Song 730: This week the playlist features Summer in the City by The Lovin' Spoonful, written by John Sebastian, Mark Sebastian and Steve Boone, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I think I made my first visit to NYC in the spring of 1966 when my ninth grade biology class did a field trip to the Bronx Zoo, and I really enjoyed that outing. This musical excursion appropriately arrived soon after summer vacation started, and growing up in a somewhat rural area, I had at that point never experienced the kind of boiling discomfort that the singer complains about in the tune, but I could imagine how it might feel. My family had previously acquired a transistor radio, and during warm weather spells, I relished hearing the current hits while engaging in outdoor activities. It didn't take long to learn this saunter's chorus notes and lines, and then I could sing along when I felt like doing so. I did not know then that a few years later, I would spend my young adult phase residing in a place where in the summer, when I went walking on the sidewalk, the concrete could feel hotter than a match head.
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