Mungo Jerry’s Summertime Classic 50 Years On

1970: Mungo Jerry – Single: In the Summertime

I thought that today I’d salute a fun, whimsical tune which celebrate’s its 50th anniversary this year. I’m unable to locate the specific release date other than the year, but I’m going to assume it’s not February or November. Regardless, it’s Friday, it’s mid-July, it’s hot outside, and I need a break from the world’s madness for a few minutes. With that, I present to you a summertime one-hit wonder classic, Mungo Jerry’s In the Summertime.

This is one of those tunes that takes me back to childhood, and I still enjoy hearing it this time of year the same way I like hearing Seals & Crofts’ version of Summer Breeze during the dog days and McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime in December. Yes, I’m a bit of a sentimentalist. As for this track, it was written by Ray Dorset, front man for this band which is technically still active with a revolving door of members. The name of the band was inspired by a T.S. Eliot poem, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer.

Besides the carefree days of childhood, In the Summertime also reminds me of a friend and former co-worker of mine from our days at a chain retail furniture store. The company would distribute CDs to its stores to be played on a loop, and one of them had this track on it. Therefore, we usually heard it 2-3 times per shift, and she absolutely hated it, and of course I teased her about it. I dedicate this blog post to you, Cindy. 🙂

Apparently the Mungo Jerry camp takes its copyright semi-seriously, as I’ve not found a clip on YouTube which doesn’t edit out the words “In the summertime.” You probably know how it goes….