Summertime Blues: Background

The piece, a teenager’s lament about having to work before getting a chance to play, was written in the late 1950s by Eddie Cochran and his manager Jerry Capehart. Originally a single B-side, it peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958 and #18 on the U.K. Singles Chart. Rolling Stone ranks it 73rd among all-time top rock songs. The Beach Boys picked it up in 1962, The Who in 1967, and Blue Cheer in 1968.

Neil says in the liner notes on the Feedback album that his pre-Rush band Mumblin’ Sumpthin’ played the Blue Cheer version.

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