Playlist: Scorchio!
- jamesgeraghty
- Jun 21
- 7 min read
I don't know what the weather has been like in your neck of the woods recently, but round here over the last few days, it has most definitely been 'scorchio' (sorry if the niche 90's UK sketch show reference is lost on you).
Some of you may like it when the temperatures head towards 30°C (86°F), but it is not for me! All focus, attention and general ability to function disappears - but I have found enough strength to put together this very hot playlist for you.
Whether it is too hot, or just about right for you - there is always some good music to be enjoyed....
1. The Lovin' Spoonful: Summer In The City
It feels like if you are doing a playlist for the hot summer, then this has to be the obvious starting point. A sultry 60's classic, from the Lovin' Spoonful, who had been known for their more folky sound prior to this slightly gritter tune, that provided them with a U.S. number one. The bands John Sebastian reworked what younger brother Mark had already started, before Steve Boone added the bridge when they were in the studio. John turned Mark's lighter, bossa nova tune (in a Sam Cooke style) into something more upbeat. Lyrically, it contrasts the oppressive daytime heat, with some cooler night-time temperatures. It was quite ground-breaking too, being one of the first singles to add in some sound effects - in this case the car horns and pneumatic drills that add to the intensity and feeling of big city humidity. As it happens, the singles release, in July 1966, coincided with a record heat wave in New York (up to 102°F / 39°C) and came soon after a bit of a scorcher in the UK the previous month.
The Lovin' Spoonful: Summer In The City (TV appearance, 1966)
2. Billy Idol: Hot In The City
More urban heat issues for you here. The former Generation X front man put this out as the first single on his 1982 self-titled debut LP. The original music video is also set in New York City, but this time with added nuclear explosion footage, presumably to indicate the very high heat of the song title. The main single version has Billy Idol shouting New York, but he did shout out versions for a few other cities for various US radio stations, such as in Amarillo, Boston, Phoenix and Sioux Falls!
Billy Idol: Hot In The City (Original music video - not the 1987 re-make)
3. Sly & The Family Stone: Hot Fun In The Summertime
It seems appropriate to include something in here by this funk great, who we sadly lost a week or so ago. Hot Fun In The Summertime came out just before their big appearance at the (now) legendary 1969 Woodstock Festival in upstate New York. It became the seventh biggest song in the US that year, and climbed to number two on the chart. It is, as the title suggests, about having fun during the summer..... It was originally intended to feature on their next album, Everybody Is A Star, which came out in late 1969, but for whatever reason, it didn't make the cut, instead going onto their Greatest Hits LP the following year. It also, unusually for the band, includes some strings.
Sly & The Family Stone: Hot Fun In The Summertime (TV appearance, 1969)
4. Martha & The Vandellas: Heat Wave
Another classic tune from the seemingly endless production line of hits from the Holland-Dozier-Holland team. It has had many treatments over the years, including by Linda Ronstadt and Phil Collins, but it is Martha & the Vandellas who put it on the map (it was their second collaboration with Holland-Dozier-Holland). It came out on the Motown subsidiary, the somewhat vainly called Gordy label, and typified the sound that Motown groups would become famous for. Instrumentation was provided by Detroit session team, The Funk Brothers, (at that time) including the likes of Eddie Willis, Robert White, Richard Allen, William Benjamin, James Jamerson and Andrew Terry. Incredibly, 37 years later, when he did his version, Collins was able to use three of the original Funk Brothers - Willis (who is on the original), Bob Babbitt and Ray Monette.
Martha & The Vandellas: Heat Wave (TV appearance, early 1960's)
5. Bryan Adams: Heat Of The Night
This tune comes from 1987's Into The Fire, the last LP where Bryan Adams co-wrote with Jim Vallance (before he descended into the gates of musical hell with Mutt Lange - just think Robin Hood….). The album didn't quite reach the commercial heights of its predecessor Reckless, I remember people saying that it felt more 'European' than his earlier work, meaning it perhaps didn't resonate as well with American fans. That said, Heat Of The Night did still break the US Top10 and Into The Fire sold a more than decent two million copies (mind you, Reckless has sold 12 million). The lyrics are apparently partially inspired by Orson Welles classic film noir, The Third Man, as well as from a trip to Berlin that Adams and Vallance made around the time of writing the song.
Bryan Adams: Heat Of The Night (Official music video)
6. Glen Frey: The Heat Is On
Memorably, this one was written by Harold Faltermeyer and Keith Forsey for the smash hit film, Beverly Hills Cop (Eddie Murphy's big break into film). Glen Frey of The Eagles was recruited to record it, laying down his vocals in one day, and then his guitar part (including solo) and backing vocal the next, all for the princely sum of $15,000. As well as being one of the main songs from the movie, it was a big hit, reaching number two in the US, only being deprived of the top spot by the woeful REO Speedwagon dirge, Can't Fight This Feeling. As well as writing it, Faltermeyer played keyboard and bass, while Forsey added the drums.
Glen Frey: The Heat Is On (Official music video)
7. The Power Station: Some Like It Hot
Going into the mid-80's, Duran Duran were about the biggest band on the planet. Then they decided to split up a bit, with Simon Le Bon and Nick Rhodes forming Arcadia, while Andy Taylor and John Taylor (remember none of the three Taylors in Duran Duran were related) teamed up with Tony Thompson (top session drummer and member of Chic) and the smooth tones of the late, great Robert Palmer, to form The Power Station. It came out of a demo written by Andy Taylor, with Palmer adding the "Some sweat when the heat is on" lyric. The Chic connection didn't end with Thompson, as the song and the first eponymously title LP were produced by Bernard Edwards.
The Power Station: Some Like It Hot (Official music video)
8. Dua Lipa: Hotter Than Hell
This track is from British-Albanian pop star Dua Lipa'a debut 2017 album. She wrote the song with members of the band Ritual, who she collaborated with at the time, and it was produced by Stephen Kozmeniuk (who has also worked with Madonna, Nicky Minaj and Kendrick Lamar). It was first released on her own Dua Lipa Limited record label, and was the song that ultimately got her signed to Warner Brothers. With its steamy sound, it forms part of the sub-genre of House music, called Tropical House. It gave her a first chart outing, reaching 15 in the UK charts. It was originally inspired by an ex-boyfriend who didn't think she was good enough for him, but during the recording process, it got flipped and became about her having the upper hand, something she found therapeutic. Critics used many choice words to describe the tune - "steamy", "sweltering", "fiery", "sultry" and "scorcher" were all used to sum it up in varying publications - and that fits nicely with today's theme.
Dua Lipa: Hotter Than Hell (Official music video)
9. Donna Summer: Hot Stuff
Here we are again with a tune written by Harold Faltermeyer and Keith Forsey, with Giorgio Moroder in the producers chair. It was the lead single from Donna Summer's seventh studio record, Bad Girl, a record that saw her moving away from pure disco here, introducing some rock overtones, and in this case, a solo by ex-Doobie Brother and Steely Dan guitarist Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter. It was enough to propel her to the top of the US chart for a second time (of four in total), and is said to have inspired Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus to write the ABBA hit Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight). It has been covered several times, but perhaps its most memorable other appearance was in the classic British comedy, The Full Monty.
Donna Summer: Hot Stuff (TV appearance)
10. The Beach Boys: All Summer Long
It's easy for music snobs to focus on the mid to late era Beatles works, and the Pet Sounds / Smile era Beach Boys, as being those bands defining (and only important) moments. They may then look down their noses at the earlier outputs of Lennon, McCartney and Brian Wilson, as mere pop trinkets that set them up for those later great works.
But that is a criminal oversight of some of the best pop songs ever written. For all the complex glory of a Good Vibrations or A Day In The Life, you should be happy to bask in the glory of two minute gems like She Loves You, I Feel Fine, I Get Around or Surfin' USA. Following the sad death of Wilson earlier this month, BBC put up his 2005 appearance at Glastonbury again. If you've never seen it, try and find it and watch it. While he looks a bit lost and his voice doesn't always hold up - he is surrounded by an epic band who more than do his work justice, and you get 1 hour 15 minutes of pure pop joy. There's no between song banter, just golden song after golden song, that a monstrously huge sun-drenched Glasto crowd just lapped up. Wilson wrote All Summer Long with Mike Love, and as ever, you get treated to those perfect Beach Boy harmonies and Brian Wilson hooks.
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