Summertime is always the best of what might be.  –Charles Bowden

As soon as the first warm rays of sunshine arrive, this song comes to mind!  Suddenly, it’s 1985 and all is right in the world.  “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves was a chart topper when I was just 10 years old.  Double digits, no worries or cares and summer was so close I could practically taste it (the song was released in May.)  There are two things I find absolutely charming about this little ditty…1) despite the fact that this tune came out more than 30 years ago, my kids practically know all the words AND 2) the song has one of the most dreariest music video settings EVER!

Thanks to pop culture, “Walking on Sunshine” has been the catchy, upbeat, background track to more than a handful of movies and television shows, it’s been highlighted in a variety of commercials, and is featured on countless “best of summer” playlists.  The song has been rerecorded at least three times and is a universally popular cover for bands worldwide…making it hard to believe that it was the group’s only top 40 hit in the U.S.  Searching up the video on YouTube is a real treat, too!  Hard to believe that this song, which invokes so many sunny, feel good vibes, was shot on an incredibly gray, bleak (typical?) day in England.

As a kid, I really only remember cranking it up on the radio while eating popsicles and dancing around my mom’s kitchen.  Now, it’s a permanent feature on my own summer music playlist.  I still crank it up today…in my own kitchen, of course (popsicles optional.)

UP NEXT:  Song 2…a classic, beach favorite!