♫ Summer Breeze ♫ (Redux)

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A few days ago in another music post, I mentioned Seals & Crofts, and our good friend Keith wondered whether there might be a follow-up, a Seals & Crofts post, coming soon.  I liked the idea, but hadn’t yet had the energy or the motivation to create another music post from scratch.  Tonight, I reviewed my archives and found this one that I did in September 2019, over two years ago, and I thought it might fill the bill until I get the energy to do a new one! 

Summer is winding down … or so they say, though you couldn’t prove it by me, for it’s been hovering around the 90° mark here for days now.  But, since soon enough we will be seeing the leaves don their autumn colours, smell the autumn smells, and already the Hallowe’en candy and decorations have filled the stores … I thought a nice summer song would be appropos tonight.  I dug through my list of TBP songs (to be played), and came up with this one …

Summer Breeze is one of those songs that has been recorded by two artists I like, very different sounding versions, yet I like them both.  Just depends, I think, on my mood of the moment which I prefer on a given day.

The more popular version in the U.S. was that by the writers of the song, Seals & Crofts, as in James Eugene “Jim” Seals and Darrell George “Dash” Crofts.  Released in 1972, this was their first hit single.  According to Seals, this was …

“A very simple song about a man coming home from work and hearing the dog barking and things like that, and to a lot of people the song’s about looking for security. Our meaning goes further than that, for a prison can be the prison of self and a person can become insecure and paranoid if he doesn’t have a direction in his personal life.  We operate on a different level, we try to create images, impressions and trains of thought in the minds of our listeners.”

One thing I did not know about Seals and Crofts is that Jim Seals is the brother of Dan Seals, who was “England Dan” in the duo England Dan and John Ford Coley.

Two years later, the Isley Brothers recorded their version which is more … um … sultry?  More like soul music, I think.  The Isleys’ version is notable not only for the harmonies of the three vocal Isleys, O’Kelly, Rudolph and lead singer Ronald but also for the guitar solo by younger brother Ernie.  The Isleys’ version did better in the UK than in the U.S., though I’m not quite sure why.

Summer Breeze
Seals & Crofts

See the curtains hangin’ in the window, in the evenin’ on a Friday night
A little light a-shinin’ through the window, lets me know everything is alright

Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind
Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind

See the paper layin’ in the sidewalk, a little music from the house next door
So I walked on up to the doorstep, through the screen and across the floor

Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind
Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind

Sweet days of summer, the jasmine’s in bloom
July is dressed up and playing her tune
And I come home from a hard day’s work
And you’re waiting there, not a care in the world
See the smile a-waitin’ in the kitchen, food cookin’ and the plates for two
Feel the arms that reach out to hold me, in the evening when the day is through

Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind
Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind

Songwriters: Darrell Crofts / Jimmy Seals
Summer Breeze lyrics © Songtrust Ave, Universal Music Publishing Group

53 thoughts on “♫ Summer Breeze ♫ (Redux)”

  4. Jill, well done, the first and second time around. I will write a post and realize from the suggested reading I have written a similar one before. Seals and Crofts are great road trip with friends listening. All can sing along. Thanks for the redux. Keith

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  6. I think the reason the Isleys did better here is simple: we knew them but had never heard of Seals and Crofts, and I’m betting their record company put little effort into promoting them here. I knew both versions on release, and have always much preferred the original – the Isleys messed around with it too much for me.

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  7. First hearing, unless I listened to it the first time, the Isley Brothers certainly played it up differently than S&C, but I like it, especially the guitar solo. Verging on psychedelia, to paraphrase Jimi, it “moves me”!

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  9. Pingback: SUMMER BREEZE ( REDUX ). | Ramblings of an Occupy Liberal

  11. Thank you for the song. I realized I knew it but had forgotten the title. And looking at Seals and Croft, made me smile we ever wore our hair that long… lol.
    May the summer(winter) breeze help your recovery. 🙏🏻

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