Below is our list of summer oldies on CD. Themes include: hot summer nights, sunshine, beach parties, Hawaii, California, surfing, vacations, Gidget, summer camp, and summer romance. To listen to a song clip, click on a song title. To find more songs by an artist, click on an artist name.
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1956
- Theme Song From "Song For A Summer Night" - Mitch Miller And His Orchestra And Chorus
(This song, which has two parts, was the theme song for the Studio One TV production "Song For A Summer Night.")
1957
- Can't Wait For Summer - Steve Lawrence
- June Night - Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra
(Instrumental. This song was previously a hit for Ted Lewis in 1924.)
1958
- Lazy Summer Night - The Four Preps
(From the movie "Andy Hardy Comes Home" starring Mickey Rooney.) - One Summer Night - The Danleers
(This song later became a hit for the Diamonds in 1961.) - Summertime, Summertime - The Jamies
(This song recharted in 1962.) - The Long Hot Summer - Jimmie Rodgers
(Title song from the movie starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.)
1959
- Blue Hawaii - Billy Vaughn
(Instrumental. From the movie "Waikiki Wedding" starring Bing Crosby who also had a hit with this song in 1937.) - Gidget - Jimmy Darren
(Title song from the movie starring Sandra Dee and James Darren. Darren's pre-1960 hits were recorded under the name Jimmy Darren.) - Hawaiian War Chant - Billy Vaughn
(Instrumental.) - Here Comes Summer - Jerry Keller
(This song later became a hit for Wildfire in 1977.) - The Hawaiian Wedding Song (Ke Kali Nel Au) - Andy Williams
(Original song was written in 1926 by Charles E. King.)
1960
- Beachcomber - Bobby Darin At The Piano
(Instrumental.) - Greenfields - The Brothers Four
(This song (a.k.a. "Green Fields") later became a hit for the Vogues in 1969.) - Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini - Brian Hyland
(This chart topping novelty hit was Brian Hyland's chart debut song.) - Summer's Gone - Paul Anka
- The Green Leaves Of Summer - The Brothers Four
(From the movie "The Alamo" starring John Wayne. This song later became a hit for Kenny Ball in 1962.) - The Theme From "A Summer Place" - Percy Faith And His Orchestra
(Instrumental. Title song from the 1959 movie. This song topped the charts for Percy Faith in 1960 and later became a hit for Dick Roman (1962), the Lettermen ( 1965), and the Ventures (1969).)
1961
- Gidget Goes Hawaiian - James Darren
(From the movie "Gidget Goes Hawaiian" starring Deborah Walley and James Darren.) - School Is Out - Gary (U.S.) Bonds
1962
- Beach Party - King Curtis And The Noble Knights
(Instrumental.) - Let's Go Trippin' - Dick Dale And The Del-Tones
(Instrumental.) - Palisades Park - Freddy Cannon
- Sealed With A Kiss - Brian Hyland
(This song later became a hit for Gary Lewis & the Playboys (1968) and Bobby Vinton (1972).) - Surfin' Safari - The Beach Boys
- Vacation - Connie Francis
1963
- Beach Party - Annette
("Beach Party" by famous ex-Mouseketeer Annette Funicello was on her 1963 album "Annette's Beach Party" (Buena Vista BV-3316) which includes songs from the 1963 Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello movie "Beach Party.") - Gegetta - James Darren
(From the movie "Gidget Goes To Rome" starring Cindy Carol and James Darren.) - Heat Wave - Martha And The Vandellas
(This song later became a hit for Linda Ronstadt in 1975.) - Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh! (A Letter From Camp) - Allan Sherman
(Melody taken from "Dance Of The Hours" by Ponchielli. A new version was recorded in 1964 which charted that year.) - Honolulu Lulu - Jan And Dean
- Lonely Surfer - Jack Nitzsche
(Instrumental.) - My Summer Love - Ruby And The Romantics
- Surfer Girl - The Beach Boys
- Surfin' U.S.A. - The Beach Boys
(This song recharted in 1974 for the Beach Boys and later became a hit for Leif Garrett in 1977.) - Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days Of Summer - Nat "King" Cole
- Wipe Out - The Surfaris
(Instrumental. This song recharted in 1966 for the Surfaris and later became a hit for the Fat Boys (with the Beach Boys) in 1987.) - Wonderful Summer - Robin Ward
1964
- A Summer Song - Chad Stuart And Jeremy Clyde
- California Sun - The Rivieras
(This song was previously a hit for Joe Jones in 1961.) - Remember (Walkin' In The Sand) - The Shangri-Las
(This song later became a chart hit for Louise Goffin (1979) and Aerosmith (1980).) - Summer Means Fun - Bruce And Terry
- The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena) - Jan And Dean
- (Wait 'Til You See) My Gidget - Johnny Tillotson
(B-side song of the 1965 hit "Our World.")
1965
- California Girls - The Beach Boys
(This song later became a hit for David Lee Roth in 1985.) - Hawaii Tattoo - The Waikikis
(Instrumental.) - Surfer Boy - The Supremes
(In 1965, the Supremes appeared in the movie "Beach Ball" in which they performed "Surfer Boy" which was recorded in December 1964.) - The Theme From "A Summer Place" - The Lettermen
(Title song from the 1959 movie. This song topped the charts for Percy Faith in 1960 and later became a hit for Dick Roman (1962) and the Ventures (1969).)
1966
- Barefootin' - Robert Parker
- Happy Summer Days - Ronnie Dove
- Lonely Summer - Shades Of Blue
- Summer In The City - The Lovin' Spoonful
- Summer Samba (So Nice) - Walter Wanderley
(Instrumental.) - Summer Wind - Frank Sinatra
(This song was previously a hit for Wayne Newton in 1965.) - Summertime - Billy Stewart
(Melody based on George Gershwin's "Summertime" from "Porgy And Bess." This song was previously a hit for Billie Holiday (1936), Sam Cooke (1957), the Marcels (1961), Rick Nelson (1962), and the Chris Columbo Quintet (1963).) - Sunny Afternoon - The Kinks
1967
- Come To The Sunshine - Harpers Bizarre
- Groovy Summertime - The Love Generation
- In The Heat Of The Night - Ray Charles
(Title song from the movie starring Sidney Poitier.) - Summer Wine - Nancy Sinatra And Lee Hazlewood
1968
- Barefoot In Baltimore - The Strawberry Alarm Clock
- Indian Lake - The Cowsills
- Sealed With A Kiss - Gary Lewis And The Playboys
(This song was previously a hit for Brian Hyland (1962) and later became a hit for Bobby Vinton (1972).) - Summer Rain - Johnny Rivers
- Summertime Blues - Blue Cheer
(This song was previously a hit for Eddie Cochran (1958) and later became a hit for the Who (1970) and Alan Jackson (1994).)
1969
- Green Fields - The Vogues
(This song (a.k.a. "Greenfields") was previously a hit for the Brothers Four in 1960.) - Hawaii Five-O - The Ventures
(Theme song from the TV series.) - Hot Fun In The Summertime - Sly And The Family Stone
(This song later became a hit for Dayton in 1982.) - The Days Of Sand And Shovels - Bobby Vinton
1970
- Hey, Mister Sun - Bobby Sherman
- In The Summertime - Mungo Jerry
(This song later became a hit for Shaggy (featuring Rayvon) in 1995.) - On The Beach (In The Summertime) - The 5th Dimension
- Summertime Blues - The Who
(This song was previously a hit for Eddie Cochran (1958) and Blue Cheer (1968) and later became a hit for Alan Jackson (1994).)
1971
- It's Summer - The Temptations
- Summer Sand - Dawn
- Theme From "Summer Of '42" - Peter Nero
(Instrumental. Title song from the movie starring Jennifer O'Neil. This song later became a hit for the Biddu Orchestra in 1975.)
1972
- Automatically Sunshine - The Supremes
- Sealed With A Kiss - Bobby Vinton
(This song was previously a hit for Brian Hyland (1962) and Gary Lewis & the Playboys (1968).) - Summer Breeze - Seals And Crofts
(This song later became a chart hit for the Isley Brothers in 1974.) - Sunny Days - Lighthouse
1973
- Country Sunshine - Dottie West
(In 1973, Dottie West did the "Country Sunshine" commercial jingle for Coca-Cola.)
1974
- Summer Breeze - The Isley Brothers
(This song was previous a chart hit for Seals & Croft in 1972. The Isley's Brother's version has two parts; Part 1 charted in 1974, and Part 2 was the B-side song.) - Wombling Summer Party - The Wombles
- (How I Spent My Summer Vacation) Or A Day At The Beach With Pedro & Man - Cheech And Chong
(Comedy skit.)
1975
- Heat Wave - Linda Ronstadt
(This song was previously a hit for Martha Reeves & the Vandellas in 1963.) - Hot Summer Girls - Flash Cadillac And The Continental Kids
(Flash Cadillac was a 1950s-styled group that had a number of minor hits in the 1970s.)
1976
- Summer - War
1977
1982
- Hot In The City - Billy Idol
(This song recharted in 1988.)
1984
- Cruel Summer - Bananarama
(This song later became a hit for Ace Of Base in 1998.) - Farewell My Summer Love - Michael Jackson
1985
- California Girls - David Lee Roth
(This song was previously a hit for the Beach Boys in 1965.)
