Best songs for summer: a ranking of the 20 best sunny songs to listen to during a heatwave (2023)

KC i Sunshine Band – „Give It Up”

KC and the Sunshine Band may have witnessed the decline of the signature disco sound of the 70s, but in 1983 they scored an unexpected smash hit with this classic.

This synthpop inspired track was a UK number one and always put a smile on our faces. It was used in an unforgettable scene in the 2014 filmKingsman: The Secret Service.

Take - "Pray"

Just imagine the sun-drenched music video for this song to make you feel like summer.

Read more: Take That's Top 20 Songs

The famous music video for the song was shot in Acapulco, Mexico, and features the band singing and dancing in an exotic location. Excellent.

Hall & Oates - "You Make My Dreams Come True"

You can't turn it on without foot stomping or a little boogie, people watching or not.

The song was widely used infilm soundtracks, includingwedding singerand500 days of summer.

Commodores - "Lako"

It doesn't get more relaxed and...well...easier than this.

The scriptLionel Richie, a ballad expresses the feelings of a man ending a relationship. However, rather than being depressed about the break-up, he says it's "as easy as Sunday morning".

Bryan Adams – „Lato 69”

Read more:The best Bryan Adams songs ever

Originally titled "Best Days of My Life", the song surprisingly failed to become a hit in the UK (it only peaked at #42), despite possibly being his best known and most loved song!

Bryan Adamshe later said: "The song is already 25 years old, so it took that many years to develop. Many songs like this were very successful in America, but not anywhere else. It didn't get anywhere in Europe until at least 10 years after release I think songs can live a life of their own regardless of promotion.

10cc - "Holidays with dreadlocks"

This reggae classic is based on real events that 10cc member Eric Stewart and Moody Blues singer Justin Hayward experienced in Barbados, but Stewart moved to Jamaica.

One such line comes from a conversation between Graham Gouldman and a Jamaican who, when asked if he likes cricket, replied "No, I love it!"

Eagles - "Calm Down"

Select any againEaglessong and would be perfect for driving in the sun.

It was the Eagles' first single, which began as a song by singer-songwriter Jackson Browne before Glenn Frey offered to finish the song for him. Browne later said: "I refused him a few times to finish my song, I said 'Okay'."

"I finally thought, 'This is ridiculous. Go ahead, finish it. Do it.' And it ended in spectacular fashion. And what's more, he arranged it in a much better way than I wrote.

Michael Jackson - "Dance With You"

Written by Heatwave's Rod Temperton - who later wrote "Thriller" - the song was originally called "I Want To Eat You Up" but was quickly changed to suitMichael Jacksonpicture of a healthy heartthrob.

It is considered one of the last hits of the disco era and what a way to end it.

TLC - "Slap"

The lyrics of this song actually refer to issues in the 1990s, such as HIV/AIDS and the violence of the drug trade. T-Boz Watkins said it was important for the group to "get the message across without sounding preachy."

Shares elements withPaul McCartneythe song of the same name, which begins with the line "Don't jump over the falls, stick to the lake". McCartney noted the similarity, saying, "Actually, a few years ago, somebody made a hit using the first verse... then he started the second song. It was like, 'Please?'

Bob Seger - "Night Moves"

Bob Seger wrote this sweet rock song as a coming-of-age story about young love and remembering it in adulthood. The script was based on a teenage romance that Seger experienced in the early 1960s.

The catalyst for writing the song came after Seger watched the 1973 filmAmerican graffiti"I left the theater thinking, 'Hey, I have a story to tell too! No one ever told me what it was like growing up in my neck of the woods.”

Beach Boys - "Good Vibes"

The scriptBrian WilsonThis iconic song with lyrics by Mike Love is known for subverting the pop music formula of the time and until 1966 was the most expensive single ever recorded. It's summer pop.

Read more: The 10 Best Beach Boys Songs Ever

It was produced by Wilson and recorded duringAnimal sounds, but was not originally released as a stand-alone single. Its title came from Wilson's fascination with cosmic vibrations, as his mother had told him as a child that dogs could bark at people in response to their "bad vibes". The lead vocals in the song were shared by Brian, his brother Carl and their cousin Love.

Bob Marley i Wailers - "Three Little Birds"

We could have chosen anyBoba Marleyasong for this list, but we chose this laid-back classic.

Read more: The story of... "Three birds"

Marley's inspiration to write the lyrics to this song is up in the air. They are partly inspired by the birds that Marley loved and that sat near his house. Friend Tony Gilbert said: "Bob was inspired by many things around him, he observed life. I remember three little birds. They were beautiful birds, canaries that used to come to the windowsill on Hope Road."

However, three female singers from the reggae group I Threes claim that it is a reference to them. Singer Marcia Griffiths said: "When the song was written, Bob always called us the Three Little Birds."

Big Mountain - "Baby, I Love Your Way"

It was first released in 1975 by guitarist Peter Frampton, and two decades later it became a hit by the American reggae group Big Mountain.

It was first released in 1994, but it didn't become a hit in the UK until a year later. It was one of several songs that reached No. 2 that summer behind Wet Wet Wet's "Love is All Around."

Bill Withers - "Divan dan"

Read more:The best Bill Withers songs ever

Released in 1977, this summer song is famous for Bill's incredible extended note at the end, which lasts 18 seconds and is one of the longest ever recorded.

Bonus fact: Ghostbusters star Ray Parker Jr played guitar on this song!

The Isley Brothers - "Summer Breeze"

This song was originally recorded by folk duo Seals and Crofts, and while it's also a sunny classic, the Isley brothers have given it an incredible setting.

The Isleys version is known for the harmony of the trio of vocalists Isleys O'Kelly, Rudolph and singer Ronald, as well as for the distinctive guitar solo of younger brother Ernie.

Otis Redding - "The Bay Dock"

For those relaxing while soaking up the sun, Otis Redding's sweet soul anthem is to die for.

Read more: History... "Dock of the Bay"

The song was recorded just days before the soul icon's untimely death in a plane crash and remains one of the greatest anthems in history.

The Beatles - "Here Comes the Sun"

This song was written by George Harrison at the country house of his friend Eric Clapton, where Harrison decided to escape for a day to avoid attending meetings inThe BeatlesApple Corps Group.

He later said: "Winter in England seems to last forever, and when spring comes, you really deserve it. So one day I decided I'd skip Apple and go to Eric Clapton's house. Not having to visit all those stupid accountants it was wonderful I walked around the garden with one of Eric's acoustic guitars and wrote Here Comes the Sun.

Don Henley - "Boys of Summer"

Mike Campbell wrote the music for this power ballad while working on the Tom Petty balladSouthern accentsalbum, but later gave it awayEaglessinger Don Henley who wrote the lyrics.

The song is about passing youth and entering middle age and about a past relationship. We've all been there. In the early 2000s, the song was recorded twice: as a trance track by DJ Sammy in 2002 and as a pop-punk hit by The Ataris in 2003.

Chris Rea - "On the Beach"

The inspiration for this song was the Spanish island of Formentera off the coast of Ibiza.Chris Reahe later said: "This is where me and my wife became me and my wife. That's what it's all about. Yes, I was 'between the eyes of love'. It's a beautiful island if you're ever in Europe."

It was later sampled in the dance song "OTB (On the Beach)" by Yorke, which reached number four in 2000.

boom! - "Tropicana Club"

A few more:The best songs in the history of Wham!

Just look at these shorts! Wrote bothJerzyand Andrew, this song differed from previous singles by being influenced by social or political issues.

The song was a satire on the cheap travel package boom of the early 1980s and was an attempt to assassinate the show Club 18-30 at the time.