Groovy Little Summer Song

Album: Shake What God Gave Ya (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the first single from Country music artist James Otto's third studio album, Shake What God Gave Ya. The song was written by Otto, along with Al Anderson and Carson Chamberlain.
  • Otto explained the cut to his hometown station, Nashville's WSM-FM: "It celebrates all the things you love about summer. It's got that groovy, country-soul sound that really sets the tone for the whole record."
  • This song was inspired by the shag music of South Carolina, which Otto listened to when he grew up. He explained to The Boot: "I did hear it some growing up. My actual first real shag experience was from Alabama's song, 'Shagging on the Boulevard.' I heard that, and then I got more into shag music... it's a soulful sound, and it embodies that beach sound, and that's what we wanted to do was to bring summer into your mind and really celebrate all the great things about summer. It was a light-hearted, fun take on what makes a lot of summer songs as popular as they are. People want to feel that wind-in-your-hair, top-down kind of thing that summer's all about."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Petula Clark

Petula ClarkSongwriter Interviews

Petula talks about her hits "Downtown" and "Don't Sleep In The Subway," and explains her Michael Jackson connection.

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song Titles

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song TitlesMusic Quiz

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have some rather unusual song titles - see if you can spot the real ones.

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)Songwriter Interviews

Mike Rutherford talks about the "Silent Running" storyline and "Land Of Confusion" in the age of Trump.

Cheerleaders In Music Videos

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.

Andrew Farriss of INXS

Andrew Farriss of INXSSongwriter Interviews

Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.

Chris Frantz of Talking Heads

Chris Frantz of Talking HeadsSongwriter Interviews

Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz on where the term "new wave" originated, the story of "Naive Melody," and why they never recorded another cover song after "Take Me To The River."