The Ten Best Songs of the Summer: The Ultimate Summer Playlist

Today is the official start of the summer season and I am celebrating by sharing my list of the Ten Best Songs of the Summer. Yes! This I have crafted this 'Ultimate Summer Playlist' for your listening and driving enjoyment. And, look. I understand that everything is subjective here. Music is a matter of personal taste and, as you will see with my list, my musical tastes are all over the place. But, I crafted this particular summer playlist in a way that marries a variety of genres and decades. Plus, I tried to focus on songs that immediately transport you to the front seat of the driver's side of a convertible. In addition to celebrating summer, these songs are perfect for putting the top down and speeding down the highway.

#10- ALL SUMMER LONG (Kid Rock)

I'm not even a Kid Rock fan, but I know a good summer song when I hear it. Look! There's even a speed boat in the video. Summertime in northern Michigan sounds pretty epic with its sandbars and campfires. Kid Rock's summer anthem will have you sippin' whiskey out of the bottle and singing "Sweet Home Alabama" all summer long.

#9- THAT SUMMER (Garth Brooks)

So, maybe this song isn't exactly what you were expecting. But, remember. It was released in April 1993 and became one of the big summer anthems of that year. It's got us 'feeling thunder' and 'chasing lightning' and remembering that 'heat of passion' we all first experienced. This musical 'summer wind' has been blowing for over thirty years. I still love this song today as much as I loved it the first time I heard it.

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#8- LIFE IS A HIGHWAY (Rascal Flatts)

If you're looking for the perfect song to fire up a road trip, this is it. Rascal Flatts' version of the Tom Cochrane's classic is EVERYTHING!  I mean, it was featured in the movie Cars! From its 30 second intro to its nearly five minutes of run time, this song fires on all the summer cylinders. Yes, Rascal Flatts, life IS a highway and this song has us driving it all night long.

#7- PONTOON/BOONDOCKS (Little Big Town)

Country's quintessential quartet has given us two incredible summer anthems. While "Pontoon" plops us down on a party boat in the middle of the river, "Boondocks" has us grabbing our lines and poles and 'fishing in the crawfish hole'. That's literally how I spent the summers of my childhood.

#6- SUMMER NIGHTS (John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John)

One the best summer songs of all time from one of the most infectious movie soundtracks of all time. John Travolta ("Danny") and Olivia Newton-John ("Sandy") recount their summer at the beach in one the most iconic singalong songs ever. #GreaseIsTheWord

#5- SUMMER OF '69 (Bryan Adams)

The ultimate coming of age story and song. Bryan Adams got his 'first real six-string at the five and dime' and was so committed to it, he played til his fingers bled. He then goes onto recount that summer that "seemed to last forever." I wasn't even alive in the summer of '69, but this song, every time I hear it, transports me back there.

#4- VACATION (The Go-Go's)

Summer means vacation and this hit by the Go-Go's celebrates packing up and getting away. "Vacation all I ever wanted. Vacation had to get away." Plus, I didn't even have to re-watch that video to remember it. The Go-Go's on water skis tells you everything you need to know about this song. It's a definitive summer anthem.

#3- KEEP ON/IT'S A SUNSHINE DAY (The Brady Bunch)

Like Little Big Town, The Brady Bunch lands two songs on this ultimate playlist. I know you may think I have lost my mind, but hear me out. I am a child of the 70s and 80s. These two songs defined "summer" for me. In "Keep On", The Brady Bunch whoo'd as they were "flying down the highway in a makeshift Model TA." In "It's a Sunshine Day", they talking us walking outside because the 'summer's sun's callin' our names. As cheesy as they are, both those songs are perfection.

#2- CRUISE (Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly)

I was hanging out in a dressing room backstage at The Grand Ole Opry just days after Florida Georgia Line received their master copy of their "Cruise" remix with Nelly. They asked my friend Jaclyn and I if we wanted to hear it. To that point, very few people had. They asked what we thought. Both of us, without missing a beat, said, "Release it. NOW!" They did and, well, and the rest is history. If you want to talk about the perfect 'driving' song, this is it. Baby, this is a song and it makes me wanna roll my windows down and cruise.

#1- WALKING ON SUNSHINE (Katrina and The Waves)

One of the most infectious and enduring songs of the 1980s and THE best summer song of all time. The beat, that "OW" at the beginning and that repetitive chorus of "I'm walking on sunshine, wow!" just propels you to run down the sidewalk, the riverfront, the baseball diamond, the sand, the boardwalk. I feel the love. I feel alive! Forty years later, this song still has me walking on sunshine and feeling good.