Summer Madness (instrumental)
| "Summer Madness" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Side two of US single "Spirit of the Boogie" | ||||
| Single by Kool & The Gang | ||||
| from the album Light of Worlds | ||||
| A-side | "Spirit of the Boogie" (Nor. Am.) | |||
| Released | September 1974 | |||
| Recorded | 1974 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:16 | |||
| Label | De-Lite | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Kool & the Gang, Alton Taylor | |||
| Kool & The Gang singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Summer Madness" is a song by American by R&B band Kool & the Gang, released on their 1974 album Light of Worlds. It reached number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 36 on the Hot Soul Singles charts.[3] It has subsequently become one of the most sampled R&B compositions of all time, and was re-released and reissued as a CD and cassette single by Epic Records in 1996.[4][5] As of 2018, over 145 recordings had sampled it.[5]
Composition
[edit]The song's most recognizable aural signature is the 4-octave ascent from F♯3 to F♯7 on an ARP 2600 played by Ronald Bell.[6]
In popular culture
[edit]"Summer Madness" has been used in various media, and has been prominently used as a sample in many pieces of hip-hop music since the 1980s.[2] Notable uses of the song in media include:
- It appears in background of a scene in the 1976 film Rocky.[7]
- The track was sampled in the 1996 song "A Girl Like You", as performed by Aaliyah and Treach, from the former's second album One in a Million.[8]
- It is used in a 2006 Nike shoe commercial featuring LeBron James.[9][10]
- It appears in the first season second episode "Hooper" of the 2021 Netflix series Last Chance U: Basketball.[11]
- American psychedelic band Khruangbin covered the track on their 2020 remix album Late Night Tales: Khruangbin.[12]
Charts
[edit]| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[13] | 35 |
| US Cashbox Top 100[14] | 27 |
| US Record World Singles Chart[15] | 34 |
Certifications
[edit]| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[16] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
[edit]- ^ Gorton, TJ (July 30, 2018). "BeatCaffeine's 100 Best Jazz-Funk Songs". BeatCaffeine. Archived from the original on August 25, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
- ^ a b Patrin, Nate (September 17, 2018). "Breaks With Tradition: "Summer Madness"". Stereogum. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
- ^ "Breaks With Tradition: Kool & The Gang's "Summer Madness"". September 17, 2018.
- ^ "Summer Madness by Kool & the Gang – Songfacts". www.songfacts.com.
- ^ a b "Five Hip Hop Tracks That Sampled Kool & The Gang's Summer Madness". future-classic-music.
- ^ Cox, Arnie. Music and Embodied Cognition: Listening, Moving, Feeling, and Thinking. United States, Indiana University Press, 2016. 55.
- ^ "Kool and the Gang – History". Kool and the Gang Official Site. Red Light Management. Archived from the original on December 9, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
- ^ "The 25 Best Aaliyah Songs". Complex. August 27, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
- ^ Schroeder, Audra (June 25, 2021). "Audio clip from a 2006 LeBron James Nike commercial has TikTok thinking". The Daily Dot. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
- ^ "Nike - The LeBrons Poolside". SplendAd. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
- ^ Hough, Quinn (March 11, 2021). "Every Song In Last Chance U: Basketball Season 1". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
- ^ Kreps, Daniel (October 28, 2020). "Hear Khruangbin Cover Kool and the Gang's 'Summer Madness' for 'Late Night Tales' Mix". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
- ^ "Kool & the Gang: Hot 100". Billboard.
- ^ "Cash Box Chart Entries 1970-1979" (PDF). popmusichistory. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ "Record World Singles Chart: July 5, 1975" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ "American single certifications – Kool & the Gang – Summer Madness". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
