Hot Fun in the Summertime

"Hot Fun in the Summertime"
Single by Sly and the Family Stone
from the album Greatest Hits
B-side "Fun"
Released August 1969
Format 7" single
Recorded 1969
Genre Psychedelic soul, funk
Length 2:37 (mono single version)
3:03 (stereo album version)
Label Epic
5-10497
Writer(s) Sly Stone
Producer(s) Sly Stone
Sly and the Family Stone singles chronology
"Stand!"/"I Want to Take You Higher"
(1969)		 "Hot Fun in the Summertime"/"Fun"
(1969)		 "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"/"Everybody is a Star"
(1969)

"Hot Fun in the Summertime" is a 1969 song recorded by Sly and the Family Stone. The single was released in the wake of the band's high-profile performance at Woodstock, which greatly expanded their fanbase. The song peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart and number 3 on the U.S. Billboard soul singles chart in autumn 1969.[1] It is ranked as the seventh biggest U.S. hit of 1969,[2] and the 65th in Canada.

Rolling Stone ranked the song #247 on their list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and it also has been named in lists by Yahoo! Music and AskMen as an all-time "summer anthem."[3][4]

Background

Thematically, "Hot Fun in the Summertime" is a dedication to the fun and games to be had during the summer. "Hot Fun in the Summertime" was intended to be included on an in-progress album with "Everybody Is a Star" and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"; the LP was never completed, and the three tracks were instead included on the band's 1970 Greatest Hits LP. This song is known for its rare use of Strings, in a Sly and the Family Stone song, featuring violins being played in the upper register.

The B-side to this single is "Fun," a song taken from the group's third album (Life) from 1968.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1969) Peak
position
Canada RPM 6
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[5] 2
U.S. Billboard R&B[6] 3
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 6

Year-end charts

Chart (1969) Rank
Canada[7] 65
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[2] 7
U.S. R&B (Billboard)[6] 26
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[8] 60

The Beach Boys version

"Hot Fun in the Summertime"
Single by The Beach Boys
from the album Summer in Paradise
B-side "Summer of Love"
Released July 14, 1992[9]
Format Vinyl
Recorded late 1991 – mid 1992
Genre Rock
Length 3:29
Label Brother Records
Producer(s) Terry Melcher
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"Problem Child"
(1990)		 "Hot Fun in the Summertime"
(1992)		 "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times"
(1996)

The track was covered by the Beach Boys on their 1992 album Summer in Paradise. The song was also released as a single during that same year, backed with "Summer of Love." A video was made to accompany the song.

Other covers

It was performed on stage in HBO's 1981 television special The Pee-wee Herman Show.

The song was covered by The Party, which was originally supposed to be on their 1992 album, Free, but was then released on their 1993 album, "The Party's Over...Thanks For Coming".

It was covered in 1982 with somewhat greater chart success by a funk outfit known as Dayton, and again in 1995 by The Manhattan Transfer featuring vocals by Chaka Khan.

Genesis vocalist and drummer Phil Collins cited the song as one of the musical inspirations for "Misunderstanding". The members of Toto have also cited it as an inspiration for "Hold the Line".

Personnel

Unaccredited: Strings with violins in the upper register.

References

  1. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 534.
  2. 1 2 "Top 100 Hits of 1969/Top 100 Songs of 1969". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  3. ↑ Chris Willman (2012-05-29). "The 50 Greatest Summer Songs!". Music.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  4. ↑ "Top 10 Better Man". AskMen.com. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  5. ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002
  6. 1 2 "1969: The Top 100 Soul/R&B Singles". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  7. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  8. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-05-22. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  9. ↑ Billboard. Books.google.com. 1992-07-25. p. 42. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
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