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Hot Fun in the Summertime

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Wikipedia article




{{Infobox song

| name = Hot Fun in the Summertime

| cover = Hot_Fun_in_the_Summertime_-_Sly_&_the_Family_Stone.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Sly and the Family Stone

| album =

| B-side = Fun

| released = July 21, 1969

| recorded = 1969

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Pop, soul

| length = 2:37 (mono single version & stereo album version)

| label = Epic
5-10497

| writer = Sly Stone

| producer = Sly Stone

| prev_title = Stand!

| prev_title2 = I Want to Take You Higher

| prev_year = 1969

| title =

| title2 = Fun

| next_title = Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)

| next_title2 = Everybody is a Star

| next_year = 1969

| misc =

}}

"'Hot Fun in the Summertime'" is a 1969 song recorded by Sly and the Family Stone. The single was released just prior to 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, kept out of the number 1 spot by "I Can't Get Next to You" by The Temptations. "Hot Fun in the Summertime" also peaked at number 3 on the U.S. 'Billboard' soul singles chart in autumn 1969. It is ranked as the seventh biggest U.S. hit of 1969, and the 65th in Canada.

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

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



Year-end charts



The Beach Boys version



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.

Chart history



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".

Dave Koz and Friends (Gerald Albright, Mindi Abair and Richard Elliot) did an instrumental jazz cover on their 2013 collaboration album 'Summer Horns'.

Personnel



;Sly and the Family Stone

* Sly Stone - vocals, piano

* Freddie Stone - vocals, guitar

* Larry Graham - vocals, bass guitar

* Rose Stone - vocals

* Cynthia Robinson - trumpet

* Jerry Martini - saxophone

* Greg Errico - drums

* Uncredited: Strings with violins in the upper register.

* Written and produced by Sly Stone

References




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