Now that the summer season is officially underway, I’m motivated to share a few songs that appear on a list titled Best Vacation Songs… the source of which I have no recollection, but which showed up in my mailbox a few weeks ago!
Let’s begin with one I’ve always loved by an artist I’ve always loved, Harry Belafonte … likely because I favor the Caribbean sound; yet, the furthest I have been into the Caribbean is Key West, Florida! Here’s Harry with Island In the Sun:
Coming out of the Army in 1961, I was just beginning my first paying position in broadcasting at a new FM station in Bethesda, Maryland, and we were living in Silver Spring. In one of the early-1960’s summers, I would read that Harry would be making an appearance at the open-air Carter Barron Amphitheater, located just a couple of miles from our home; instantly, I knew we had to be there. The only negative of the evening proved to be was that midway through the performance, it suddenly began to rain! Mind you, neither stage nor audience is covered. Well, Harry queried us … if you want to stay, I’ll continue to sing! All voted YES.
That’s likely the most personal story I have to go with any of these songs, so let’s move on to a song where I’d expect everyone to recognize the song and the singer:
Of course, flying with Frankie!
And, moving right along … how might I describe this next tune? “Off the wall?” Anyway, here’s Brian Hyland with “Itsy, Bitsy, Yellow Polka Dot, whatever”:
By the way, that recording is from a live 1960 TV broadcast.
Here’s one from a more recent time … this one by Bobby McFerrin … and can be described as infectious and/or uplifting … and gets right to the point: Don’t Worry, Be Happy!
Next, here’s a song – while very familiar with it – yet I simply do not remember the Carpenters recording, even though I’ve always loved their music – a live 1974 performance recorded in the Netherlands of “Jambalaya (On the Bayou)”:
Two more now that we’re traveling … one by Road, the other by air – you are likely familiar with both:
That, of course, the one-and-only Willie Nelson! So, moving right along … John Denver singing about saying “goodbye” and heading off on a journey, whether it be happy or sad:
Sadly, we lost John in a plane crash, not while flying on a passenger liner but as he was piloting his own plane!
We’ll wrap up this collection of Vacation songs with the Andrews Sisters singing the oldest recording in this collection, having been released in 1945. Following that, the grand finale is the one song which I think says Caribbean better than most any other … Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville!
While the Margaritaville Jimmy sings about is a mythical place, in the years since it has morphed into a chain of eating and drinking establishments as well as resorts! The story goes that Jimmy’s writing of it began while sitting in a Mexican restaurant in Austin, Texas, and was completed while sitting in an extended traffic jam on the bridge which leads out to Key West, Florida! Did you know? That portions of the modern-day roadway leading 100+ miles over water out to Key West had its beginnings as a railroad right-of-way? The railroad’s massive undertaking took a number of years in the early 1900s to complete, considering the number of bridges required. The man behind it was Henry Flagler, who had constructed the Florida East Coast Railway down the entire length of the east coast of Florida. Trains operated out to Key West until Labor Day weekend of 1935, when a massive hurricane destroyed portions of several of the bridges. (The first roadway through to Key West opened in 1938.)
Well, Folks … do hope you enjoyed listening to this group of nine songs which have been declared to be among the best Vacation songs! Can you suggest a song which should be on this list of vacation songs? Please send me a note. Thanks!
