SUMMER IN THE CITY - LOVIN’ SPOONFUL - 1966

Summer In The City–The Lovin’ Spoonful

#1 – July 23^rd,1966

 

NEWS

• Medicare began July 1st.
• The Subway Strike in New York brings the City to a stop
• Inflation grew as part of the effect to fund the war in Vietnam continued.
• Both the US and USSR continued in their space race to see who would be the first to land a man on the moon.
• Race riots continued to increase across cities in America and National Guards were needed to bring back law and order.

 

FADS and ENTERTAINMENT

• MOVIES: “Thunderball” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ” and “A Man For All Seasons” 
• T.V.:  Bonanza, The Andy Griffith Show, The Jackie Gleason Show, The Red Skelton Show, Batman
• The first Star Trek episode, “The Man Trap,” is broadcast in Sept. “Beam Me up Scotty” becomes one of the hot quotes.
• The 8-track was a new-fangled option on many Ford cars.
• John Lennon commented that the Beatles were “bigger that Jesus”
• Kids were playing Twister, Barrel of Monkeys, View-Master with TV themed reels and making pictures with their Spirograph.
• Mini skirts are the fashion.

 

DEAD

• Walt Disney
• Montgomery Clift

 

#1@1

• Written by John Sebastian’s brother Mark, he originally submitted the lyrics for the literary magazine. The band got a hold of the lyrics changed it to a more upbeat model, keeping the title and refrain.  
• The song features a series of car horns during the instrumental bridge, starting with a Volkswagen Beetle horn, and ending up with a jackhammer sound; this was done in order to give the impressions of the sounds of the summer in the city.
• This song is ranked number 393 on Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

• It has been covered by B.B. King, Joe Cocker, Styx, and Joe Jackson to name a few.

• Summer In The City has been used in many movies, TV shows and commercials.

• It held the number one spot for 3 weeks

• Here’s the Lovin’ Spoonful with “Summer In The City” your #1 @ 1 from July 1966.