Each of these Spotify playlists contains music that was popular in the summer of each year of the 1960s – songs that hit the Top 40 charts between Memorial Day and Labor Day of that year. Here you’ll find everything from doo-wop, crooners, and Motown girl groups to surf music, British Invasion, and psychedelic tracks. There are over 600 tracks in total.
The Summer of 1961
Songs that were popular in The United States between Memorial Day and Labor Day in 1961. The playlist includes hits by Del Shannon, Ricky Nelson, The Marvelettes, The Shirelles, Elvis Presley, and many more - over 50 tracks in all.
The Summer of 1962
Songs that were popular in the United States between Memorial Day and Labor Day of 1962. The playlist includes tracks by The Beach Boys, Little Eva, Sam Cooke, The Isley Brothers, Frankie Valli, Ray Charles, and many more.
The Summer of 1963
Songs that were popular in America between Memorial Day and Labor Day of 1963. The artists include The Beach Boys, The Crystals, The Chiffons, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Bobby Vinton, The Surfaris, and more.
The Summer of 1964
Songs that were popular in the United States between Memorial Day and Labor Day of 1964. Popular music changed significantly in 1964 with the arrival of The Beatles, whose music swept the American charts that year. Five songs by The Beatles made it into the top of the charts during the summer of 1964, as well as songs by The Beach Boys, The Dave Clark Five, The Dixie Cups, Gerry and The Pacemakers, The Ventures, and many more.
The Summer of 1965
Songs that were popular in the USA between Memorial Day and Labor Day in 1965. This year, The Beatles and Beach Boys continued to push hits up the charts, along with newcomers like Sonny and Cher, The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and Herman's Hermits. From a musical perspective, 1965 represents a break from the rock and roll and doo-wop of the 1950s and the beginning of what many consider the sound of the 60s.
The Summer of 1966
A Spotify playlist containing songs that were popular in the USA between Memorial Day and Labor Day of 1966. The California sound and psychedelic music began to make their marks on the Top 40 in the summer of '66. Acts in this playlist include The Mamas and Papas, The Lovin' Spoonful, The Temptations, The Association, The Hollies, The Supremes, and of course, The Beatles.
The Summer of 1967
A Spotify playlist containing songs that were popular in the USA between Memorial Day and Labor Day of 1967. This was the Summer of Love, named for a social phenomenon that occurred during the summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 people, mostly young people sporting hippie fashions of dress and behavior, converged in San Francisco's neighborhood of Haight-Ashbury. The Summer of Love encompassed the hippie music, hallucinogenic drugs, anti-war, and free-love scene throughout the West Coast of the United States. The sounds of the Top 40 that summer include songs by The Turtles, The Monkees, The Hollies, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, The Who, Van Morrison, Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, and many more.
The Summer of 1968
A playlist containing songs that were popular in the USA between Memorial Day and Labor Day of 1968. The Top 40 of that year included songs by stalwarts like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Aretha Franklin, as well as newcomers from the rock and psychedelic scenes like Steppenwolf, Vanilla Fudge, The Grass Roots, The Amboy Dukes, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and more.
The Summer of 1969
A Spotify playlist of songs that were popular in the USA between Memorial Day and Labor Day of 1969. The Top 40 in the summer of '69 includes tracks by Sly and The Family Stone, The Archies, The Spiral Staircase, Neil Diamond, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Simon and Garfunkel, The Beatles, The Who, Donovan, Three Dog Night, and tons more.
I hope you enjoy listening to these Summer Of playlists as much as I enjoyed putting them together. The tools I used for these playlists include charts from The Ultimate Music Database, playlist conversion tools from Soundiiz, and Paul Lamere’s Sort Your Music tool for Spotify.
