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In the Summertime
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Wikipedia article
"'In the Summertime'", released in 1970, is the debut single by British rock band Mungo Jerry. It reached number one in charts around the world, including seven weeks on the UK Singles Chart, two weeks on one of the Canadian charts, and number three on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 singles chart in the US. It became one of the best-selling singles of all-time, eventually selling 30 million copies. Written and composed by the band's lead singer, Ray Dorset, while working in a lab for Timex, the lyrics of the song celebrate the carefree days of summer. The track was included on the second album by the band, 'Electronically Tested', issued in March 1971.
Composition and recording
Dorset has said that the song only took 10 minutes to write, which he did using a second-hand Fender Stratocaster, while he was taking time off from his regular job, working in a lab for Timex.
The song was recorded in Pye Studio 1 with Barry Murray producing. Initially the song was only two minutes long; to make it longer, Murray played the recording twice, slightly remixing the second half, and put the sound of a motorcycle in the middle. In an interview with Gary James, Dorset explained that they couldn't find a recording of a motorcycle, but that "Howard Barrow, the engineer had an old, well, it wasn't old then, a Triumph sports car, which he drove past the studio while Barry Marrit [sic] was holding the microphone. So, he got the stereo effects from left to right or right to left, whatever. And that was it."
Release
The initial UK release was on Dawn Records, a new label launched by Pye. It was unusual in that it was a maxi single, playing at 33 rpm, whereas singles generally played at 45 rpm. It included an additional song also written and composed by Dorset, "Mighty Man," on the A-side, and a much longer track, the Woody Guthrie song "Dust Pneumonia Blues," on the B-side. As the record was sold in a picture sleeve, also not standard at the time, and sold at only a few pence more than the normal 45 rpm two-track single, it was considered value for money. A small quantity of 45 rpm discs on the Pye record label, with "Mighty Man" on the B-side, and without a picture sleeve, were pressed for use in jukeboxes. These are now rare collector's items.
In 2012, Dorset sued his former management company Associated Music International, run by his former friend and business manager Eliot Cohen, claiming over 2 million in royalties from the song that he believed had been withheld from him.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the single liner notes for "In the Summertime".
*Ray Dorset vocals, electric guitar, 6 string acoustic, cabasa, stomp
*Paul King banjo, jug
*Colin Earl piano
*Mike Cole string bass
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications and sales
The Mixtures version
In 1970, Australian rock band The Mixtures covered and released the song. The song replaced Mungo Jerry's version at number 1 on the Australian chart, where it remained at number 1 for 6 weeks. It was the biggest-selling single by an Australian artist in Australia in 1970 and number 3 overall.
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Shaggy version
In 1995, Jamaican-American reggae musician Shaggy covered the song, and released it as the lead single from his third studio album, 'Boombastic' (1995). Aside from the addition of rap lyrics, Shaggy's version also substitutes other lyrics for the song's original line "have a drink, have a drive." Shaggy also performed the song on an episode of 'Baywatch'. A year after its release, the song was re-recorded and released specifically for the film 'Flipper' under the title "In the Summertime" ('96 Version).
Critical reception
Al Weisel from 'Rolling Stone' described "In the Summertime" as "a bouncy, infectious remake of the 1970 Mungo Jerry hit, [that] alternates a soulful chorus with a rapid-fire rap a la Chaka Demus and Pliers' "Murder She Wrote"."Weisel, Al (7 September 1995). "Recordings". 'Rolling Stone'.Track listing
;United Kingdom*'CD single'
#"In the Summertime" (Single Edit) 3:46
#"It No Matter" 3:56
#"Gal You A Pepper" 3:37
#"In the Summertime" (Sting vs. Shaggy Remix) 4:40
*'7" vinyl / Cassette'
#"In the Summertime" (Single Edit) 3:46
#"It No Matter" 3:56
*'12" vinyl'
#"In the Summertime" (Sting vs. Shaggy Remix) 4:40
#"In the Summertime" (LP Version) 3:55
#"In the Summertime" (Drum Dancehall Mix) 3:54
*'1996 "Flipper" CD single'
#"In the Summertime '96" (Original Version) 3:52
#"In the Summertime '96" (Instrumental) 3:52
#"Flipper Main Theme" 3:58
;United States
*'CD single'
#"In the Summertime" (Single Edit) 3:48
#"In the Summertime" (LP Version) 3:55
#"In the Summertime" (Drum Dancehall Mix) 3:54
#"In the Summertime" (Funk Dance Mix) 3:58
#"Boombastic" (LP Version) 4:05
#"Boombastic" (Sting Remix) 4:18
*'12" vinyl'
#"In the Summertime" (LP Version) 3:55
#"In the Summertime" (Drum Dancehall Mix) 3:54
#"In the Summertime" (Funk Dance Mix) 3:58
#"Boombastic" (Sting Remix) 4:18
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
In other media
The song's lyric "have a drink, have a drive, go out and see what you can find" led to its use in a UK advert for the campaign Drinking and Driving Wrecks Lives. It featured the first verse against people enjoying drinks in a pub during summer, then stopped to show a fatal car accident caused by drink driving.
See also
*List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States
*List of best-selling singles
*List of 'Billboard' number-one rap singles of the 1980s and 1990s
*List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 1970
*List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1970s
*List of number-one singles of 1970 (Canada)
*List of number-one singles of 1970 (France)
*List of number-one hits of 1970 (Germany)
*List of number-one singles of 1970 (Ireland)
*List of number-one hits of 1970 (Italy)
*List of number-one singles in 1970 (New Zealand)
*List of number-one singles of 1970 (Spain)
*List of number-one singles from 1968 to 1979 (Switzerland)
*List of number-one R&B singles of 1995 (U.S.)
*List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1970s
*VG-lista 1964 to 1994
References
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