The Jamies - Summertime, Summertime

Eric, that record was a reissue from 1974. While not tied to American Graffiti specifically, it didn't hurt that the retro-sound was hot that summer. Here's the review that Cash Box printed:

THE JAMIES (Epic 5-11129) Summertime, Summertime (2:00) (Templeton, ASCAP-T. Jameson, S. Feller) Originally a smash back in 1958, and then again in 1962, this perfect summer song gets another shot in '74 and should have yet another smash run. The vocal harmonies still remain classic in all music history and naturally, the entertainment value here is very high. Stations setting their Summertime programming schedules have always turned to this disk and there'll be no movement from that norm this year. Anyway, there's a whole new generation of kids out there who'll have the opportunity to pick up this disk and stop listening to older brother or sister's worn copy. Flip: no info. available.

I recall hearing the song a few times on the radio in 1974. It also shows up on a couple of ARSA charts that summer too. There was a commercial copy (with the same B-side: "Searching For You") and it charted at #106 in Record World in June 1974.

Edited by Paul Haney

It was no slouch in the upper Midwest, either. I'd heard it enough over the years to pick up an Epic Memory Lane reissue in 1966 (where it was always stocked in the oldies 45 section of my local Musicland store), and it was in regular rotation at the first local oldies station, when it debuted in 1968.

"Summertime, Summertime" also appeared, in stereo, on the 1975 Columbia double-LP, Rock On: The Musical Encyclopedia Of Rock N' Roll The Solid Gold Years, which was issued in conjunction with the Norm N. Nite book.

The stereo mix of this song is bone dry, unlike the reverb-happy Epic mono 45 and Memory Lane reissue. The mono side of the 1974 DJ 45 is a fold of the stereo mix, and is consequently missing the reverb.

I agree that the '74 reissue followed on the heels of the American Graffiti nostalgia wave. I didn't program it at the time, because the promo 45 didn't arrive in the mail at my college station until well after the books had been shut and thrown away and the station mothballed for the summer.

Edited by Yah Shure