The title of this 1985 hit single is taken from the 1972 non-fiction book, 'The boys of summer' by Roger Kahn. Kahn's 'boys of summer' are the 1952 Brooklyn Dodgers, a team that Kahn covered as a sportswriter for the New York Herald Tribune. The book is about how the lives of the former ballplayers had changed between the time he covered the team and the time he tracked each of them down twenty years later.The lyric of Henley's song, which is driven by synthesizers and a LinnDrum, appears to be about the passing of youth and entering middle age, with the obvious theme of 'summer love' apparent in the choruses. In an interview, Henley explained that the song is more about aging and questioning the past, which is a recurring theme in Henley's lyrics.
My collection: 7" single no. 665
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, October 15, 1988
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'The boys of summer' / 'A month of Sundays'
And, needless to say, "A Month of Sundays" would be a number one hit in any sane musical universe. It still brings me chills.
ReplyDeleteThe title of Henley's classic song is NOT "taken from the 1972 non-fiction book, 'The boys of summer' by Roger Kahn." Henley has stated in numerous interviews that the song has nothing to do with baseball. If Henley's song title is "taken" from anything, it would be from famed poet Dylan Thomas's poem, "I See The Boys of Summer."
ReplyDeleteDo your homework.
Jack Frost
Hey Jack,
ReplyDeleteIf it's in Wikipedia it must be true. You don't expect me to research for hours on every single I post, do you? Oh I guess you do, since you are such a dick about it.