48 Songs About Summer, from Summertime to Cruel Summer

What are the top 10 summer songs of all time?

"Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, "Summer in the City" by The Lovin' Spoonful and "Under the Boardwalk" by The Drifters are classics, and "Cruel Summer" by Taylor Swift and "Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles are the modern favorites. Add "Hot Fun in the Summertime", "Summer Breeze", "Kokomo", "Walking on Sunshine" and "Summer of '69" for a complete top 10.

Classic summer songs

1. "Summertime", DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince: the laid-back summer anthem.
2. "Summer in the City", The Lovin' Spoonful: a hot city afternoon.
3. "Summertime Blues", Eddie Cochran: the 50s rock and roll classic.
4. "Hot Fun in the Summertime", Sly and the Family Stone: easy soul.
5. "Summer Breeze", Seals and Crofts: soft-rock calm.
6. "Under the Boardwalk", The Drifters: escaping the heat.
7. "Surfin' U.S.A.", The Beach Boys: the surf anthem.
8. "Kokomo", The Beach Boys: a tropical escape.
9. "Walking on Sunshine", Katrina and the Waves: instant good mood.
10. "California Girls", The Beach Boys: the sun-soaked classic.
11. "Summer Nights", from Grease: a summer romance retold.
12. "In the Summertime", Mungo Jerry: a carefree 70s hit.
13. "Summer of '69", Bryan Adams: nostalgia for summer nights.
14. "The Boys of Summer", Don Henley: a bittersweet look back.

Modern summer hits

15. "Cruel Summer", Taylor Swift: a summer romance under pressure.
16. "Watermelon Sugar", Harry Styles: sweet and sunny.
17. "Summertime Sadness", Lana Del Rey: the melancholy side of summer.
18. "Island in the Sun", Weezer: a sunny singalong.
19. "Despacito", Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee: the global summer hit.
20. "Hot in Herre", Nelly: a summer club anthem.
21. "Summer", Calvin Harris: an EDM summer hit.
22. "Good Time", Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen: carefree summer pop.
23. "Cake by the Ocean", DNCE: playful and bright.
24. "California Gurls", Katy Perry: a West Coast summer anthem.
25. "Espresso", Sabrina Carpenter: a breezy summer hit.

Country summer songs

26. "Cruise", Florida Georgia Line: a summer drive in a pickup.
27. "Chicken Fried", Zac Brown Band: a toast to the simple things.
28. "Toes", Zac Brown Band: sand and sunshine.
29. "Knee Deep", Zac Brown Band featuring Jimmy Buffett: escape to the beach.
30. "Summertime", Kenny Chesney: small-town summer nights.
31. "Springsteen", Eric Church: memories of a summer romance.
32. "Barefoot Blue Jean Night", Jake Owen: a carefree summer evening.
33. "Strawberry Wine", Deana Carter: the summer you never forget.

Summer love songs

34. "Teenage Dream", Katy Perry: young and carefree.
35. "Sunflower", Post Malone and Swae Lee: a laid-back summer duet.
36. "Electric Love", BØRNS: the rush of a summer crush.
37. "Endless Summer Nights", Richard Marx: an 80s ballad.
38. "Summer Love", Justin Timberlake: a playful pop song.

Songs about the sun

39. "Here Comes the Sun", The Beatles: sunshine after a hard season.
40. "Sunshine on My Shoulders", John Denver: gentle and warm.
41. "Ain't No Sunshine", Bill Withers: the sad side of a sunny song.
42. "You Are My Sunshine": the song every family knows.
43. "Soak Up the Sun", Sheryl Crow: a breezy summer anthem.
44. "Good Day Sunshine", The Beatles: a sunny piano song.
45. "Black Hole Sun", Soundgarden: a dark, dreamy grunge classic.
46. "Sunshine of Your Love", Cream: a classic rock riff.
47. "Sunny", Bobby Hebb: a warm 60s soul song.

Summer songs for kids

48. "In Summer", from Frozen: Olaf dreaming about the sun.

Kids also love "Summertime", "Walking on Sunshine", "Soak Up the Sun" and "Surfin' U.S.A.", plus "Under the Sea" for a pool party.

A summer road trip playlist

• Leaving town: "Cruise", "Summer of '69" and "Walking on Sunshine".
• On the highway: "Island in the Sun", "Good Time" and "Barefoot Blue Jean Night".
• Arriving at the beach: "Kokomo", "Toes" and "Under the Boardwalk".

For more beach songs, see our list of songs about the ocean.

Pool party songs

For a pool party, keep the energy up with "Cake by the Ocean", "Summer", "Hot in Herre", "California Gurls" and "Despacito", with clean edits if kids are around. For more feel-good picks, see our happy songs.

Summer songs by decade

Every decade has its own sound of summer: the 60s had the Beach Boys and The Drifters, the 70s had "Summer Breeze" and "In the Summertime", the 80s had "The Boys of Summer", the 90s had "Summertime" and the 2000s had "Hot in Herre". Mixing eras is the easiest way to please every generation at a family cookout.

Sad songs about summer ending

The end of summer has its own songs: "The Boys of Summer", "Summertime Sadness", "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Strawberry Wine" capture the feeling of a season slipping away. When fall turns to winter, see our winter songs.

Songs about summer for the Fourth of July

For an Independence Day cookout, mix these summer songs with the patriotic classics on our list of Fourth of July songs.

A song about your favorite summer

A summer romance, a family trip, the lake house, the year you met: a personalized song can capture your favorite summer with the names, places and moments that made it special.

How to create a summer song

1. Choose a style from 14 genres: pop, country, Latin, acoustic and more.
2. Add the names of the people in the song.
3. Share three summer memories.
4. Review the lyrics and edit or regenerate them for free before any music is made.
5. Listen to 4 free 45-second previews and choose your favorite.

The full 3 to 4 minute song costs $24.99, or $29.99 for Premium with four full versions and editable lyrics. You get the MP3, a gift page and the lyrics as a PDF.

Turn your best summer into a song: create a song and hear four previews for free.