"The Boys of Summer" is a song by American musician

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician who is a founding member of the rock band the Eagles, for whom he is the drummer and co-lead vocalist, as well as its sole continuous member. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles ...

. The lyrics were written by Henley and the music was composed by Mike Campbell of

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band formed in Gainesville, Florida, in 1976. The band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer ...

. It was released on October 26, 1984, as the lead single from Henley's album '' Building the Perfect Beast.'' It reached number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the US, number one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Top Rock Tracks chart, and number 12 in the UK Singles Chart. The music video won several awards. "The Boys of Summer" was also performed live by Henley with the reunited

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

; a version is included on the group's 2005 DVD '' Farewell 1 Tour: Live from Melbourne.''

Writing

Mike Campbell, the guitarist for

, wrote a demo for "The Boys of Summer" while experimenting with a

LinnDrum The LinnDrum, often erroneously referred to as the LM-2, is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics between 1982 and 1985. About 5,000 units were sold. Development The LinnDrum was designed by the American engineer Roger Linn. It was ...

drum machine and

Oberheim OB-X The Oberheim OB-X was the first of Oberheim Electronics, Oberheim's OB-series polyphony (instrument), polyphonic Analog synthesizer, analog Subtractive synthesis, subtractive synthesizers. First commercially available in June 1979, the OB-X was ...

synthesizer. He showed it to

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the leader and frontman of the Rock music, rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s sup ...

, but Petty felt it did not fit with the record they were working on, ''

Southern Accents ''Southern Accents'' is the sixth studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released on March 26, 1985, through MCA Records. The album's lead single, " Don't Come Around Here No More", co-written by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, peaked ...

.'' At the suggestion of the producer

Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, former Music executive, record executive, and media proprietor. He is the co-founder of Interscope Records and became chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscop ...

, Campbell played it for

, the vocalist and drummer for the

, who wrote the lyrics and recorded the vocal. They re-recorded the song after Henley decided to change the key.

Composition & Meaning

"The Boys of Summer" uses a repeating guitar riff. It was recorded in the key of

F major F major is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat.Music Theory'. (1950). United States: Standards and Curriculum Division, Training, Bureau of Naval Personnel. 28. Its relati ...

with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 88 beats per minute. Henley's vocals span F₃ to A₄. The lyrics appear to be about the passing of

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...

and entering

middle age Middle age (or middle adulthood) is the age range of the years halfway between childhood and old age. The exact range is subject to public debate, but the term is commonly used to denote the age range from 45 to 65 years. Overall This time span ...

, with the nostalgic theme of "summer love" and reminiscence of a past relationship. In a 1987 interview with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', Henley explained that the song is about aging and questioning the past—a recurring theme in Henley's lyrics (cf. " The End of the Innocence", and " Taking You Home".) In an interview with ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' in 1985, Henley explained the '" Deadhead sticker on a

Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...

" lyric as an example of his generation

selling out To "sell out" is to compromise one's integrity, morality, Authenticity (philosophy), authenticity, or Principle#As moral law, principles in exchange for personal gain, such as money or power. In terms of music or art, selling out is associated w ...

. The song's title is taken from

Roger Kahn Roger Kahn (October 31, 1927 – February 6, 2020) was an American journalist and author, best known for his 1972 baseball book '' The Boys of Summer''. Biography Roger Kahn was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 31, 1927, to Olga (''née ...

's 1972 book about the Brooklyn Dodgers, which was in turn taken from a

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...

poem.

Accolades

"The Boys of Summer" reached No. 5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topped the ''

'' Top Rock Tracks chart for five weeks. It was his most successful hit in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, reaching No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart. A re-release of the single in 1998 also reached No. 12. ''Billboard'' called it "

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

oriented pop swimming in synths and reverberating guitar". In 1986, Henley won the

Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance was a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award presented to male recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality vocal performances in the rock music genre. Originally called the Grammy Aw ...

for the song at the 28th Annual Grammy Awards. "The Boys of Summer" was ranked No. 416 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

. "The Boys of Summer" is included in ''

The Pitchfork 500 ''The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present'' is a book compiling the greatest songs from 1977 to 2006, published in 2008 by Pitchfork Media. The book focuses on specific genres including indie rock, hip-hop, ele ...

'', ''Pitchfork Media'''s "Guide to the Greatest Songs from

Punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

to Present". Tom Petty was astounded by the track's success. One day, he and Campbell were out on a car drive to listen to a mix of their song "

Don't Come Around Here No More "Don't Come Around Here No More" is a song written by Tom Petty of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Dave Stewart of Eurythmics. It was released in February 1985 as the lead single from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' ''Southern Accents'' albu ...

", but turned on the ignition and heard "The Boys of Summer". Campbell changed the station in case the song would upset Petty, but another station was also playing the song. Petty enjoyed listening to it and regretted initially turning it down.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

to "The Boys of Summer" is a

French New Wave The New Wave (, ), also called the French New Wave, is a French European art cinema, art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentat ...

-influenced piece directed by

Jean-Baptiste Mondino Jean-Baptiste Mondino (born Aubervilliers, France on 21 July 1949) is a French fashion photographer and music video director. He has directed music videos for Madonna (entertainer), Madonna, David Bowie, Sting (musician), Sting, Björk, Don Henley, ...

. Shot in

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

, it shows the main character of the song at three different stages of life (as a young boy, a young adult and middle-aged), in each case reminiscing about a past relationship. Interspersed with these scenes are segments of Henley singing the words of the song while riding in a

pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a Truck_classification#Table_of_US_GVWR_classifications, light or medium duty truck that has an enclosed cabin (truck), cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (th ...

. The boy is dressed in a style typical of the 1950s, the teenage lovers are dressed in a style characteristic of the early 1960s while the middle-aged man is dressed in the style of the 1980s. As a boy in the 1950s, the protagonist practices playing the drums, suggesting musical aspirations; as a teenager in the 1960s, he walks down a beach with his girlfriend whom he kisses passionately; and as a middle-aged man in the 1980s, he appears to be an executive of some sort who is comfortable, but unhappy in life as he sits at his desk remembering his youth. The young boy in the video is played by a seven-year-old Josh Paul, while the girl is played by Audie England. Interspersed with these scenes are segments of Henley articulating the words of the song while driving in a convertible. At its conclusion, the video uses the post-modern concept of exposing its own workings, as with a wry expression Henley drives the car away from a rear projection screen. The video won the Video of the Year at the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards (leading Henley to comment at the Awards the following year that he had won for "riding around in the back of a pickup"). It also won that year's awards for Best Direction, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematography. The Best Direction award was presented to Mondino by Henley's then-former Eagles bandmate

Glenn Frey Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American musician. He was a founding member of the rock band Eagles, for whom he was the co-lead singer and frontman, roles he came to share with fellow member Don Henley, with ...

Personnel

– vocals * Mike Campbell – synthesizers, guitars,

programming, percussion *

Danny Kortchmar Daniel Kortchmar (born April 6, 1946), also known as Danny Kootch, is an American guitarist, session musician, producer and songwriter. His work with singer-songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Carole King, David Cassi ...

– synthesizers, guitars *

Steve Porcaro Steven Maxwell Porcaro (born September 2, 1957) is an American keyboardist, songwriter, singer, and film music composer, known as one of the founding members of the rock band Toto and the last surviving Porcaro brother (after the deaths of Jeff ...

– synthesizers *

Larry Klein Larry Klein is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is based in Los Angeles. He began his career as a bassist, playing with jazz artists Willie Bobo, Freddie Hubbard, Carmen McRae, Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Way ...

– bass

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

DJ Sammy version

In 2002, Spanish

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

artist

DJ Sammy Samuel Bouriah (born 19 October 1969), better known by his stage name DJ Sammy, is a Spanish DJ and record producer. He has released five albums and has had five top-10 hits, including a cover of Bryan Adams' "Heaven", which reached number one ...

(with vocals performed by Dutch singer

Loona Loona (stylized in all caps or as LOOΠΔ; ; , ) is a South Korean girl group created by Blockberry Creative. The group is composed of eleven members: Heejin, Hyunjin, Haseul, Vivi, Yeojin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, Choerry, Yves (singer), Yves, Go Won ...

) covered the song. It was released in 2002 as the third and final single from second studio album, ''

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

'' (2002). This cover peaked at number two in the United Kingdom and was one of New Zealand's most successful hits of 2002, reaching number three and earning a gold certification from the

Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...

Track listings

European maxi-CD single # "The Boys of Summer" (original radio edit) – 3:58 # "The Boys of Summer" (original extended version) – 6:33 # "The Boys of Summer" (Green Court remix) – 8:08 # "Appalachian Fall" – 4:54 UK CD single # "The Boys of Summer" (radio edit) # "The Boys of Summer" ( Jessy remix) # "

" (the Candleflip Bootleg mix) # "The Boys of Summer" (CD-ROM video) US maxi-CD single # "The Boys of Summer" (radio version) – 3:58 # "The Boys of Summer" (extended version) – 6:28 # "The Boys of Summer" (Green Court remix) – 8:00 # "The Boys of Summer" (

Humate Humate was until 1996 a German trance group, then just the German record producer Gerret Frerichs, who has released singles with record labels such as MFS and Superstition. His work has been featured on many compilation albums including the '' G ...

remix) – 8:12 # "The Boys of Summer" (Martin Eyerer remix) – 8:42 # "Appalachian Fall" – 4:16

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Ataris version

In 2003, the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band the Ataris covered "The Boys of Summer" for their album '' So Long, Astoria''. It became their second single when a radio station began to play it. The single peaked at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Modern Rock Chart (held off the No. 1 top spot by

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn, bass ...

's " Faint") and No. 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It remains their most successful single. The Ataris' version of the song replaced the "Deadhead sticker" reference with one that the band felt was more appropriate to the age group of their fans, namely a " Black Flag sticker", in honor of the punk rock band from the 1980s. Asked in a 2016 interview whether he was okay with the lyric change, Henley responded, "No, not really... And if you noticed, we haven't heard much from the Ataris since then." Campbell, however, said that "it's not a song you expect a young band like that to do, but I kind of like their version of it."

Music video

The music video was directed by Steven Murashige and was released in July 2003.

Charts

Certifications

The Lightning Kids version

In 2022, British band the Lightning Kids released their version of "The Boys of Summer" as a single from their album ''All of Those Nights''.

References

External links

Video
on

VH1 Classic MTV Classic (formerly VH1 Smooth, VH1 Classic Rock, and VH1 Classic) is an American pay television network owned by Paramount Media Networks. It was originally launched in 1998 as "VH1 Smooth", an adult contemporary and smooth jazz channel. It ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boys Of Summer, The Songs about old age 1984 songs 1984 singles 2002 singles 2003 singles Black-and-white music videos Columbia Records singles Data Records singles Don Henley songs DJ Sammy songs Geffen Records singles Ministry of Sound singles The Ataris songs MTV Video of the Year Award Number-one singles in Scotland Songs written by Don Henley Songs written by Mike Campbell (musician) Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction Music videos directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino Rock ballads 1980s ballads American synth-pop songs Songs about nostalgia