SUMMER'S GREATEST SONGS COUNTDOWN: Mungo Jerry - "In the Summertime"

Welcome back to Hitmaker Chronicles' countdown of the Top 20 Songs of the Summer, as voted by the staff of Caloroga Shark Media! I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. Coming in at number 2, we're celebrating Mungo Jerry's impossibly infectious "In the Summertime" — a song written in 10 minutes that became one of the best-selling singles of all time. We'll trace how a Timex lab worker named Ray Dorset created the perfect antidote to 1970's darkness while America reeled from Kent State and the Beatles called it quits. Sometimes the simplest songs speak the loudest truths about freedom and joy.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Caalaroga Shark Media Summer nineteen seventy. I'm Garrett Fisher, and
if you had to pick a moment when the optimism
of the nineteen sixties finally died, this might be it.
The Beatles announced their breakup in April. On May fourth,

(00:24):
National Guard troops open fire on student protesters at Kent
State University, killing four. The Vietnam War had expanded into Cambodia,
fracturing the country even further. The counterculture's peace and love
ethos was giving way to something harder, angrier, more desperate.
And into this heavy moment came a song so light,

(00:45):
so care free, so utterly unconcerned with the weight of
the world, that it felt like a transmission from another planet,
or maybe just a reminder of what joy used to
feel like. Coming in at number two on our countdown
of the top twenty songs of the Summer, as voted
by the staff of Calaroga Shark Media, Mungo Jerry's In
the Summertime represents one of popular music's most fascinating paradoxes,

(01:10):
a song that captured pure, uncomplicated happiness during one of
the darkest periods in modern history, proving that sometimes what
people need most is permission to forget their troubles and
just feel good. Before Mungo Jerry became an unlikely sensation,
there was Ray Dorsett, a guy working in a laboratory
for TIMEX watches in England, dreaming of musical success while

(01:33):
testing waterproof seals and timing mechanisms. Dorset had been playing
music since he was eleven, when he formed the Blue
Moon skiffle group with a young drummer who would later
become somewhat famous himself, Phil Collins. By nineteen sixty eight,
Dorset had formed a group called Good Earth with Colin
Earl on keyboards, playing a mix of blues, jug band

(01:53):
and skiffle music. After some lineup changes, they added Joe
Rush on washboard and adopted a more acoustic rootsie sound
that drew from American folk traditions. Woody Guthrie led Belly
the Whole tradition that had also inspired Bob Dylan. The
transformation from Good Earth to Mungo Jerry happened almost by accident.

(02:16):
Barry Murray, a producer who would become crucial to their success,
caught them performing and saw potential, but he insisted they
needed a new name for the Hollywood Festival in May
nineteen seventy. They couldn't agree on anything, so Murray literally
pulled a name out of a hat, Mungo Jerry from
ts Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. They misspelled

(02:40):
it as Mungo Jerry, but it stuck. As for the
song that would change everything, its creation story is almost
comically simple. Dorset wrote In the Summertime in about ten
minutes during a break from his day job at TIMEX.
Using a secondhand Fender stratocaster, he captured a feeling, a mood,
a cell libration of life that seemed to flow out

(03:02):
fully formed. Producer Barry Murray heard the demo and immediately
knew they had something special. His instincts would prove spectacularly correct.
So what made in the Summertime such a perfect crystallization
of carefree joy? Let's break it down musically. In the
Summertime is deceptively simple, and that's precisely its genius. The

(03:25):
track features no drums at all. Instead, the rhythm comes
from Dorset stomping his foot, a technique he borrowed from
blues legend John Lee Hooker. This gives the song an organic,
homemade quality that perfectly matches its unpretentious message. The instrumentation
is sparse but perfectly chosen, Dorset's acoustic and electric guitars,

(03:47):
Colin Earl's boogie woogie piano that bounces along like sunshine
on water, Paul King's banjo adding that jug band flavor,
and Mike Cole's upright bass providing the foundation. Dorset also
played kabisa, a shaker that adds texture without overwhelming the mix.
The production, handled by Barry Murray at Pie Studios, was
clever in its simplicity. Initially, it was only two minutes long.

(04:11):
To make it longer, Murray played the recording twice, slightly
remixing the second half, and put the sound of a
motorcycle in the middle. This wasn't just padding. It created
a structure that mirrored a lazy summer day where time
seems to stretch and repeat in the best possible way.
What's remarkable is how the lack of drums makes the
song feel more immediate and intimate. You can practically picture

(04:35):
the band gathered in someone's backyard making music for the
sheer joy of it. The foot stomping becomes almost hypnotic,
creating a groove that's impossible to resist. The structure of
In the Summertime is brilliantly uncomplicated. There's no complex verse, chorus,
bridge arrangement, just a flowing stream of consciousness celebration that

(04:55):
mirrors the lazy, unstructured nature of summer itself. The song
opens immediately with that distinctive piano and guitar combination, no
lengthy intro needed. We're thrown right into summer from the
first note. The verses flow one into another without clear demarcation,
creating a sense of continuity and endless possibility. The use

(05:16):
of the motorcycle sound effect in the middle isn't just
a gimmick. It's a sonic representation of freedom of hitting
the road without a destination. It breaks up the song
while maintaining its essential character, preventing any sense of monotony,
while keeping the laid back vibe intact. The repetition in
the song works because it captures how summer days can feel,

(05:38):
one flowing into another, each similar but perfect in its simplicity.
The structure doesn't build to a dramatic climax, because that
would work against the song's essential message. Sometimes just being
is enough. The lyrics of in the Summertime are where
things get interesting and controversial. On the surface, there a
simple celebration of war and weather in good times, but

(06:01):
there's one line that's aged particularly poorly, have a drink
have a drive. Even in nineteen seventy, this raised eyebrows,
and it would later lead to the song being used
ironically in UK drunk driving PSAs. But looking beyond that
problematic line, what Dorset captured was a philosophy of pure
hedonistic joy. The lyrics celebrate simple pleasures swimming, driving, being

(06:27):
with friends, enjoying nature. There's no deeper meaning being pursued,
no profound statements about life or love. It's purely about
being present in the moment and enjoying what's right in
front of you. This lack of pretension was actually radical
in its own way in nineteen seventy, when every songwriter
seemed to be trying to be Bob Dylan or John Lennon,

(06:48):
writing profound statements about war and society. Dorset just wanted
to celebrate feeling good. Sometimes that's the most rebellious thing
you can do. The conversational nature of the lyrics adds
to their charm. They feel improvised, like someone making up
a song on the spot, which isn't far from the
truth given the ten minute writing session. This spontaneity is

(07:09):
part of what makes the song so infectious. What truly
brings in the summertime to life is Ray Dorset's distinctive
vocal delivery. His voice has a gravelly lived in quality
that prevents the song from feeling saccharin despite its upbeat message.
There's a slight growl, a bluesy edge that grounds the
sunshine in something real. Dorset doesn't over sing or try

(07:33):
to impress with vocal gymnastics. His delivery is conversational friendly,
inviting you feel like you're being personally invited to join
the party rather than watching someone perform. This accessibility was
crucial to the song's universal appeal. The way he phrases
certain lines, the little vocal quirks and inflections, make the

(07:54):
song feel alive and spontaneous. When he sings about the
various activities of summer, you can hear the smile in
his voice. It's impossible to listen without feeling at least
a little bit happier. The backing vocals from the band
members add to the communal feeling. This isn't a solo
artist backed by session musicians. It's a group of friends

(08:16):
making music together, and that chemistry comes through in every note.
More in a Moment in the Summertime was released as
a Maxi single on May twenty second, nineteen seventy, a

(08:37):
new format that played at thirty three and one third
rpm instead of forty five, allowing for more music at
the same price as a regular single. It became the
first MAXI single in the world as well, which was
a seven inch vinyl played at thirty three and one
third rpm in a paper bag. The timing couldn't have

(08:58):
been more perfect. Released just weeks after the Kent State shootings,
the song offered a three minute escape from the harsh
realities of the day. It rocketed to number one in
the UK, staying there for seven weeks, and reached number
three in the US. Worldwide, it would go on to
sell somewhere between eight and sixteen million copies, though some

(09:19):
estimates put it as high as twenty three million, making
it one of the best selling singles of all time.
The band's breakthrough performance at the Hollywood Festival at Newcastle
Underlyme on May twenty third to twenty fourth was legendary.
The sky was a mass of flying paper plates, and
the spectators that were viewing the stage from the branches
of the trees that were on the periphery of the

(09:40):
festival site rock to the addictive groove that was created
by the Mungo Jerry Band. To fully appreciate the impact
of in the summertime, we need to understand the weight
of the historical moment it entered. Nineteen seventy was a
year of profound disillusionment and tragedy in the Western world,
particularly in America. The year began with The Beatles recording

(10:02):
what would be their final album together. By April, Paul
McCartney announced he was leaving the band, effectively ending the
group that had defined the nineteen sixties. If the Beatles
couldn't stay together, what hope was there for anyone else.
On April thirtieth, President Nixon announced the invasion of Cambodia,
expanding a war that was already deeply unpopular. This triggered

(10:25):
massive protests on college campuses across America. Then came May fourth,
Kent State, twenty eight National guardsmen fire their weapons at
a group of anti war demonstrators on the Kent State
University campus, killing four students and wounding nine. The image
of Mary Vechio kneeling over Jeffrey Miller's dead body became

(10:47):
one of the most haunting photographs of the era. Neil
Young would write Ohio in response Crosby Still's Nation. Young
would rush release it, and the generational divide in America
would become a chasm. This was also the year Jimi
Hendrix and Janis Joplin would both die at twenty seven,
adding to the sense that the party was truly over.

(11:08):
The Age of Aquarius had given way to the Age
of anxiety. Into this darkness came in the Summertime, a
song so relentlessly upbeat it almost felt like denial. But
maybe that's exactly what people needed. The success of in
the Summertime had profound implications for popular music. It proved

(11:28):
that in times of trouble, people still, maybe especially need
songs that simply make them feel good. Not every song
needs to carry the weight of the world. The song's
influence can be heard in countless summer anthems that followed.
It established a template. Keep it simple, keep it catchy,
and don't overthink it. Sometimes the best songs are the

(11:51):
ones that seem effortless, even if that effortlessness is an illusion.
For Mungo Jerry, the success was both a blessing and
a curse. They'd never again match the phenomenal success of
in the Summertime, though they had several other hits. Ray
Dorset would later write Feels Like I'm in Love, which
became a number one hit for Kelly Marie in nineteen eighty,

(12:12):
making him one of the few songwriters to top the
charts with different artists performing their songs. The song's longevity
is remarkable. It's been covered countless times, sampled in hip
hop tracks, and used in commercials and movies. In nineteen
ninety five, Shaggy covered it and had another worldwide hit,
introducing the song to a new generation. Looking back on

(12:36):
in the Summertime today, it's both a time capsule and
something timeless. The production sounds vintage but not dated. The message,
apart from that unfortunate drinking and driving line, remains universal.
Summer still means freedom, and freedom still feels good. What
makes in the Summertime the nearly perfect summer anthem It's

(12:57):
number two, after all, is its complete lack of self consciousness.
Dorsett wasn't trying to write a hit or make a statement.
He was just capturing a feeling in the simplest, most
direct way possible. That authenticity cuts through any cynicism. The
song works because it acknowledges a fundamental truth. No matter
how dark things get, summer still comes, the sun still shines,

(13:20):
Simple pleasures still exist, and sometimes for three minutes and
twenty seconds, it's okay to forget your troubles and just
enjoy being alive. In nineteen seventy, with the world seemingly
falling apart, that message wasn't naive. It was necessary. It
wasn't escapism. It was survival. It wasn't ignoring reality. It

(13:43):
was remembering what we're trying to preserve when we fight
for a better world. So as we continue our countdown
of the top twenty songs of the Summer, at number two,
let's raise a glass but not car keys to Mungo
Jerry and their glorious Ramshackle anthem. In just ten minutes,
Ray Dorset captured something that teams of professional songwriters spend

(14:06):
careers chasing, pure, uncomplicated joy, Because in the summertime isn't
just a song. It's a three minute vacation from whatever's
troubling you, a reminder that happiness doesn't always need a reason,
and proof that sometimes the best songs are the ones
that sound like they've always existed, just waiting for someone
to discover them. More than fifty years later, when that

(14:29):
jug band groove kicks in and that foot starts stomping,
resistance remains futile, which is why it absolutely deserves its
place at number two in our summer song's pantheon. This
is Garrett Fischer for hit Maker Chronicles counting down the
top twenty songs of the summer, as voted by the
staff of Calaroga Shark Media. Keep that summertime feeling alive

(14:52):
and join me next week for our number one song
of the Summer.