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Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.
Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.
In August 1908, a white mob attacked Springfield, Illinois’s Black community, destroying homes and businesses and lynching two Black men. National outrage over the violence helped spur the movement that created the NAACP the following year.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
| "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Bruce Springsteen | ||||
| from the album Magic | ||||
| Released | January 15, 2008 | |||
| Recorded | March–April 2007 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, pop rock | |||
| Length | 4:20 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter | Bruce Springsteen | |||
| Producer | Brendan O'Brien | |||
| Bruce Springsteen singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" on YouTube | ||||
"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" is a song by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen, from his album Magic.
Matched with a pop-oriented melody, Springsteen's full-throated singing, and a pop-orchestral arrangement,[1] the lyric portrays a series of warm small-town vignettes:
"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" has been cited as a singularly "breezy" song on the album,[2] though A. O. Scott of The New York Times notes: "Not that 'Girls in Their Summer Clothes' is untouched by melancholy. Its narrator, after all, stands and watches as the girls of the title 'pass me by.'"[3] Jay Lustig of The Star-Ledger writes that the song "unfolds gradually and at its own eccentric pace, with the music, and Springsteen's vocals, getting progressively more intense."[1] At the 51st Grammy Awards, the song was nominated for Best Rock Song and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, winning the former.[4]
It was released for iTunes digital download on January 15, 2008, as a single-like "bundle"[5] consisting of two audio tracks and an accompanying video.[5] As such the "Winter Mix" of the song was presented, which featured a single not doubled Springsteen vocal track, some added or enhanced percussion parts, and similar small changes. In addition to the Winter Mix, a live version was included. The release achieved minor chart success, reaching positions 95 on the Billboard Hot 100,[6] 67 on the Pop 100,[6] and 62 on Hot Digital Songs.[6] It also hit 27 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock charts.
The music video for the song (entitled "Girls in Their Summer Clothes (Winter Mix)") was directed by Mark Pellington. Filmed on the Jersey Shore on a cold winter day, it showed girls and women of various ages, interspersed with shots of Springsteen strumming his vintage Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar. The backing E Street Band was not shown. Parts of the video mirrored the song's imagery, especially the diner scene.
"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" was regularly featured on the 2007–2008 Magic Tour, often as the first encore song, although it suffered being dropped during a number of shows in early portions of 2008. One such first leg of tour performance was recorded and included in the January 2008 digital download bundle.
Although the song's lush pop-orchestral production approach was extended on many of the tracks of Springsteen's 2009 album Working on a Dream, "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" was little played on Springsteen and the E Street Band's associated Working on a Dream Tour.
In typically delayed fashion, the song garnered two nominations for the Grammy Awards of 2009: Best Rock Song and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance.[7] It won the first, but lost the second to John Mayer's "Gravity". Springsteen subsequently confessed that he had not been tracking this closely: "I didn't even know I was up for a Grammy! I opened the newspaper on Monday and saw that I had won, and thought, 'Well, that's great!'"[4]
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[8] | 95 |
| US Adult Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[9] | 8 |
| US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[10] | 62 |
From album liner notes:
Additional musicians:
String Section:
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" is a song by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen, from his album Magic. Matched with a pop-oriented melody, Springsteen's full-throated singing, and a pop-orchestral arrangement, the lyric portrays a series of warm small-town vignettes: Frankie's Diner, an old friend on the edge of town, The neon sign spinning round, Like a cross over the lost and found. Fluorescent lights flicker over Pop's Grill, Shaniqua brings the coffee and asks "Fill?" and says, "Penny for your thoughts now my boy, Bill" "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" has been cited as a singularly "breezy" song on the album, though A. O. Scott of The New York Times notes: "Not that 'Girls in Their Summer Clothes' is untouched by melancholy. Its narrator, after all, stands and watches as the girls of the title 'pass me by.'" Jay Lustig of The Star-Ledger writes that the song "unfolds gradually and at its own eccentric pace, with the music, and Springsteen's vocals, getting progressively more intense." At the 51st Grammy Awards, the song was nominated for Best Rock Song and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, winning the former.
Bruce Springsteen is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is both a solo artist and the leader of the E Street Band. During a career that has spanned six decades, Springsteen has received various accolades including an Academy Award, 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards. He has received several honors including with the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, and the National Medal of Arts in 2023. Springsteen has become known for his poetic and socially conscious lyrics and lengthy, energetic stage performances. He has earned numerous awards for his music, including 20 Grammy Awards out of 51 nominations. Springsteen received his first Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "Dancing in the Dark" (1985) followed by a win for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for his album Tunnel of Love (1988). He wrote and sung the song "Streets of Philadelphia" for the legal drama Philadelphia (1993) for which he won four Grammy Awards for Song of the Year, Best Rock Song, Best Rock Vocal Performance and Best Song Written for Visual Media. He also won Best Rock song for "The Rising" (2003), "Radio Nowhere" (2008), "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" (2009), and "We Take Care of Our Own" (2013). He won for Best Contemporary Folk Album for The Ghost of Tom Joad in 1997 and Best Traditional Folk Album for We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions in 2007. Springsteen is also known for writing several songs for film including "Streets of Philadelphia" from the Jonathan Demme directed legal drama Philadelphia (1993) for which he won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. He wrote "Dead Man Walkin'", the title song for the Tim Robbins drama Dead Man Walking (1995) for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. He also wrote, "The Wrestler" from the Darren Aronofsky psychological drama The Wrestler (2008) for which he won the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song as well as a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. He wrote the song "Addicted to Romance" for the Rebecca Miller romantic comedy She Came to Me (2023) for which he was nominated for his third Golden Globe Award. He is also known for his work on television. He has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Variety Special for his television special Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: Live in New York City (2001), Outstanding Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Program for the Bruce Springsteen Super Bowl Halftime Show (2009) and Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) for the Netflix special Springsteen on Broadway (2019). On stage, he a Special Tony Award for his Broadway concert residency Springsteen on Broadway in 2018. Springsteen has sold more than 140 million records worldwide and more than 71 million records in the United States, making him one of the world's best-selling artists. Springsteen was inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the New Jersey Hall of Fame. Springsteen has also been honored by Rolling Stone Magazine with them ranking him No. 23 of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2004, and Time Magazine listing him among the 100 Most Influential People of the Year in 2008.
Magic is the fifteenth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released by Columbia Records on LP on September 25, 2007, and on CD on October 2. It was his first with the E Street Band since The Rising in 2002, and topped the charts in six countries, including the US and UK, going triple platinum in Ireland. Two songs from the album – "Radio Nowhere" and "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" – won a total of three Grammys, making Magic the second of only two Springsteen albums with three wins, after The Rising. It ranked No. 2 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.
The Spice Girls were an English girl group, formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making them the best-selling girl group in history. With their "girl power" slogan, the Spice Girls redefined the girl group concept by targeting a young female fanbase. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era and became popular culture icons of the decade. The Spice Girls were formed by Heart Management, who held auditions to create a girl group to compete with the British boy bands popular at the time. After leaving Heart, the Spice Girls hired Simon Fuller as their manager and signed with Virgin Records. They released their debut single, "Wannabe", in 1996, which reached number one on the charts of 37 countries. Their debut album, Spice (1996), sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history. It also produced three more number-one singles: "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1" and "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are". Their second album, Spiceworld (1997), sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. The Spice Girls achieved three number-one singles from the album with "Spice Up Your Life", "Too Much" and "Viva Forever". Both albums encapsulated the group's dance-pop style and message of female empowerment, with vocal and songwriting contributions shared equally by the members. In 1997, the Spice Girls made their live concert debut and released a feature film, Spice World, both to commercial success. The 1998 Spiceworld Tour became the highest-grossing concert tour by a female group, attended by an estimated 2.1 million people. Halliwell left the Spice Girls during the tour. Following a number-one single with "Goodbye" and a successful 1999 concert tour, the Spice Girls released their R&B-influenced third album, Forever, in 2000. It featured their ninth number-one single, "Holler"/"Let Love Lead the Way", setting a record for most UK number ones by a girl group. At the end of 2000, the Spice Girls entered a hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. They reunited for the Return of the Spice Girls Tour from 2007, the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony and, without Beckham, the Spice World — 2019 UK Tour. The tours won the Billboard Live Music Award for highest-grossing engagements, making the Spice Girls the top touring all-female group from 1998 to 2020. The Spice Girls have won five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards and one MTV Video Music Award. In 2000, they became the youngest recipients of the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. Notable elements of the Spice Girls' symbolism include Halliwell's Union Jack dress and the nicknames given to each member by the British press. Their endorsement deals and merchandise had generated an estimated income of $500–800 million by May 1998. According to the Music Week writer Paul Gorman, the Spice Girls' media exposure helped usher in an era of celebrity obsession.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Joe Louis.
