The Songs Of The Summer: Episode #1: 1984

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We’re very happy to present a Brand New tnocs.com Article Series from friend and Contributing Author Ozmoe! Starting with 1984, he’ll take us on a weekly sun-and-fun journey as we remember The Songs Of The Summer:


Get this: It’s barely June – and already Radio Insight reporter Sean Ross is handicapping what might be the summer song for 2022.

One concept most pop music lovers cherish seems to be the idea of designating the Most Memorable Song Of The Summer for each year.

In 2016, Justin Timberlake confidently (…maybe overconfidently?) announced in a video that his release Can’t Stop the Feeling would be the summer song of 2016. That claim spurred a reporter with Time magazine to note there were nine other contenders for the honor.

The same article referenced a piece by Forbes, noting that six songs Billboard had crowned “The Song of the Summer” since 2007 had been released before April.

This fact makes me wonder: What exactly is the criteria for being the Song Of The Summer? To my mind, it can’t be just chart performance in July through August, which Billboard uses.

It also shouldn’t be a song that references the season in its title, like Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ’69,” even though it peaked in August 1985. Since Adams was only 9 years old in 1969, some believe he picked the title year due to the suggestiveness of its last digits, a claim Adams hasn’t denied outright.

To me, what a summer song should really be is a hit that’s upbeat, easy enough to sing along with and catchy enough to make you want to sing along. And since Billboard didn’t officially declare a Song Of The Summer until recently, I think it’s our duty to retroactively decide what we think should be the winner of this title under this criteria.

Let’s start with a year near and dear to the hearts of TNOCS voters, 1984, which has one of the highest average scores for all the songs that made number one that year. Even so, none of those chart toppers seems to be a summer song under my definition.

For example, while Prince’s When Doves Fly is a classic, it seems too meditative to be a summer song. And then there are ones like Duran Duran’s The Reflex and Ray Parker Jr.’s Ghostbusters which seem too, well, let’s say, irritatingly repetitive to hold the distinction.

Instead, I nominate the following contenders for your consideration, listed chronologically based on their Billboard Hot 100 peak, which is listed after each:

Huey Lewis and the News: The Heart of Rock & Roll
Number seven for four consecutive weeks in June 1984:
Beside a strong, punchy beat, this one namedropped several cities, including some for radio designed for special markets. It has a good mix of nostalgic and contemporary flavor from a group of musicians sounding like they’re having fun.

Bruce Springsteen: Dancing in the Dark
Number two for four consecutive weeks in June and July 1984:
The emergence of The Boss as a pop powerhouse with this song was shocking, considering how he had only one top 10 hit previously (“Hungry Heart” in 1980). But when you hear this powerful number, you can understand why it hit. And there was also a lot of interest in a remix that did well on the dance chart at the time, too.

The Pointer Sisters: Jump (For My Love)
Number three for two consecutive weeks in July 1984:
Speaking of dancing, this trio had compiled several pop hits but none as big as this one. It became a staple of nearly every gym workout class of the time as well. Opens with a bang and stays thumping till the fadeout for a peppy listening experience.

ZZ Top: Legs
(number eight for two consecutive weeks in July 1984)—These guys had no top 10 hit previously. This song’s lyrics included a profanity that could have (and may have; I can’t remember for sure) gotten it banned by some stations. Despite all that, this hard-grooving number made the beard-loving band a national phenomenon, to the point where they even did The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, a TV series known for not showcasing rock acts.

Rod Stewart: Infatuation
Number six for two consecutive weeks in July and August 1984:
One of the all-time biggest pop artists successfully merged his rocker and sexual personas with this song. It was helped by a great horn section punctuating a scintillating melody and video with an interesting storyline involving a swimming pool. That blonde definitely seemed to be having more fun here than compared with much of his later output, unfortunately.

Elton John: Sad Songs (Say So Much)
Number five for one week in August 1984:
Another veteran star cranked out a tune that belied what its title said. Elton was in fine form vocally even if some thought this lacked the musical and lyrical sophistication he had with Bernie Taupin during the 1970s. Others might have turned it on more had Elton not agreed to sell the song for a commercial accompanying Sasson beauty products.

Dan Hartman: I Can Dream About You
Number six for two consecutive weeks in August 1984:
The movie Streets of Fire was supposed to be a hit that summer. It wasn’t. Neither was its leadoff single, a typically bombastic Jim Steinman composition called Tonight is What It Means to Be Young. (Ugh, what a title).

What did click was this soulful bop, sung by a white guy who previously made the top 10 as part of The Edgar Winter Group with Frankenstein. And to complete all these incongruities, in the movie: Hartman’s vocals were nowhere to be found. Instead, Winston Ford sang the song and actor Stoney Jackson lip-synced it as a member of the Sorels (ugh, what a fictional group name).

Anyway, it holds up a lot better and deserved at least a nomination for the Best Song Oscar over that year’s eventual winner, Stevie Wonder’s sappy, I Just Called to Say I Love You.

So, what do you think? Vote for which one you like, or comment below on another one you think would be a better winner. And look for more entries like this in the next coming weeks, since summer’s here and the time is right!

Let the author know that you liked their article with a “heart” upvote!

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jilly boal
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jilly boal
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June 6, 2022 7:27 am

it’s probably one of my least favourite Bruce records, but Dancing in the Dark is the song that most sounds like the summer of 1984. And that video was on a loop on MTV. (Which was ok, cos Courtney…)
And sorry but the Ghostbusters theme too – that movie, and it’s merch, was everywhere that summer

Phylum of Alexandria
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June 6, 2022 7:33 am

Interesting premise for a series. I don’t fully understand the notion of the Summer Song, to be honest, maybe because I never actually hung out with friends on a beach? Of course, that’s only one association with summer. Is a good barbecue party song the same thing?

At least from the criteria you list, I think a bunch of the Hot 100 songs from 1984 could be contenders:

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Footloose, Let the Music Play, Lucky Star, Jump, Caribbean Queen, Let’s Go Crazy, Cum on Feel the Noize, 99 Luftballoons (at least for people who don’t speak German).

Last edited 1 year ago by Phylum of Alexandria
thegue
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June 6, 2022 8:53 am

Before I even get into voting, can I suggest something which may create a majority of voters agreeing on a specific “Song of Summer”?

  1. I’d hate for some song to win with 23% of the votes.
  2. If we created a “ranked choice” system, there’s a good possibility the winner will have been a Top 3 choice for a majority.

That being said, the “Song of Summer” has to have a certain summer-esque appeal to it, which eliminates “Sad Songs”.

I’d rank them as follows:

  1. “Legs” – I mean, I sang it to a woman outside the UN building on school trip when I was 15, near the end of my sophomore year. It set the stage for what became my favorite summer before I was 23. It didn’t hurt that my parents were away for a large portion of the summer, or I was.
  2. “I Can Dream About You” – right energy for a summer song, catchy as anything. There were other Dan Hartman songs I liked better; this one matches the season.
  3. “Dancing in the Dark” – not my favorite Springsteen song. Hell, it might not be in the top 50…but this really kicked off the Year of Springsteen. It’s release in May set off a year of great Springsteen singles, and this one’s vibes were certainly more summer-esque than the others.
mt58
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June 6, 2022 10:07 am
Reply to  thegue

Sure, I’ll play along with ranked choice. Who knows; could be good practice for the real world someday…

In reverse order (for dramatic effect:)

3- Huey
2- Zed Zed
2- Courtney Cox’ dance partner

jilly boal
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June 7, 2022 9:12 am
Reply to  mt58

I’m all for democracy and proportional representation:

1- Courtney Cox’s hairdo
2- Ghostbusters
3- I Can Dream About You

and my personal song of the summer of 84:

1-Missing You
2 – Two Tribes
3 – Ghostbusters
4 – Courtney’s sparkly eyes omg…

cappiethedog
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June 6, 2022 12:21 pm
Reply to  thegue

“Dancing in the Dark” is a great Bruce Springsteen starter song. My favorite Bruce song is “Reason to Believe” but you don’t point a potential new fan to Nebraska. Courtney Cox can’t dance to that. 1) “The Heart of Rock and Roll” 2) “Dancing in the Dark” 3) “Legs”.

Virgindog
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June 6, 2022 9:59 am

It hit #1 in late February and stayed there for all of March, but Van Halen’s “Jump” was still everywhere that summer. With that keyboard hook and rock/pop groove, it was a great driving-to-the-beach song.

ArchieLeech
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June 6, 2022 10:59 am

Our family went to the Netherlands in 1984, and I bought at least 17 vinyl albums on the trip. (The fact that I graduated from university that May is less significant in my mind.)

Although all these songs bring vivid memories, the one which gives me the biggest smile and which I specifically associate with that summer is the Pointer Sisters’ “Jump (For My Love).” Seeing that video on Dutch TV is stamped on my mind, with the girls wiggling and flipping their hemlines.

It took a couple of years for numbers 2 and 3, “Legs” and “I Can Dream About You,” to catch up – I remember Hartman’s dreamy lead guitar from the album edit echoing through the mall where I worked as a shoe salesman some months later.

I just tried finding my love letter to “Jump (For My Love)” from the original TNOCS, but man, the old neighborhood don’t look the same.

1 – “Jump (For My Love)”
2 – “Legs”
3 – “I Can Dream About You”

Last edited 1 year ago by ArchieLeech
dutchg8r
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June 6, 2022 12:11 pm

Oh, fun!! Thanks for this ozmoe, looking forward to reading this series.

Funny enough, the song on your list that immediately made me go – that’s it! – is Dan Hartman’s I Can Dream About You. As a kid, the family got passes to a public pool nearby, and my mom would go nearly every other day throughout the summer (I just happened to go because she was!). It was a huge place, with acres of grass to pick your spot to set up camp. They had 1 loudspeaker set up at the snack bar, always tuned to the Reading Top 40 station, Y-102. I Can Dream About You was probably played the most over that crummy speaker, with its tinny feedback and fuzziness, all the time, so I certainly associate that song with that summer.

Just like everytime I hear Olivia Newton John’s “Magic,” immediately back at that pool.

JJ Live At Leeds
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JJ Live At Leeds
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June 6, 2022 1:03 pm

I’ve not heard the concept of awarding song of the summer before. Unless I’ve completely missed it, it isn’t a thing over here.

None of the songs you’ve shortlisted strike me as being a summer song, I wouldn’t associate any of them with fun in the sun. The song I’d pick is one that you discarded; Ghostbusters. Its instantly memorable, fun, connected to a hit movie and while it isn’t a novelty song it has that kind of feel. For me it ticks all the right boxes.

In the UK the song of the summer for ’84 can only be one track. Two Tribes by Frankie Goes to Hollywood entered the charts at #1 in mid June and stayed there for 9 weeks til mid August. And behind it their previous chart crushing debut hit; Relax went back up the charts to sit at #2. The summer of Frankie then, which given the Frankie Says….Relax t-shirts fits right in with the summer feel.

dutchg8r
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June 6, 2022 1:05 pm

Oh wow, I just realized –

US Summer Song = UK Christmas Song!

cstolliver
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June 6, 2022 5:01 pm

Great idea for a summer series, Ozmoe!

If I have to stay with your contenders, I’d go with 3) I Can Dream About You; 2) Dancing in the Dark and 1) Legs. If allowed to go outside that list, Ghostbusters would have to knock out ZZ Top, as much as I enjoy the latter. Like Jilly Boal said, that song (and “Missing You” and “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” neither of which are upbeat enough to contend for a summer song) really dominated the summer of ’84. (I like the Hartman and Springsteen songs more, though.)

Dance Fever
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June 6, 2022 7:47 pm

Great idea, Ozmoe. From the songs selected, it looks summer of ’84 was THE SUMMER OF 84!
I have to rate “Jump” from the terribly underrated Pointer Sisters as my # 1 purely from the standpoint that I was at a summer barbecue with my friends for many years and when this song came on they all got up and danced. I was, like, “Hey,hey I thought you didn’t like disco or dance music?”
They all laughed and said they were secretly disco and dance lovers but that would have been uncool in the late ’70’s but now they could enjoy it openly.
“Dancing In the Dark” is #2 because, well, everyone loves dancing in the dark.
3 is “Legs” because as you all know I’m an eyes and legs man (Cyd Charisse rest in peace).

jilly boal
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jilly boal
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June 7, 2022 10:53 am

I agree with and am all for democracy and proportional representation:

1- Courtney Cox’s hairdo

2- Ghostbusters

3 – I Can Dream About You

and my personal song of the summer of 84:

1-Missing You

2 – Two Tribes

3 – Ghostbusters

4 – Courtney’s sparkly eyes omg…

Last edited 1 year ago by mt58
mt58
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June 7, 2022 11:55 am
Reply to  jilly boal

[fixed it for you, jilly…]

jilly boal
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June 7, 2022 12:36 pm
Reply to  mt58

thank you!

jilly boal
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jilly boal
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June 7, 2022 10:54 am

(ok this is odd – can anyone see my replies? On my browser, i just see a blank space?!)

mt58
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June 7, 2022 11:40 am
Reply to  jilly boal

Looks like you inadvertently turned on some stylized text…
The fastest workaround is to logout and back in, or try a “hard refresh” by hitting the F5 key.

jilly boal
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June 7, 2022 12:35 pm
Reply to  mt58

huh – i think i wrote that in my Notes app, then copy-and-pasted to the reply. Must have picked up some formatting along the way. Thanks for the tip.

Aaron3000
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June 7, 2022 9:45 pm

Can I vote “All of the above”? We didn’t yet have MTV on our cable system, but during summer break I was glued to WTBS every Friday and Saturday night for “Night Tracks”, and all of those videos are burned into my brain. From your list, I’d go with:

3. Pointer Sisters
2. Dan Hartman
1. ZZ Top

Guy K
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June 20, 2022 2:54 pm

An emphatic vote for “Jump (For My Love).” Longtime TNOCS readers know what a soft spot I have in my heart for most of the Pointer Sisters’ 1980s catalog, and they were never better than they were on “Jump,” yet another one of their songs that combined universal, NBA arena, all-age accessibility with stealthily, suggestive-as-hell lyrical content.

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