Sly and the Family Stone – Hot Fun in the Summertime

Some of us need his right now with the cold we are experiencing. Some way more than others. I live near Nashville, so we are in the 20s and 30s, but nothing compared to the northern states. I think of a few of my readers who live in Wisconsin and Michigan…I can’t imagine. 

A gentle, sun-soaked groove that felt like the last afternoon before school started again. It’s a song that takes summer with it whenever you listen. Most of his radio hits were positive, like this one and Everyday People. He was huge during his heyday, but has been neglected since. He had such a span of success between 1967 – 1973. 9 singles in that span in the top 40 including 3 number ones. He also wrote most of their hits, including this one. A terrific songwriter. 

This song came out in 1969, sandwiched between the more serious Everyday People and Stand!. The song primed their audience for their successful upcoming appearance at Woodstock. Some thought their set was one of the best of the festival. I was only two in 1969, but I would imagine this song was drifting out of car radios, backyard barbecues, and AM stations every summer like clockwork. You didn’t analyze it, you lived in it.

The song peaked at #2 on the Billboard 100 and #4 in Canada in 1969. In January of 2026, let’s listen to the song and think warm thoughts, and catch that warm vibe. 

Sylvester Stewart passed away in June of 2025.

Hot Fun In The Summertime

End of the springAnd here she comes backHi, hi, hi, hi thereThem summer daysThose summer days

That’s when I hadMost of my fun, backHi, hi, hi, hi thereThem summer daysThose summer days

I cloud nine when I want toOut of school, yeahCounty fair in the country sunAnd everything is trueOoh, yeah, yeah

Hot fun in the summertimeHot fun in the summertimeHot fun in the summertimeHot fun in the summertime

First of the fallAnd then she goes backBye, bye, bye, bye thereThem summer daysThose summer days

Boop-boop-boop-boopWhen I want toOut of schoolCounty fair in the country sunAnd everything is coolOoh, yeah, yeah

Hot fun in the summertime (hey, hey, hey, ooh)Hot fun in the summertime (ooh, yeah)Hot fun in the summertime

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

23 thoughts on “Sly and the Family Stone – Hot Fun in the Summertime”

  1. One of my favorites from that era. If you haven’t already seen it, there is an amazing documentary on the band and in particular Stewart called “Sly Lives.” It came out in January 2025, and was directed by Questlove. It’s very well done.

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  2. Pingback: Sly and the Family Stone – Hot Fun in the Summertime – MobsterTiger

  3. Nothing like a little Hot Fun on a 10º morning. I’m not sure we appreciated this band for what they meant at the time. Family-based, mixed in both race and gender, women as musicians and not just backing vocalists, multiple voices trading lead lines, a white man on drums. How many stereotypes did they break down and expose?

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    1. I knew it was cold there but wow.
      You are right…this band totally has been forgotten and I don’t understand why. He had some severe problems after this band but still. You are right…they broke a lot of sterotypes…

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  4. That’s a timely pick, Max! 🙂

    And, wow, temperatures in the ’20s in Nashville? Is that common, even during this time of the year?

    In my neck of the woods (central New Jersey), it’s currently 25, feeling like 17, which is chilly but not unusual. We got a bit of snow overnight, so I guess I’m gonna have some fun getting a bit of a workout with shoveling.

    “Hot Fun in the Summertime” might be a good song to queue! 🙂

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    1. Yes it’s common in this time of year. We get down to the teens and occasionally in the single digits but that doesn’t happen every night…but a few. Right now it’s in the 40s and it feels much better.
      Yes this song is always good as is most of Sly’s music.

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      2. No…it gets cold in the winter but it doesn’t stay as cold for as long as you guys. I remember a New Years a couple years ago that it was 0 when I woke up that morning.

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      1. The thing about climate change is that it used to be much colder. There are people here who grew up playing pond hockey all winter and now the waters hardly ever freeze over.

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      2. We used to get more snow in the 70s but in the late 80s it stopped as much…it didn’t start back until in the teens…which surprised me. I can’t imagine a pond or river freezing over.

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