B-side "Fun" Format 7" single Genre Psychedelic soul, funk | Released August 1969 Recorded 1969 | |
Length 2:37 (mono single version)
3:03 (stereo album version) | ||
"Hot Fun in the Summertime" is a 1969 song recorded by Sly and the Family Stone. The single was released in the wake of the band's high-profile performance at Woodstock, which greatly expanded their fanbase. The song peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart and number 3 on the U.S. Billboard soul singles chart in autumn 1969. It is ranked as the seventh biggest U.S. hit of 1969, and the 65th in Canada.
Contents
Rolling Stone ranked the song #247 on their list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and it also has been named in lists by Yahoo! Music and AskMen as an all-time "summer anthem."
Background
Thematically, "Hot Fun in the Summertime" is a dedication to the fun and games to be had during the summer. "Hot Fun in the Summertime" was intended to be included on an in-progress album with "Everybody Is a Star" and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"; the LP was never completed, and the three tracks were instead included on the band's 1970 Greatest Hits LP. This song is known for its rare use of Strings, in a Sly and the Family Stone song, featuring violins being played in the upper register.
The B-side to this single is "Fun," a song taken from the group's third album (Life) from 1968.
The Beach Boys version
The track was covered by the Beach Boys on their 1992 album Summer in Paradise. The song was also released as a single during that same year, backed with "Summer of Love." A video was made to accompany the song.
Other covers
It was performed on stage in HBO's 1981 television special The Pee-wee Herman Show.
The song was covered by The Party, which was originally supposed to be on their 1992 album, Free, but was then released on their 1993 album, "The Party's Over...Thanks For Coming".
It was covered in 1982 with somewhat greater chart success by a funk outfit known as Dayton, and again in 1995 by The Manhattan Transfer featuring vocals by Chaka Khan.
Genesis vocalist and drummer Phil Collins cited the song as one of the musical inspirations for "Misunderstanding". The members of Toto have also cited it as an inspiration for "Hold the Line".
Personnel
Unaccredited: Strings with violins in the upper register.