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

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce PavittSong Writing

The man who ran Nirvana's first label gets beyond the sensationalism (drugs, Courtney) to discuss their musical and cultural triumphs in the years before Nevermind.

P.F. Sloan

P.F. SloanSongwriter Interviews

P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.

Kerry Livgren of Kansas

Kerry Livgren of KansasSongwriter Interviews

In this talk from the '80s, the Kansas frontman talks turning to God and writing "Dust In The Wind."

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)Song Writing

How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.