Favorite Summer Songs #7 - "Hot Fun in the Summertime"

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As I write this, we are still 3 1/2 days from the official start of summer, and yet, parts of the country are already getting blasted by heat. It's time to celebrate that heat with #7 in my Favorite Summer Songs series: "Hot Fun in the Summertime" by Sly and the Family Stone. 1969's "Hot Fun in the Summertime" has a bit of an interesting story. Sly Stone intended the song for an album that he and his band were working on at the time. The album, however, was never completed, and the tune ended up on his 1970 Greatest Hits album. Released following the band's notable performance at Woodstock, "Hot Fun" performed admirably, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 (and #3 on that magazine's R&B chart. For good measure, it also reached #6 in Canada. Call it a bona fide North American smash!) The single was released as a 2 1/2 minute 45, recorded in mono. The Greatest Hits version, however, is not only in stereo, but runs a half-minute longer, offering just that much more summertime fun for listeners. In 1992, "Hot Fun in the Summertime" was covered by The Beach Boys (a band that knows a little about summer fun in it's own right!) and in 1995 by The Manhattan Transfer (with Chaka Khan guesting on lead vocals.) "Hot Fun in the Summertime" is one of rock music's all-time great summer songs, performed by one hell of a funky band: Sly and the Family Stone is one of just two bands in this particular series that is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The other one is still to come! Enjoy! (Info verified by Wikipedia)