12 Of Country Music’s Best Songs Of Summer
Today (6/21) marks the first day of summer. The summer solstice occurs when the sun appears to be directly over the Tropic of Cancer, and for 2023, that’s 10:58 a.m….
Today (6/21) marks the first day of summer. The summer solstice occurs when the sun appears to be directly over the Tropic of Cancer, and for 2023, that's 10:58 a.m. Eastern.
The longest daylight hours of the year will vary depending on how far you are from the equator. Daylight hours will gradually shorten until the winter solstice in December. The situation is reversed in the Southern Hemisphere, where winter starts in June.
But enough about the science of summer; we love summer because it's fun. Most country stars feel the same way. Luke Bryan told us recently, before he launched his 2023 "Country On" tour, "Nothing is better than being out on the road in the summer."
For Dierks Bentley, summer is about having fun and lighting things up a bit. A few years ago, Dierks told us before he launched a summer tour, "Fireworks were a big part of my summers growing up and explosives and putting half sticks of dynamite in mailboxes and just having fun."
Chris Young told us a few years back that summertime is the time to work when you are a country singer, and vacations during the summer are few and far between. He said, "Everyone else is getting a chance to relax a little more, but as a musician, you're playing somewhere, and it's always tricky trying to work that out. Everyone is like, 'You should come over; we're having a barbecue,' and I'm like, 'I'm gonna be in the middle of the country."
Little Big Town's Phillip Sweet told us about his group's summer anthem, "Pontoon," when it first came out, "It's just fun, it really is, it feels like summer, and it feels exactly what it sounds like. I grew up on pontoon boats in the summer on the lakes and just having a blast."
As we bring in the official start of summer today, we look at what we believe are twelve of the best country music songs celebrating the summertime.
12. Blake Shelton - "Some Beach" (2004)
WBBlake sings of frustrations and having to wait all afternoon at the dentist's office by wishing that he were "on some beach, somewhere."
11. Zac Brown Band - "Chicken Fried" (2005)
WBThe lyrics include, "You know I like my chicken fried / Cold beer on a Friday night / A pair of jeans that fit just right / And the radio up."
10. Chris Janson - "Buy Me A Boat" (2015)
WBThe song expresses the fact that "money can't buy happiness /, but it can buy a boat."
9. Carrie Underwood - "Southbound" (2018)
UMGCarrie said of the writing process on this song, "I was like, 'This sounds like fun, I think. We can do something fun with this.' But then you realize how tricky for some reason it is to be a woman and write kind of a drinking party boat song."
8. Kenny Chesney - "When The Sun Goes Down" (2004)
SonyThe song is a summer duet with Chesney and Uncle Kracker.
7. Luke Combs - "Beer Never Broke My Heart" (2019)
SonyThe massive hit that Luke closes out every show with, it features a list of various things and people that have disappointed him in his life before concluding in the chorus that "long-neck, ice-cold beer never broke my heart."
6. Luke Bryan - "That's My Kind Of Night" (2013)
UMGA big ole' summer hit, "That's My Kind of Night" helped Luke set a record as the first male country music artist to top the Billboard's Hot Country Songs and Top Country Albums charts simultaneously.
5. Sam Hunt - "Body Like A Backroad" (2020)
UMGAccording to Hunt, the song was written after his engagement to Hannah Lee Fowler. Sam described it as "a lighthearted song."
4. Florida Georgia Line - "Cruise" (2012)
BMLGThe song's video was filmed outside Nashville and featured the duo driving and performing against an American flag backdrop at a colorful paint party.
3. Keith Urban - "Long Hot Summer" - (2010)
UMGKeith co-wrote this infectious summer anthem with 1980s pop star Richard Marx.
2. Little Big Town – "Pontoon" (2012)
UMGA career-defining song, "Pontoon" won the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. It screams summer and makes you want to board a boat as soon as possible.
1 - Alan Jackson - "Chattahoochee" (1993)
SonyLuke Bryan said in a recent interview that when he thinks of summer, this is the song he thinks of. Alan said of the song he co-wrote, "It's a song about having fun, growing up, and coming of age in a small town - which applies to anyone across the country, not just by the Chattahoochee."
