Bob Dylan’s favourite songs about summer
In the throes of wintry storms and post-festivity blues, it can be hard to pull yourself away from the saddest playlists in your arsenal. The excitement of Christmas has come and gone. The winds are out in full force, and so are the January blues. It’s a prime time to wallow in the most melancholic ballads and the fuzziest walls of shoegaze, but there is hope on the horizon.
Sunsets are getting earlier, and days are getting longer, so why not inject a little more daylight into our listening habits, too? For those hoping to find a glimpse of the sun amidst the midwinter melancholy, look no further. Bob Dylan once curated a near-perfect playlist of his favourite summer songs, and who else is more qualified to give music recommendations?
On an episode of his radio show, Theme Time Radio Hour, Dylan shared a selection of his favourite summer-infused compositions. In the hour-long show, aptly titled ‘Summer’, the songwriting legend named picks from the likes of Van Morrison, Billy Stewart and The Lovin’ Spoonful, declaring it “time to open up the fire hydrants and have a party in the streets, because it’s summertime.”
Though the playlist includes a range of artists, it also demonstrates Dylan’s exceptional ability to curate songs with a specific atmosphere. Each new track furthers the feeling that summer is on its way, from the soft sambas of Astrud Gilberto and Walter Wanderley’s ‘Summer Samba (So Nice)’ to the continued repetition of “sunny” in Bobby Hebb’s song of the same name.
Highlights of Dylan’s picks include ‘Hot Weather Blues’ by Mr. Sad Head, an artist Dylan deemed “one of [his] favourite names in all of music”. The track pairs lyrics of love with jubilant instrumentation, the perfect antidote for January blues. “It ain’t hot weather that makes me stick to you,” the vocals declare.
‘Too Hot’ by Prince Buster is another highlight, a track that finds its heat not in the weather but in “the state of Kingston in 1967, as rude boy violence raged on and police cowered under the onslaught and the government threatened to bring in the army to restore order.” It’s no surprise that Dylan included this on the list, known for his sonic contributions to civil rights movements.
Elsewhere, Dylan picks out Eddie Cochran’s ‘Summertime Blues,’ which he declares, “a song recorded many times by many people, but I don’t think that any of them did it half as good as the man who wrote it.” The song has been taken on by the likes of The Who and Blue Cheer, but it’s true that no cover quite matches the energy of the original.
Ranging from sunny sambas to political commentary, Dylan’s playlist is reflective of his own interests and influences. It’s a wide-ranging and expertly curated selection of tracks, charting summers of past and present. Find the full playlist of songs below.
Bob Dylan’s favourite summer songs:
- Billy Stewart – ‘Summertime’
- Eddie Cochran – ‘Summertime Blues’
- Martha & The Vandellas – ‘(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave’
- Sol K. Bright and His Hollywaiians – ‘Heat Wave’
- Bobby Hebb – ‘Sunny’
- Fatso Bentley – ‘June-teenth Jamboree’
- Astrud Gilberto and Walter Wanderley – ‘Summer Samba (So Nice)’
- Van Morrison – ‘Youth of 1,000 Summers’
- Mr. Sad Head – ‘Hot Weather Blues’
- The Lovin’ Spoonful – ‘Summer in the City’
- Prince Buster – ‘Too Hot’
- Mungo Jerry – ‘In the Summertime’
- John Brim – ‘Ice Cream Man’
- Dave Alvin – ‘Fourth of July’
- Sly & the Family Stone – ‘Hot Fun in the Summertime’
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