In the Summertime
"In the Summertime" is the debut single by British rock band Mungo Jerry. Written and composed by its lead singer, Ray Dorset, it celebrates the carefree days of summer. In 1970, 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.[3][4][5]
"In the Summertime" | ||||
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Single by Mungo Jerry | ||||
from the album Electronically Tested | ||||
B-side | "Mighty Man" | |||
Released | 1970 | |||
Recorded |
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Genre | Skiffle[1][2] | |||
Length | 3:40 | |||
Label | Dawn | |||
Songwriter(s) | Ray Dorset | |||
Producer(s) | Barry Murray | |||
Mungo Jerry singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
"In the Summerime"
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Background
Dorset has said that the song only took ten 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.[6]
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 33-1/3 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 only sold at 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.[7]
In an interview with Gary James, Dorset explained the origin of the "motorcycle" sound towards the false ending in the middle of the song: "I said, 'We'll just get a recording of a motorcycle, stick it on the end of the song and then re-edit the front and then put the front off to the motorcycle so it starts up again.' But I couldn't find a motorcycle. Howard Barry, the engineer had an old, well, it wasn't old then, a Triumph sports car, which he drove past the studio while Barry Marrit was holding the microphone. So, he got the stereo effects from left to right or right to left, whatever. And that was it."[8]
Personnel
Credits adapted from the single liner notes for "In the Summertime".[9]
- 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
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI)[43] | Silver | 200,000 |
United States (RIAA)[44] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^shipments figures based on certification alone |
Shaggy version
"In the Summertime" | ||||
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Single by Shaggy featuring Rayvon | ||||
from the album Boombastic and Flipper Soundtrack | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 1995 | |||
Recorded | 1995 1996 (re-recorded) | |||
Genre | Reggae[45] | |||
Length | 3:46 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) | Ray Dorset | |||
Producer(s) | Shaggy, Rayvon | |||
Shaggy singles chronology | ||||
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"In the Summertime" ('96 Version) | ||||
Single cover for the re-recorded version |
In 1995, Jamaican-American rapper Shaggy covered the song, and released it as the lead single from his third studio album, Boombastic.[46] Aside from the addition of rap lyrics, Shaggy's version also substitutes other lyrics for the song's original line containing "have a drink, have a drive." Shaggy also performed the song on an episode of Baywatch.[47] 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).
Track listing
- United Kingdom
- CD single[48]
- "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[49]
- "In the Summertime" (Single Edit) – 3:46
- "It No Matter" – 3:56
- 12" vinyl[50]
- "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[51]
- "In the Summertime '96" (Original Version) – 3:52
- "In the Summertime '96" (Instrumental) – 3:52
- "Flipper Main Theme" – 3:58
- United States
- CD single[52]
- "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[53]
- "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
|
- Charted as a double A-side with "Boombastic".
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
New Zealand (RMNZ)[70] | Gold | 5,000* |
United Kingdom (BPI)[71] | Silver | 200,000 |
*sales figures based on certification alone |
Other uses
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.[72]
See also
- 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
- List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States
References
- Holdship, Bill (17 June 2009). "That summer feeling". Metro Times. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- McCormick, Moira (18 May 1996). "Elfin's Listening-Post Towers Bring Children's Artists To Upscale Market". Billboard. Vol. 108 no. 20. p. 50. ISSN 0006-2510.
- Harris, Craig. "Ray Dorset – Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- "The essential summer mix". The Guardian. 29 July 2006.
- Nightingale, Laura (7 October 2015). "Mungo Jerry celebrates 45 years of In the Summertime at Camberley Theatre". Get Surrey. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
- Robertson, Peter (26 April 2014). "Whatever happened to In The Summertime singer Mungo Jerry". Daily Express. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
- "Mungo Jerry Star Suing Over Alleged Unpaid Royalties". Contactmusic.com. 22 January 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
- Dorset, Ray. "Gary James' Interview With Ray Dorset Of Mungo Jerry" (Interview). Interviewed by Gary James. Classicbands.com. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
- In the Summertime (liner notes). Mungo Jerry. Dawn. 1970. Retrieved 31 July 2017.CS1 maint: others (link)
- "Go-Set Australian charts – 29 August 1970". Go-Set. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- "Australia No. 1 hits -- 1970's". World Charts. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
- "Austriancharts.at – Mungo Jerry – In The Summertime" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
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- "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4532." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- "Billboard – Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 82 no. 32. 8 August 1970. p. 49. ISSN 0006-2510.
- "Hits of the World". Billboard. 19 September 1970. p. 61. ISSN 0006-2510.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Mungo Jerry – In The Summertime". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- "The Irish Charts – Search Results – In the Summertime". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
- "Singoli – I numeri uno (1959-2006) (parte 2: 1970-1980)". It-charts.150m.com (in Italian). Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
- "Nederlandse Top 40 – Mungo Jerry - In The Summertime" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – Mungo Jerry – In The Summertime" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- Scapolo, Dean (2007). "Top 50 Singles – July 1970". The Complete New Zealand Music Charts (1st ed.). Wellington: Transpress. ISBN 978-1-877443-00-8.
- "Norwegiancharts.com – Mungo Jerry – In The Summertime". VG-lista. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (M)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
- "Billboard – Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 82 no. 31. 1 August 1970. p. 59. ISSN 0006-2510.
- "Swisscharts.com – Mungo Jerry – In The Summertime". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- "Mungo Jerry Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 169.
- "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending SEPTEMBER 5, 1970". Archived from the original on 20 August 2012.. Cash Box magazine.
- Whitburn, Joel (2015). The Comparison Book Billboard/Cash Box/Record World 1954-1982. Sheridan Books. ISBN 978-0-89820-213-7.
- "Forum - ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1970s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
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- "British single certifications – Mungo Jerry – In the Summertime". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 March 2020. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type In the Summertime in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- "American single certifications – Mungo Jerry – In the Summertime". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 11 October 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH.
- Bronson, Fred (30 July 2005). "All-Time Hottest Songs of Summer". Billboard. Vol. 117 no. 31. p. 34. ISSN 0006-2510.
- Nelson, Havelock (29 April 1995). "An Early 'Summertime' from Shaggy". Billboard. Vol. 107 no. 17. p. 16. ISSN 0006-2510.
- Witmer, Carrie (26 May 2017), "All the stars you had no idea were once on 'Baywatch'", Business Insider, retrieved 18 June 2017
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- "The Irish Charts – Search Results – In the Summertime". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
- "Nederlandse Top 40 – Shaggy Featuring Rayvo - In The Summertime" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – Shaggy feat. Rayvon – In the Summertime" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
- "Charts.nz – Shaggy feat. Rayvon – In the Summertime". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
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- "British single certifications – Shaggy ft Rayvon – In the Summertime". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 October 2019. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type In the Summertime in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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