" Summertime Blues" is a song co-written and recorded by the American rock artist Eddie Cochran.[ and peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 29, 1958, and number 18 on the UK Singles Chart. It has been covered by many artists, including being a number-one hit for country music artist Alan Jackson, and scoring notable hits in versions by Blue Cheer, the Who and Brian Setzer, the last of whom recorded his version for the 1987 film La Bamba, in which he portrayed Cochran.
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Lyrics
The song is about the struggle between a teenager and his parents, his boss and his congressman during the summer.
Eddie Cochran version
"Summertime Blues" was recorded on March 28, 1958, at Gold Star Recording Studios in Hollywood, California. Eddie Cochran sang both the vocal and bass vocal (the "work-a-late" portions, Cochran's tribute to the Kingfish character from the Amos and Andy television series), played all the guitar parts, and added the hand clapping with possibly Sharon Sheeley. Connie 'Guybo' Smith played the electric bass and Earl Palmer drums.
Legacy
The 1958 Liberty Records single by Eddie Cochran was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and the song is ranked number 73 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at number 77 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.
Chart performance
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Austrian Singles Chart | 18 |
Canadian Singles Chart (CHUM Chart) | 10 |
Rhodesian Singles Chart (1968) | 12 |
South African Singles Chart (1968) | 18 |
UK Singles Chart | 18 |
UK Singles Chart (1968) | 34 |
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Johnny Chester version
Australian rock 'n' roll singer Johnny Chester cited Cochran as one of his idols and had used the track when rehearsing his first band in 1959.
Hep Stars version
Swedish rock band Hep Stars recorded Summertime Blues as a single in late December 1964.[ Hep Stars, 1964–1969, EMI Svenska AB/Olga 7C1 38-35956/7, double album liner notes] The sessions for these were the first professional recordings of keyboardist Benny Andersson, later of ABBA fame.
Of these tracks, only "A Tribute to Buddy Holly" was released as a single in February 1965. (1998). 919727125X, Premium. 919727125X
While not issued on any album at the time, it, along with the B-Side were issued as bonus material on the 1996 remaster of their debut album We and Our Cadillac
Personnel
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Janne Frisk – guitar, lead vocals
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Christer Pettersson – drums
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Benny Andersson – keyboards, piano
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Lennart Hegland – bass guitar
Blue Cheer version
The American rock band Blue Cheer recorded their version of "Summertime Blues" in 1967 and included it on their 1968 release entitled Vincebus Eruptum. The single peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, pushing the sales of the album even higher to number 11.
Chart performance
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Canadian Singles Chart | 3 |
Dutch Singles Chart | 1 |
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The Who version
The Who played "Summertime Blues" as a staple of their concerts from their early days up to 1976, with intermittent appearances thereafter.
The first version to be released by the Who appeared on the 1970 album Live at Leeds.
This version by the Who differed from the original in both the sense of aggression and volume. As lead singer Roger Daltrey noted, "We'd taken the song from being in kind of a swing rhythm on the off-beat to a rock rhythm on the one."
Studio version
The Who recorded at least two studio versions of this track in 1967. They went unreleased until 1998 and 2009, when they appeared on the remastered CD of Odds & Sods and the deluxe edition of The Who Sell Out, respectively. Other live versions from the Who are featured in the Monterey Pop Festival CD box set and the concert and documentary film Woodstock (1970), as well as Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 and the CD release of Live at the Royal Albert Hall.
Critical reception
Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that the Who gave it a "wild updating" and was "certain to put them right up there at the top."[ Billboard, July 4, 1970]
Chart performance
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Canadian RPM Top Singles | 8 |
Dutch Singles Chart | 25 |
UK Singles Chart | 38 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 27 |
Buck Owens version
In 1988, Country singer Buck Owens released a cover version of the song for his comeback album " Hot Dog!", released in November that year, produced by Jim Shaw.
Alan Jackson version
American country music artist Alan Jackson recorded the song for his 1994 album, Who I Am. It was released in June 1994 as the lead single from the album and the song reached Number One on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and number 4 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 (equivalent to number 104 on the Billboard Hot 100). Jackson said that he was inspired by Buck Owens' version.
Critical reception
Deborah Evans Price of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that Jackson "gives the oft-covered Eddie Cochran oldie the full, twangy 'Chattahoochee' treatment." She goes on to say that "until the vocal starts, you may not know which song you're listening to. But who cares?" She says that with his "signature laid-back vocal style, the long, tall Georgian turns this '50s teen anthem into a '90s country classic."[ Billboard, June 25, 1994] Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe reviewed the song unfavorably, saying that Jackson blatantly attempted to recreate the "Chattahoochee" phenomenon. He goes on to say that the "charm of the Eddie Cochran original is lost by forcing those country line-dance beats into the backing track."
Music video
The video was directed by Michael Salomon and was released in June 1994. Considered by Jackson as the "sequel" to his "Chattahoochee" video a year earlier, it was also the only video of his that Salomon directed. It begins with a shot of him water-skiing (which ends the "Chattahoochee" video) before transitioning to him and a band performing the song while seated in the bed of a pickup. Many 4-wheelers, ATVs and a limo full of middle-aged farmers are seen riding through the mud and getting stuck. Jackson, in a plain white t-shirt, is seen riding around in the mud in his pickup before getting out and walking in between many people fighting in the mud. However, he stays stainless until the very end, where he only gets one small spot of mud on the left side of his shirt before finally joining in the tussle. It ends with Jackson posing as a scarecrow.
Chart positions
"Summertime Blues" debuted at number 53 on the US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of June 18, 1994.
Year-end charts
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Canada Country Tracks ( RPM) | 3 |
US Country Songs ( Billboard) | 7 |
Rush version
Canadian rock music band Rush released their cover as a single on May 21, 2004. It was later included on their cover Extended play Feedback, released on June 29. The song was the theme for the WWE SummerSlam event on August 15, 2004. The song was performed live during the band's 30th anniversary tour later that year, and was included on the concert DVD. The fourth line of each verse is omitted.
Chart positions
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Canada Rock Top 30 (Radio & Records) | 12 |
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Personnel
Johnny Hallyday version (in French)
The song was covered in French by Johnny Hallyday. His version (titled "La Fille de l'été dernier", meaning "Last Summer's Girl") was released on Philips Records (the same label that released Blue Cheer's version) in April 1975 for Hallyday's nineteenth studio album " Rock à Memphis", released one month later and spent one week at no. 1 on the singles sales chart in France (from May 10 to 16, 1975).
Charts
Notes
