"Summer Breeze" is a song written and originally recorded by American
soft rock
Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...
duo
Seals and Crofts
Seals and Crofts was an American soft rock duo made up of James Eugene Seals (October 17, 1942 – June 6, 2022) and Darrell George "Dash" Crofts (born August 14, 1938) They are best known for their hits " Summer Breeze" (1972), " Diamond Girl ...
. Released in 1972, it reached No. 6 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the US. In 2013, it was ranked No. 13 in ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
''′s "Best Summer Songs of All Time". The song also became a hit for
The Isley Brothers in 1974.
Original Seals and Crofts version
Released nine days ahead of their 1972 ''
Summer Breeze'' album, Seals and Crofts' original version reached No. 6 on the
''Billboard'' Pop Singles chart in the US that same year. Bruce Eder of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
referred to it as "one of those relentlessly appealing 1970s harmony-rock anthems ... appropriately ubiquitous on the radio and in the memory".
Seals and Crofts performed the song live on the
''Bobby Darin Amusement Company'' variety show in 1972.
Harvey Brooks played bass on this recording.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Isley Brothers version
The song was covered in a
harder rock-
soulful style by
The Isley Brothers as a single in 1974. Issued also on their 1973 album ''
3 + 3'', it reached number sixty on the
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''Pop'' ( ...
chart
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent ...
, number ten on the
R&B chart
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent ...
, and number sixteen on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.
The Isley Brothers performed "Summer Breeze" on the music TV show ''
Soul Train
''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. It aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series ...
'' in 1974. It was featured in
season 8, episode 18 of ''
The Blacklist'' and also in a 2014 episode of ''
Scandal''. It was sampled in the track "
All in My Mind" by
MC Hammer along with his newly formed rap group, Oakland Fight Club featuring
Mistah F.A.B.
Stanley Petey Cox (born January 23, 1982), better known by his stage name Mistah F.A.B. (backronym for Money Is Something To Always Have–Forever After Bread), is an American rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, community organizer and activist.
...
(2014).
Certifications
Chart performance
Ray Conniff version
The
Ray Conniff
Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s.
Biography
Conniff was born November 6, 1916 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United St ...
Singers recorded a version in 1973, which appeared on the ''I Can See Clearly Now'' (aka ''Clair'') album, and was released in the UK as a 45 on the
CBS label (S CBS 1196) in January 1973.
Geoffrey Williams version
The version recorded by English singer
Geoffrey Williams
Geoffrey Williams is an English singer and songwriter. Five of his singles charted on the UK Singles Chart in the 1990s. In the U.S., "It's Not a Love Thing", from his third album ''Bare'' (1992), reached No. 70 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.
...
was released in 1992 as a single. It peaked at number 56 on the week ending August 16, 1992, on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. It also peaked at number 32 on the week ending November 22, 1992, on
New Zealand's Official Top 40 Singles chart.
Type O Negative version
Type O Negative
Type O Negative were an American gothic metal band formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 1989 by Peter Steele (bass, lead vocals), Kenny Hickey (guitar, co-lead vocals), Josh Silver (keyboards, backing vocals), and Sal Abruscato (drums, percu ...
released a cover of the song in August 1993 on their album ''
Bloody Kisses
''Bloody Kisses'' is the third studio album by the American gothic metal band Type O Negative and the last recording with their original lineup, as drummer Sal Abruscato left the group in late 1993 to join labelmates Life of Agony. The album inclu ...
'' altering their version to match their gothic metal style. Their version was originally to be titled "Summer Girl", featuring new lyrics written by
Peter Steele, but after Seals & Crofts found the lyrical content distasteful, the original lyrics were sung instead.
The song is featured in the opening of the 1997 horror hit, ''
I Know What You Did Last Summer
''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' is a 1997 American slasher film directed by Jim Gillespie, written by Kevin Williamson, and starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr. It is loosely base ...
''.
Tracklist
All songs written by
Peter Steele unless otherwise noted.
Credits
*
Peter Steele – lead vocals, bass guitar
*
Kenny Hickey
Kenneth Shaun Hickey (born May 22, 1966) is an American heavy metal musician. He was the co-founder, guitarist and backing and occasional co-lead vocalist of the gothic metal band Type O Negative. He is currently the vocalist and guitarist for ...
– guitar, backing vocals
*
Josh Silver
Josh Silver (born November 14, 1962) is an American musician who is the former keyboardist, producer and backing vocalist of gothic metal band Type O Negative. He joined the band at frontman Peter Steele's request. He played for Type O Negat ...
– keyboards, backing vocals
*
Sal Abruscato
Sal Abruscato (born July 18, 1970) is an American drummer, guitarist and singer, best known as the original drummer for Brooklyn metal bands Type O Negative and Life of Agony.Hart, Josh (2011)Interview: Sal Abruscato and Matt Brown of A Pale Hor ...
– drums, percussion
References
{{Authority control
1972 songs
1972 singles
1974 singles
1992 singles
1995 singles
Seals and Crofts songs
Songs written by James Seals
The Isley Brothers songs
Warner Records singles
T-Neck Records singles
Roadrunner Records singles