Fall Into the Music

For me, autumn is the loveliest time of the year in Kentucky with the bold palette of green, gold, yellow, red and brown leaves on too-soon-to-be bare trees dominating the landscape before the cold winds sweep in from the North.

The fall season also brings to mind some music I've listened to through the years. Most of the songs are rather melancholy, perhaps because the season represents to many as a time to let go, as in the falling leaves. 

Here are some of my favorite songs for the season:

Justin Hayward, the lead singer of the legendary Moody Blues, recorded my fall favorite, "Forever Autumn." Some believe it's a Moodies' song, but actually it was from Jeff Wayne's musical, "War of the Worlds," from the late '70s. 

The first verse sets the tone for the song:

"The summer sun is fading as the year grows old

And darker days are drawing near

The winter winds will be much colder

Now that you're not here."

Frank Sinatra sang about autumn in Ervin Drake's unforgettable "It Was a Very Good Year," a No. 1 song on Billboard's Easy Listening charts for Ol' Blue Eyes  in 1965

"But now the days are short, I'm in the autumn of my years

And I think of my life as vintage wine

From fine old kegs

From the brim to the dregs

It poured sweet and clear

It was a very good year."

Another memorable tune is Bobby Goldsboro's "Blue Autumn," written by Andrea, Caroline, Sharon and James Corr, from the '60s.

Again, the opening verse sets the tone for this song of lost love:

"Blue autumn

Falling leaves of red and gold

Pretty colors, I am told

But I see only shades of blue

Because I'm losing you."

Goldsboro also recorded, "Autumn of My Life," another break-up song, a hit from 1968:

"But in the autumn of my years I noticed the tears

And I knew that our life was in the past

Though I tried to pretend, I knew it was the end

For the autumn of my life had come at last."

But not all autumn songs are sad. 

Singer-songwriter Neil Young sang about being in love with a special lady in his "Harvest Moon."

"Because I'm still in love with you

I want to see you dance again

Because I'm still in love with you

On this harvest moon."

And the great Van Morrison with his timeless, "fantabulous" song  "Moondance" that speaks of love and romance:

"Well, it's a marvelous night for a moondance

With the stars up above in your eyes

A fantabulous night to make romance

'Neath the cover of October skies

And the leaves on the trees are falling

To the sound of the breezes that blow

And I'm trying to please to the calling

Of your heart-strings that play soft and low."

Do you have any favorite songs of autumn?

Until the next time...

Summer Songs

Ah, summer has finally arrived!

I really love summer unless it gets horribly hot, drastically dry, or relentlessly rainy. Other than that, it's the time of the year to spend time at the beach, hiking, camping, travel, golf, tennis and all sorts of things. Or doing nothing at all!

For me nothing brings back memories of past summers than music. And the summer tunes from my teen-age years -- the time when life was somewhat carefree and I thought I'd live forever (so far, so good!) -- are the best. 

There are many great summer songs. I thought I'd share some that I really enjoyed long ago and still do. The songs have summer or summertime in their titles:

"Summertime Blues" was originally made famous by Eddie Cochran in the late '50s but I like the cover by Blue Cheer from my heavy metal days. It topped at No. 14 on the charts in 1968.

"Summer in the City" by The Lovin' Spoonful, a No. 1 hit in '66. This song really captured how sweltering the heat can be in big cities.

"Hot Fun in the Summertime"  by Sly and the Family Stone reached No. 3 in 1969. I think Sly knew how to have fun.

The Jamies' "Summertime, Summertime," had an infectious melody that really sets the mood for summer days. The song reached No. 26 in 1958.

Chad & Jeremy defined soft rock in the '60s with songs such as "A Summer Song," a No. 7 song during the first wave of the British Invasion in 1964.

Bobby Goldsboro sang about "cougar" love in "Summer (The First Time)" in '73. The song reached No. 21 on the pop charts.

"In The Summertime," by British group Mungo Jerry, captured the careful days of summer. It reached No. 3 in the United States in '70.

A little known summer song I liked was by the Dave Clark 5 called "Here Comes Summer" released in '70. It was a bigger hit for Jerry Keller, who also wrote the tune, reaching No. 14 in '59.

One more song, Johnny Rivers' "Summer Rain," released in '67 and reached No. 14.

For more songs of summer, visit these sites:

100 Greatest Summer Songs

Billboard Songs of the Summer

Entertainment Weekly's 100 Greatest Summer Songs

What's your favorite song(s) of summer?

Until the next time...