10 Retro Songs to Get Your Summer Started

Hey y'all! Do you ever think about how music can take you back to a specific time or place in your life like it was yesterday? Sometimes it's a smell or a sound that does this—or the absence of a sound. I grew up on Lake Michigan, and there was a lot of fog. Whenever it was foggy, I'd hear the foghorn on the lighthouse, a constant companion on those days warning ships on the Lake of the shoreline. Twenty-something years after I moved away, I still get sad when it's foggy in Nashville. Why? There's no foghorn. It just doesn't sound right to me. I am pretty much incapable of seeing fog without thinking of the foghorn.

Songs can be that powerful, too. They can have a specific memory tied to them that reminds you of your first crush, the sand between your toes, the Christmas parties at your auntie's every year. When something like this happens that most people of a particular group agree on—say, the Star Wars theme stops you in your tracks—that's an "iconic" song. It's a song that has become so popular and well-known that it's almost impossible to hear it for what it is without those memories.

I love iconic songs, and I've got a list of some for you to listen to this weekend while you're getting your summer started. Yes, they're old songs...because you can no doubt compile your own list of new stuff. Some of these links go to an album on MySpace and you'll have to click the particular track to listen. So, in no particular order, listen to:

1. Sweet Home Alabama, Lynryd Skynryd: I know this one was already mentioned on this blog, but whether you're from the north or the south, this song is the musical equivalent of a hot summer day at the beach.

2. Low Rider, War: You might have heard this song in the movies. The Latin-inspired sound is a great song to listen to while you roll down the windows and take a drive.

3. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, The Police: This classic anthem actually has sort of odd lyrics about unrequited love...but the kettle drums, melody and catchy hook more than make up for it.

4. Surfin' USA, The Beach Boys

5. School's Out, Alice Cooper

6. The Boys of Summer, Don Henley

7. (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave, Martha and the Vandellas

8. Born in the USA, Bruce Springsteen

9. All Star, Smash Mouth

10. Walkin' On Sunshine, Katrina & The Waves