Single of the Week: Summer Single Series Pt. 1

In lieu of iTunes single of the week (currently costing $.99) and in honor of the unofficial start of summer (thanks to the Memorial Day holiday), I’ve decided to launch a special “Single of the Week” series, highlighting my favorite summer songs. For the next ten weeks, I will outline my Top Ten all-time favorite songs featuring the word “summer” in the title, and the version of the song that I love the best. The goal? For you to contribute your favorite summer songs in return, thereby creating the Best Summer Songs of All Time playlist.

This week’s song comes to us from 1967, and though truthfully it might rank higher for me than #10 at any given moment, it seems to be the most appropriate summer song to begin this list. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, resplendent with fancy new graphics:

#10—Door Into Summer, The Monkees (Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, and Jones Ltd.)

It’s not one of their bigger hits, but that doesn’t mean it’s not one of their catchier ones. I’ve been a lifelong Monkees fan and I wasn’t introduced to this song until their greatest hits collection, Anthology, was released in 1998. This may be a fault of my lack of thoroughness in album collecting, but it’s certainly not a fault of the song. Summer in my mind is rather synonymous with passing eras, and of music that seduces and flows, building slowly to something that is unforgettable. That’s this song to a tee. More than that, there’s the imagery--“And he thought he heard the echo of a penny whistle band/and the laughter from a distant caravan”—highlighting the carnival atmosphere that’s a part of any good summer ritual. Plus, it’s casually political (“there’s fools gold stacked up all around him/from a killing in the market on the war”), which most of the great ‘60s singles were (I say as someone who didn't come around until the '70s, so feel free to argue with me on that point). All in all, it's a classic evocative bit of pop candy with a bit of an edge, and it sets the pace for the rest of the songs to come. 

Check back next week for #9! See how high your favorite summer song ranks.