Summer Breeze (song)

For the Eddie Heywood song, see Soft Summer Breeze.

"Summer Breeze" is a 1972 song by American soft rock duo Seals and Crofts. It is the title track of their fourth studio album, and was released as the album's lead single in August 1972. The song reached No. 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US. In 2013, it was ranked No. 13 in Rolling Stone′s "Best Summer Songs of All Time".^[3] The song also became a hit for the Isley Brothers in 1974.

"Summer Breeze"
One of side-A labels of the US single
Single by Seals and Crofts
from the album Summer Breeze
B-side	"East of Ginger Trees"
Released	August 31, 1972
Genre	Soft rock^[1]^[2]
Length	3:25
Label	Warner Bros. Records
Songwriter(s)	Jim Seals, Dash Crofts
Producer(s)	Louie Shelton
Seals and Crofts singles chronology
"When I Meet Them" (1971) "Summer Breeze" (1972) "Hummingbird" (1973)
Official audio
Seals & Crofts - "Summer Breeze" (Official Audio) on YouTube

Original Seals and Crofts version

Released nine days ahead of their 1972 Summer Breeze album, Seals and Crofts' original version reached No. 6 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the US that same year. Bruce Eder of AllMusic referred to it as "one of those relentlessly appealing 1970s harmony-rock anthems ... appropriately ubiquitous on the radio and in the memory".^[4]

Seals and Crofts performed the song live on the Bobby Darin Amusement Company variety show in 1972.

Credits

• Jim Seals: lead & background vocals, guitar, saxophone
• Dash Crofts: background vocals, electric guitar
• Larry Knechtel: piano
• Harvey Brooks: bass
• Jim Gordon: drums

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1972–73) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)^[5] 16 Canada RPM Top Singles ^[6] 6 New Zealand (Listener)^[7] 14 U.S. Billboard Hot 100^[8] 6 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary 4 U.S. Cash Box Top 100^[9] 6 Chart (2004) Peak position U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary^[10] 17

Year-end charts Chart (1972) Rank U.S. (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)^[11] 66 Chart (1973) Rank Australia 103

Isley Brothers version

"Summer Breeze"
Side A of the US single
Single by The Isley Brothers
from the album 3 + 3
A-side	"Summer Breeze (Part 1)"
B-side	"Summer Breeze (Part 2)"
Released	March 1974 (1974)
Genre	Soul
Length	6:12
Label	T-Neck
Songwriter(s)	Jim Seals Dash Crofts
Official audio
"The Isley Brothers - Summer Breeze, Pts. 1 & 2 (Official Audio)" on YouTube

The song was covered in a harder rock-soulful style by the Isley Brothers as a single in 1974. Issued also on their 1973 album 3 + 3, it reached number sixty on the pop chart, number ten on the R&B chart, and number sixteen on the UK Singles Chart.

The Isley Brothers performed "Summer Breeze" on the music TV show Soul Train in 1974. It was featured in season 8, episode 18 of The Blacklist and also in a 2014 episode of Scandal. It was sampled in the track "All in My Mind" by MC Hammer along with his newly formed rap group, Oakland Fight Club featuring Mistah F.A.B. (2014).^[12]

Credits

• Ronald Isley: lead & background vocals
• O'Kelly Isley, Jr.: background vocals
• Rudolph Isley: background vocals
• Ernie Isley: electric & acoustic guitar, percussion
• Marvin Isley: bass guitar, percussion
• Chris Jasper: piano, keyboards
• George Moreland: drums, percussion

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[13]	Silver	200,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Chart performance

Chart (1974)	Peak position
Canada Singles (RPM)^[14]	84
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)^[15]	16
US Billboard Hot 100^[16]	60
US Billboard Hot Soul Singles^[17]	10

Ray Conniff version

The Ray Conniff Singers recorded a version in 1973, which appeared on the I Can See Clearly Now (a.k.a. Clair) album, and was released in the UK as a 45 on the CBS label (S CBS 1196) in January 1973.

Geoffrey Williams version

English singer Geoffrey Williams released his version in 1992 as a single. It peaked at number 56 on the week ending August 16, 1992 on the UK Singles Chart.^[18] It also peaked at number 32 on the week ending November 22, 1992 on New Zealand's Official Top 40 Singles chart.^[19][20]

Type O Negative version

"Summer Breeze"
Single by Type O Negative
from the album Bloody Kisses
Released	1995^[21]
Recorded	1993
Studio	Systems Two, Brooklyn
Genre	Gothic metal
Length	4:49
Label	Roadrunner Records
Songwriter(s)	Jim Seals Dash Crofts
Producer(s)	Peter Steele, Josh Silver^[22]
Type O Negative singles chronology
"Christian Woman" (1993) "Summer Breeze" (1995) "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend" (1996)

Type O Negative released a cover of the song in August 1993 on their album Bloody Kisses altering their version to match their gothic metal style.^[23] Their version was originally to be titled "Summer Girl", featuring new lyrics written by Peter Steele, but after Seals & Crofts found the lyrical content distasteful, the original lyrics were sung instead.^[24]

A Rick Rubin remixed version is featured in the opening of the 1997 slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer and is also included in the film's soundtrack.

Tracklist

All songs written by Peter Steele unless otherwise noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Summer Breeze" (New Version)	Seals and Crofts	4:32
2.	"Summer Breeze" (Full Length New Version)	Seals and Crofts	8:19
3.	"Blood & Fire" (New Version)		4:35
4.	"Christian Woman" (edit)		4:26

Credits

• Peter Steele – lead vocals, bass guitar
• Kenny Hickey – guitar, backing vocals
• Josh Silver – keyboards, backing vocals
• Sal Abruscato – drums, percussion

Yuri version

In 1998, Mexican singer Yuri recorded a Spanish language version of the track titled "Soy Feliz" ("I Am Happy") for her album Huellas.^[25] The song was released as the second single from the album and a music video was filmed.^[26][27]

References

1. "VH1's 40 Most Softsational Soft-Rock Songs". Stereogum. SpinMedia. May 31, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
2. Molanphy, Chris (July 31, 2021). "What a Fool Believes Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
3. . Rolling Stone. March 6, 2019. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
4. Bruce Eder. "Summer Breeze - Seals & Crofts | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 267. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
6. "RPM Top 100 Singles - December 9, 1972" (PDF).
7. "flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
8. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
9. "Top 100 1972-12-02". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
10. Adult Contemporary Archive, September 18, 2004
11. Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
12. "MC Hammer and Oakland Fight Club create a new Raiders Anthem - Field of Teams". Retrieved April 16, 2016.
13. "British single certifications – Isley Brothers – Summer Breeze". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
14. "RPM Top 100 Singles - April 27, 1974" (PDF).
15. "officialcharts.com". officialcharts.com. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
16. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 412.
17. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 278.
18. "Official Singles Chart Top 75 (16 August 1992 – 22 August 1992)". Official Charts. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
19. "Geoffrey Williams – Summer Breeze (song)". charts.org.nz. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
20. "Official Top 40 Singles (22 November 1992)". The Official NZ Music Charts. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
21. . Type O Negative. 2000. Archived from the original on July 11, 2000. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
22. Wiederhorn, Jon (August 17, 2018). "Why Type O Negative's 'Bloody Kisses' "Sounds Like Nothing Before and Nothing After"". Revolver. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
23. Huey, Steve. "Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses". AllMusic. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
24. Kennelty, Greg (August 29, 2016). "Type O Negative's 1993 Demos For Bloody Kisses Have Surfaced". Metal Injection. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
25. "Yuri – Huellas (1998, CD)". Discogs. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
26. "Yuri – Soy Feliz". Discogs. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
27. "Yuri – Soy Feliz". YouTube. Retrieved January 8, 2024.