Summer officially began on Saturday and, to celebrate, here's my completely unofficial list of the Top 10 Classic Rock Songs for Summertime.

10.  Sublime  "Summertime (Doin' Time)" - Even though most people don't consider Sublime "classic rock", they were a rock band and they have many classic songs.  Including this 1997 single, loosely based on the old George Gershwin opera song "Summertime".  Summertime, and the livin's easy.

9.  Joe Satriani "Summer Song" - Arguably the biggest hit of Satriani's career, it #5 on the Mainstream Rock charts in 1992, making it one of the highest charting instrumental songs of all time.  From the gold selling album, The Extremist, which remains Satriani's biggest selling album to date and was nominated for a Grammy in 1993.

8.  Danzig "Dirty Black Summer" - Glenn Danzig had established his reputation as a dark, brooding punk rock icon the Misfits.  His first two Danzig albums had a decidedly more metal feel.  Then, he switched gears with the 1993 album,  "How the Gods Kill", which featured several hard driving gothic anthems.  Widely considered to be the best Danzig album, "Dirty Black Summer" was the first of several singles to receive significant radio airplay and rotation on MTV.

7.  Jane's Addiction "Summertime Rolls" - Widely considered one of the most influential albums of the late 80's, "Nothing's Shocking" would help pave the way for the alternative rock explosion several years later.  Although it was never released as a single, this moody anthem remains a staple of their live show to this day.

6.  Van Halen "Summer Nights" - One of the best songs from 5150, their first album with Sammy Hagar, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard album charts and went on to sell over 6 million copies.  Summer Nights was the fourth single to be released from the album and quickly became a staple on rock radio through the late 80's and into the 90's.

5.  Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band "Night Moves" - Even though the word summer doesn't appear in the title, it plays a prominent role in the lyrics for this song, which eventually peaked at #4 on the singles charts in 1976.  Along with "Turn the Page", it helped elevate Seger and the Silver Bullet Band to national stardom.

4.  Alice Cooper "School's Out" - The first hit single of Alice Cooper's career, this 1972 song remains a teen anthem over four decades later.  It has also been immortalized in several movies over the years, including "Scream", "Dazed and Confused" and "Rock n Roll High School"

3.  The Who "Summertime Blues" - Originally written and recorded in 1958 by rockabilly artist Eddie Cohran, it has been covered by many bands including:  Blue Cheer, The Beach Boys and country artist Alan Jackson.  The Who's version was famously featured in the influential concert film documenting the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival.  It also appeared on their legendary 1970 album Live at Leeds, and was a Top 40 single for the band.

2.  Bryan Adams "Summer of 69" - Even though Bryan Adams was only 10 years during the summer of 1969, this 1985 release help propel Adams to super stardom. It became the first of many Top 10 singles and received more radio airplay than any other song in the United States during 1985.

1.  Don Henley "Boys of Summer" - The first track from the legendary Eagle's second solo album, Building the Perfect Beast, it became a Top 5 single and won the 1986 Grammy for Best Male Rock Performance.

 

 

 

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