20 best summer songs

1 • HERE COMES THE SUN
It is almost impossible not to sing along to Here Comes the Sun, written by George Harrison for The Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road. One of the simplest and sweetest openings in popular music.
'Here comes the sun (doo doo doo doo),
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right.'

2 • ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET
This 1930 song, composed by Jimmy McHugh with lyrics by Dorothy Fields, was originally for a Broadway musical and has become a jazz standard. Louis Armstrong does a great version, Louis Prima does a fun version and Cyndi Lauper and McFly have also wrapped their vocal chords around the memorable opening lyrics:
'Grab your coat and get your hat,
Leave your worries on the doorstep,
Life can be so sweet,
On the sunny side of the street.'

3 • SUMMERTIME
Summertime, composed by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess, is one of the most covered songs in music. It is hard to beat Billie Holiday's 1936 version but it has been sung superbly by Ella Fitzgerald, Sam Cooke, Al Green and, in 1968, by Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company, on the album Cheap Thrills.

4. HOT STUFF
For the fitting names of the singer and song alone, disco queen Donna Summer (above), belting out Hot Stuff, her No1 from 1979, merits inclusion.

5 • WALKING ON SUNSHINE
An insanely upbeat song that was a hit for Katrina And The Waves and also sometimes sung by American group KC and the Sunshine Band in the Seventies. If you want the ultimately smiley version, with sizzling violins, then try Dolly Parton's take on it.
'I'm walkin' on sunshine ... and it's time to feel good."

6 • I DON'T CARE IF THE SUN DON'T SHINE
Recorded at Sun Studios for the Sun Sessions in the mid-Fifties, this Mack Davis song was one of the earliest hits for Elvis Presley (below). "I don't care if the sun don't shine, I get going when the sun goes down," sang The King, a reminder that summer evenings can be the sweetest thing during a heatwave.

7 • SUNNY AFTERNOON
The Ray Davies song Sunny Afternoon was a No1 hit for The Kinks in the glorious July of 1966, when England won the World Cup. The band, who also sang Waterloo Sunset, did one promotional video singing the song in snowy weather.
'The tax man's taken all my dough,
And left me in my stately home,
Lazing on a sunny afternoon.
And I can't sail my yacht,
He's taken everything I've got,
All I've got is this sunny afternoon.'

8 • IN THE SUMMERTIME
The Seventies song In The Summertime is cheesy and catchy and was a massive hit for British band Mungo Jerry. The song was written by frontman Ray Dorset. The irresponsible lyrics "have a drink, have a drive, go out and see what you can find," were later used in an anti-drink driving campaign.

9 • THE SUMMERTIME BLUES
Summer rockabilly at its best, with Eddie Cochran's 1958 hit.

10 • ALWAYS THE SUN
If the sun is making you a bit moody, then try the 1990 hit for The Stranglers, Always The Sun. "How many times have woken up and prayed for the rain?"

11 • SUN IS SHINING
How could this not conjure summer? Lovely Bob Marley reggae into the bargain.

12 • YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE
This 1939 song by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell has been covered by Ike and Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Cash and Brian Wilson, among others, and is the perfect singalong. It was even turned into a football song by Manchester United fans who used to sing 'You are my Solskjær', in tribute to European Cup winner Ole Gunnar Solskjær.