In the Summertime

"In the Summertime", released in 1970, is the debut single by British rock band Mungo Jerry.[3] It reached number one in charts around the world, including seven weeks on the UK Singles Chart, two weeks on one of the Canadian charts, and number three on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the US. It became one of the best-selling singles of all-time, eventually selling 30 million copies.[4][5][6] Written and composed by the band's lead singer, Ray Dorset, while working in a lab for Timex, the lyrics of the song celebrate the carefree days of summer. The track was included on the second album by the band, Electronically Tested, issued in March 1971.

For other uses, see In the Summertime (disambiguation).

"In the Summertime"
Single by Mungo Jerry
from the album Electronically Tested
B-side"Mighty Man"
Released1970
StudioPye, London
GenreSkiffle[1][2]
Length3:30
LabelDawn
Songwriter(s)Ray Dorset
Producer(s)Barry Murray
Mungo Jerry singles chronology
"In the Summertime"
(1970)		 "Baby Jump"
(1971)
Audio sample
"In the Summertime"
  • file
  • help

Composition and recording

Dorset has said that the song only took 10 minutes to write, which he did using a second-hand Fender Stratocaster, while he was taking time off from his regular job, working in a lab for Timex.[7]

The song was recorded in Pye Studio 1 with Barry Murray producing.[8] Initially it was only two minutes long; to make it longer, Murray played the recording twice, slightly remixing the second half, and put the sound of a motorcycle in the middle.[8] In an interview with Gary James, Dorset explained that they couldn't find a recording of a motorcycle, but that "Howard Barrow, the engineer had an old, well, it wasn't old then, a Triumph sports car, which he drove past the studio while Barry Marrit [sic] was holding the microphone. So, he got the stereo effects from left to right or right to left, whatever. And that was it."[9]

Release

The initial UK release was on Dawn Records, a new label launched by Pye. It was unusual in that it was a maxi single, playing at 331⁄3 rpm, whereas singles generally played at 45 rpm. It included an additional song also written and composed by Dorset, "Mighty Man," on the A-side, and a much longer track, the Woody Guthrie song "Dust Pneumonia Blues," on the B-side. As the record was sold in a picture sleeve, also not standard at the time, and sold at only a few pence more than the normal 45 rpm two-track single, it was considered value for money. A small quantity of 45 rpm discs on the Pye record label, with "Mighty Man" on the B-side, and without a picture sleeve, were pressed for use in jukeboxes. These are now rare collector's items.

In 2012, Dorset sued his former management company Associated Music International, run by his former friend and business manager Eliot Cohen, claiming over £2 million in royalties from the song that he believed had been withheld from him.[10]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the single liner notes for "In the Summertime".[11]

Charts

Certifications and sales
Certifications and sales for "In the Summertime"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[45] Gold 50,000[45]
Denmark — 55,000[46]
France — 1,110,000[47]
Germany (BVMI)[48] Gold 500,000^
Norway — 20,000[46]
Sweden — 100,000[49]
United Kingdom
Original release 		— 800,000[50]
United Kingdom (BPI)[51]
2005 release 		Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[52] Gold 1,000,000^
Summaries
Scandinavia — 175,000[46]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

The Mixtures version
"In the Summertime"
Single by the Mixtures
from the album In the Summertime
B-side"Where You Are"
Released1970
Length2:37
LabelFable
Songwriter(s)Ray Dorset
Producer(s)June Productions Of Australia Pty. Ltd.
The Mixtures singles chronology
"Here Comes Love Again"
(1969)		 "In the Summertime"
(1970)		 "The Pushbike Song"
(1970)

In 1970, Australian rock band the Mixtures covered and released the song. The song replaced Mungo Jerry's version at number one on the Australian chart, where it remained at number one for six weeks. It was the biggest-selling single by an Australian artist in Australia in 1970 and number three overall.

Weekly charts
Chart (1970) Peak
position
Australia (Go-Set National Top 40)[12] 1
Australia (Kent Music Report)[35] 1

Year-end charts
Chart (1970) Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report)[35] 3
Australian Artist (Kent Music Report)[35] 1

Shaggy version
"In the Summertime"
Single by Shaggy featuring Rayvon
from the album Boombastic and Flipper Soundtrack
B-side
  • "It No Matter"
  • "Gal You a Pepper"
Released26 June 1995 (1995-06-26) (UK)[53]
GenreReggae[54]
Length3:46
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)Ray Dorset
Producer(s)Shaggy, Rayvon
Shaggy singles chronology
"Lately"
(1994)		 "In the Summertime"
(1995)		 "Boombastic"
(1995)
"In the Summertime" ('96 Version)
Single cover for the re-recorded version

In 1995, Jamaican-American reggae musician Shaggy covered the song, and released it as the lead single from his third studio album, Boombastic (1995).[55] Aside from the addition of rap lyrics, Shaggy's version also substitutes other lyrics for the song's original line "have a drink, have a drive." Shaggy also performed the song on an episode of Baywatch.[56] A year after its release, the song was re-recorded and released specifically for the film Flipper under the title "In the Summertime" ('96 version).

Critical reception

Al Weisel from Rolling Stone described "In the Summertime" as "a bouncy, infectious remake of the 1970 Mungo Jerry hit, [that] alternates a soulful chorus with a rapid-fire rap a la Chaka Demus and Pliers' "Murder She Wrote"."[57]

United Kingdom
  • CD single
  1. "In the Summertime" (single edit) – 3:46
  2. "It No Matter" – 3:56
  3. "Gal You a Pepper" – 3:37
  4. "In the Summertime" (Sting vs. Shaggy remix) – 4:40
  • 7-inch vinyl and cassette
  1. "In the Summertime" (single edit) – 3:46
  2. "It No Matter" – 3:56
  • 12-inch vinyl
  1. "In the Summertime" (Sting vs. Shaggy remix) – 4:40
  2. "In the Summertime" (LP version) – 3:55
  3. "In the Summertime" (Drum Dancehall mix) – 3:54
  • 1996 "Flipper" CD single[58]
  1. "In the Summertime '96" (original version) – 3:52
  2. "In the Summertime '96" (instrumental) – 3:52
  3. "Flipper Main Theme" – 3:58

United States
  • CD single
  1. "In the Summertime" (single edit) – 3:48
  2. "In the Summertime" (LP version) – 3:55
  3. "In the Summertime" (Drum Dancehall mix) – 3:54
  4. "In the Summertime" (Funk Dance mix) – 3:58
  5. "Boombastic" (LP version) – 4:05
  6. "Boombastic" (Sting remix) – 4:18
  • 12-inch vinyl
  1. "In the Summertime" (LP version) – 3:55
  2. "In the Summertime" (Drum Dancehall mix) – 3:54
  3. "In the Summertime" (Funk Dance mix) – 3:58
  4. "Boombastic" (Sting remix) – 4:18

Charts
  1. Charted as a double A-side with "Boombastic".

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[83] Gold 5,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[84] Silver 200,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

In other media

The song's lyric "have a drink, have a drive, go out and see what you can find" led to its use in a UK advert for the campaign Drinking and Driving Wrecks Lives. It featured the first verse against people enjoying drinks in a pub during summer, then stopped to show a fatal car accident caused by drink driving.[85] "In the Summertime" has been featured in many feature-length films including 29th Street, Twin Town, The Substitute, Drowning Mona, Mr. Deeds, Stolen Summer, Anita and Me, Wedding Crashers, Wild About Harry, Despicable Me 2, and Dog Days, and X.

See also

References
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  2. McCormick, Moira (18 May 1996). "Elfin's Listening-Post Towers Bring Children's Artists to Upscale Market". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 20. p. 50. ISSN 0006-2510.
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