Mike Tussey: Here they come — those lazy, hazy, crazy days of Summer

Some of us love summer, some despise the hot temperatures – but, ready or not, get out the sun screen. You can’t run, you can’t hide, summer solstice arrives tomorrow, Thursday June 20 at 4:51 p.m.

In fact, tomorrow will be the longest day of the year in terms of daylight hours as the sun will be at the highest point in the sky.

Beginning Friday, June 21, the amount of sunlight will decrease daily.

So, after summer arrives for the next 94 days, sunshine and hot temps will officially rule until September 22 when autumn arrives with hot temperatures of her own.

There’s something magical about summer, so much so,that there have been two key songs that proclaimed the reasons why we love summer time.

It’s a good bet, very few today likely have never heard these songs that became huge hits back in the mid 20th Century.

Hit #1 – July 14, 1958, a group called “The Jamies” recorded on Epic records – Summertime, Sum Sum Summertime. Yeah, it was a one-time wonder hit, but did make a splash (no pun intended ).

Hit #2 – June 10, 1963, 61 years ago this week, Super Star and Legend, Nat “King” Cole with his hit- “Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer” zoomed to #3 on the charts with every radio station in America.

These lyrics proclaimed the magic of summer :
 
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Those days of soda, pretzels and beer.
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of cheer.
Just fill your basket full if sandwiches and weenies
Then lock the house up, now you’re set,
And on the beach you’ll see the girls in their bikinis
As cute as ever, but they never get them wet.
You’ll wish that summer could always be here!

That summer of ’63, I was a DJ named “Mike Todd” who played that hit and so many more on a small radio station – WIRO at Radio Plaza in Ironton, Ohio. What I remember vividly were the phone requests to play it.

The summer of ’63 was very special because WIRO proudly aired recordings of “The Coca Cola Hi-Fi Club sock hops ( or barefeet) at local pools. I was the poolside DJ wearing our obligatory Red Blazer while playing the hits including Nat “King” Cole’s monster hit. Yeah, it was hot, but that’s the way it was.

Summer is like a magnet, a bombshell that attracts us to use our vacations and travel to your favorite beach or lake. For our family, we enjoyed Myrtle Beach and Vanderbilt Beach down in Naples, Florida.

There are always plenty of lakes to enjoy as well as our beautiful Ohio River with summer cruises and water skiing.

The local pools produced thousands of swimmers and picnickers especially on weekends.

It was a time of sunscreen, sunburns, hit music, tops down on convertibles while cruising to places like the Bluegrass Grill back in Ashland.

Summer was great for not only baseball and Drive In Movies, it was also very special for families of young parents just getting started. This is when backyard barbeques brought families together and of course, those wonderful photos that are your treasures today.

You never forget catching a “June Bug” and letting him fly around on a string. Then of course, catching “lightning bugs” and put them all in a jar.

You never forget when you tried to get comfortable in a hammock and well, you know the rest.

We secured our first home in 1962. It was just the standard little house with 2 bedrooms, bath, living room and kitchen. It was small, but sure beat the apartment given our driveway and large backyard. Of course, there was no A/C. By the time summer came with humidity and blazing temperatures, it became very uncomfortable. So, we finally bought our first A/C window unit based on what we could afford. Likely, back then that’s what many families did. The relief was tremendous as the summer months heated up.

It was exactly like Nat Cole’s song when he sang about those – lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer – he nailed it.

Remember getting into your car on a hot summer day and there was no A/C so its was “roll down all the windows time.” A/C in your car did not become available as an option until 1956. In fact, A/C was not developed for cars until 1939 by Packard. Today, the A/C in your car is as normal as automatic transmission and directional lights.

When I was calling play by play for the Huntington Cubs an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs some years ago, we were playing the Johnson City Cardinals down in Tennessee. Usually, there is a press box albeit not with “air,” but with cover overhead. Upon arrival, I was told that the press box was under construction and I would have to call the game from the top of the first base dugout. I was given a ladder, a small metal chair and a typing table. The temperature was at 90 and a clear sky. NO shade or cover available such as a tent. I found out that blistering hot summer afternoon what the real meaning of “those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer” was all about.

At 4:51 p.m. tomorrow, the trumpets will sound loud and clear as the summer of 2024 will officially be upon us.

Enjoy. Have a Great Summer.