glau from Firefly and Serenity was pretty great too.

20. ‘Indian Summer’ by The Doors

One of the forgotten songs by The Doors is ‘Indian Summer’ which was released in 1966 and featured on the album Morrison Hotel. The phrase ‘Indian Summer’ refers to unseasonably warm, dry, and hazy weather in Fall after the first frost. So while not truly a Summer song it still has ‘Summer’ in the title and a fantastic track from Jim Morrison and The Doors.

21. ‘Summertime Magic’ by Childish Gambino

Last but not least we have ‘Summertime Magic’ by Childish Gambino (Donald McKinley Glover Jr.). He released this track in July 2018 for his fourth studio album back when he was on top of the world / before retiring his Childish Gambino alter ego.

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What would you add to the rankings of the Best Songs With Summer in the Title? Let me know down below in the comments! There are just so many out there, I’m sure I missed a few.