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Winter and Summer Songs
As we variously huddle in, dig out, or get on with the new year, here are a few popular music tunes from the late 20th Century, the start of a soundtrack. I invite your contributions in the comments. Or offer up a few tunes of your own, in the same genre or other genres! There are plenty of days left in our monthly theme “Winter of our Discontent,” so feel free to express yourself! Let’s start in 1966:
In 1968, “Sometimes in Winter” was a melancholy, reflective tale:
The Queen of Disco gave us December Melody in 1976:
In 1977, the Steve Miller Band offered a short simple tune, “Winter Time”:
Well, that is all goes nicely with a gloomy winter day. Let’s get some sunshine in here. The Beach Boys are the obvious place to start. In 1964, they released “All Summer Long”:
From 1969, “Here Comes the Sun”:
The 5th Dimension kicked up the tempo with “Let the Sunshine In”:
By 1983, we were “Walking on Sunshine”:
Surely a summer day is the answer to a hazy shade of winter. Or maybe not, consider Bananarama’s 1984 lament:
Maybe winter is not so bad, especially if we kick it uptempo, as the Bangles did in 1987:
Yes, they can do that live, without autotune, in four-part harmony.
What do you think? Go on, express yourself!
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Published in Group Writing
This conversation is part of our Group Writing Series under the January 2020 Group Writing Theme: Winter of Our Discontent. Share your tale of winter, discontent, content, or maybe tell us a tale of someone done wrong by an author or film maker. There are plenty of dates still available. Our schedule and sign-up sheet awaits.
Interested in Group Writing topics that came before? See the handy compendium of monthly themes. Check out links in the Group Writing Group. You can also join the group to get a notification when a new monthly theme is posted.
How about
Split the difference:
The ultimate wintry mix:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V54VYA2s8FQ
The Warmth of the Sun. Willie Nelson with The Beach Boys on harmonies.
Changing seasons:
My wife’s suggestion.
The great Gordon Lightfoot knew the melancholy of winter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mATZznY7H_Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRIlTvYp0ok
And the power and danger of the weather:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vST6hVRj2A
Then there’s Jim Reeves:
And finally Vivaldi:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZCfydWF48c
The version I know best of the Bergman composition Summer Me, Winter Me: (Edit: Legrand, music; lyrics, the Bergmans)
Sunlight by The Youngbloods from Elephant Mountain – in contrast to another song from the same album, Darkness, Darkness.
You need to open up your heart and let the sun shine in.
The snowbird sings the song he always sings.
Plug me in to your block heater, baby.
I finally sorted out the glitch after some cutting and pasting back and forth. Now the videos are properly displaying in the post.
If it’s gonna happen in summer, it’s gonna happen suddenly.
Summertime was the last thing to happen before The Fresh Prince morphed in Will Smith.
Thanks. I wondered what was going on with this post.
Brookline MA and Fountains of Wayne:
Why not both?
I think there is a whole series of classical music selections addressing the topic.
A very good song, but it was a little bit overplayed in 1970.
I sense the beginning of a whole set of kids’ songs.
Good pick
I love the opening scene in The Pope of Greenwich Village with Mickey Rourke getting dressed to Sinatra’s version.
I love Wayne Newton’s version, too:
It looks like we missed a couple of good ones