What are the best summer songs of all time?

Today is officially the start of the summer season, and I’m celebrating by sharing my list of the top ten songs of the summer with you. Yes! I’ve compiled this “ultimate summer playlist” for your listening and driving pleasure. And look. I understand that everything here is subjective. Music is a matter of personal taste, and as you’ll see from my list, my taste in music is quite varied. But I’ve compiled this special summer playlist to bring together a variety of genres and decades. Plus, I’ve tried to focus on songs that will instantly transport you to the front seat of the driver’s side of a convertible. Not only do these songs celebrate summer, but they’re also perfect for putting the top down and speeding down the highway to.

#10 – ALL SUMMER LONG (Kid Rock)

I’m not even a Kid Rock fan, but I know a good summer song when I hear it. Check it out! There’s even a speedboat in the video. Summer in Northern Michigan sounds pretty epic with its sandbars and campfires. Kid Rock’s summer anthem will have you sipping whiskey from the bottle and singing “Sweet Home Alabama” all summer long.

#9 – THIS SUMMER (Garth Brooks)

Maybe this song isn’t quite what you expected. But remember. It was released in April 1993 and became one of the great summer anthems of that year. It makes us “feel the thunder” and “chase lightning” and reminds us of the “heat of passion” we all experienced for the first time. That musical “summer wind” has been blowing for over thirty years. I love this song just as much today as I did when I first heard it.

#8 – LIFE IS A HIGHWAY (Rascal Flatts)

If you’re looking for the perfect song to fuel a road trip, this is it. Rascal Flatts’ version of the Tom Cochrane classic is EVERYTHING! I mean, it was in the movie cars! From the 30 second introduction to its nearly five minute runtime, this song is firing on all summer cylinders. Yes, Rascal Flatts, life IS a highway and this song has us driving on it all night long.

#7- PONTOON/BOONDOCKS (Little Big City)

The quintessential country music quartet has given us two incredible summer anthems. While “Pontoon” puts us on a party boat in the middle of the river, “Boondocks” has us grabbing our lines and rods and “fishing in the crawdad hole.” This is literally how I spent my childhood summers.

#6 – SUMMER NIGHTS (John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John)

One of the best summer songs of all time from one of the most infectious movie soundtracks of all time. John Travolta (“Danny”) and Olivia Newton-John (“Sandy”) talk about their summer at the beach in one of the most iconic sing-along songs of all time. #GreaseIsTheWord

#5- SUMMER ’69 (Bryan Adams)

The ultimate coming-of-age story and the ultimate song. Bryan Adams got his “first real six-string at the discount store” and loved it so much he played until his fingers bled. Then he talks about that summer that “seemed to last forever.” I wasn’t even alive in the summer of 1969, but every time I hear this song, it takes me back there.

#4 – HOLIDAY (The Go-Go’s)

Summer means vacation, and this hit by the Go-Go’s celebrates packing up and going away. “Vacation was all I ever wanted. Vacation had to go.” Plus, I didn’t even have to rewatch the video to remember that. The Go-Go’s on water skis tells you everything you need to know about this song. It’s a definitive summer anthem.

#3 – KEEP GOING/IT’S A SUNSHINE DAY (Three girls and three boys)

Like Little Big Town, The Brady Bunch are also featured with two songs on this ultimate playlist. I know you may think I’ve lost my mind, but hear me out. I’m a child of the ’70s and ’80s. These two songs defined “summer” for me. In “Keep On,” The Brady Bunch cheered as they “flew down the highway in a makeshift Model TA.” In “It’s a Sunshine Day,” they persuaded us to go outside because the “summer sun” is calling us. As cheesy as they are, these two songs are perfect.

#2 – CRUISE (Florida Georgia Line with Nelly)

I was hanging out in a dressing room backstage at the Grand Ole Opry just days after Florida Georgia Line received their master copy of their “Cruise” remix featuring Nelly. They asked my friend Jaclyn and I if we wanted to hear it. Up until then, very few people had done that. They asked us what we thought. We both said without hesitation, “Release it. NOW!” They did, and, well, the rest is history. If you want to talk about the perfect “driving” song, this is it. Baby, this song is a real hit and it makes me want to roll down my windows and drive away.

#1 – WALKING ON SUNSHINE (Katrina and the Waves)

One of the most infectious and enduring songs of the 1980s and THE best summer song of all time. The beat, the opening “OW” and the repeating chorus “I’m walking on sunshine, wow!” just makes you want to walk down the sidewalk, the river bank, the baseball diamond, the sand and the boardwalk. I feel the love. I feel alive! Forty years later, this song still makes me walk on sunshine and feel good.

And, SURPRISE!!! Because you’re listening to this playlist on the first day of summer, we’re giving you a chance to win tickets to Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari. We’re giving away FIVE pairs of tickets on Thursday, June 20th at 8:50am!