Top 10 Pop Songs for Spring

One man sitting on the park bench and using cell phone

Welcome to buy my photos/Getty Images

Spring is when the world wakes up from its winter slumber. Trees and plants begin to bloom, and the birds and the bees do their thing. The season is also a source of inspiration for artists, poets, and musicians. Some singers find quiet beauty in the details of a spring morning. Others celebrate the promise of new love and new life that the season inspires. Do you have a favorite springtime jam? Find out if it's on the list of these 10 great songs about spring.

The Lovin' Spoonful: 'Daydream' (1966)

The Lovin Spoonful

GAB Archive/Getty Images

The Lovin' Spoonful's ode to a beautiful day originated with an attempt by group member John Sebastian to rewrite The Supremes' classic "Baby Love." The Lovin' Spoonful brought folk-pop music to the top of the charts in the mid-1960s. Group members referred to their songs as "good-time music." They first hit the pop top 10 in 1965 with "Do You Believe in Magic?" It was followed by six consecutive top-10 smashes, including "Daydream," and their biggest hit, the No. 1 pop single "Summer in the City," also from 1966. Reportedly, "Daydream" was a significant influence on Paul McCartney writing the Beatles' song "Good Day Sunshine." "Daydream" was also the title cut of the group's second album. It was their only album to reach the top 10 on the album chart.

Watch Video

Buy From Amazon

Simon and Garfunkel: 'The 59th Street Bridge Song' (1966)

Photo of Art GARFUNKEL and SIMON & GARFUNKEL and Paul SIMON and SIMON AND GARFUNKEL

Redferns/Getty Images

The 59th Street Bridge, better known as the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Queens in New York City. The song encourages relaxing and enjoying the world around you with the opening line, "Slow down, you move too fast." The song first appeared on Simon and Garfunkel's 1966 album "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme."

Despite its popularity, the duo did not release it as a single. The pop group Harpers Bizarre released their own cover version in 1967 and took "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" to No. 13 for their first pop hit. Two members of the jazz group the Dave Brubeck Quartet appear on the Simon and Garfunkel version: drummer Joe Morello and bass player Eugene Wright. 

Paul Simon received a songwriting credit for the theme song of the children's Saturday-morning TV show "H.R. Pufnstuf" after he sued the creators for plagiarizing "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)." 

Watch Video

Buy From Amazon

Hugh Masakela: 'Grazing in the Grass' (1968)

Hugh Masekela Portrait Session

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Bandleader and trumpeter Hugh Masakela is one of the best-known South African musicians. He recorded an upbeat style of pop-jazz. "Grazing in the Grass" became his second charting pop single in 1968 and went all the way to No. 1. The inspiration for the instrumental hit was a song called "Mr. Bull No. 5" by a Zambian musician.

Folk musician Bruce Langhorne plays guitar on the record. He inspired Bob Dylan's legendary song "Mr. Tambourine Man." In 1969 the R&B vocal group Friends of Distinction released their cover of "Grazing in the Grass" with lyrics by group member Harry Elston. It became their first hit, peaking at No. 3 on the pop singles chart and No. 5 in R&B.

Watch Video

Buy From Amazon

U2: 'Beautiful Day' (2000)

U2's Edge(L) and Bono(R) (Photo by KMazur/WireImage)

KMazur/Getty Images

According to U2, their upbeat anthem "Beautiful Day" originated as a song called "Always." When lead vocalist Bono came up with "beautiful day" in the lyrics, the song began to take its present form. "Beautiful Day" was part of the band's move back toward their original rock sound on the album "All That You Can't Leave Behind."

The song peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. while reaching the top 10 on both the alternative and adult pop radio charts. Its legacy was sealed with notable live performances at the Live 8 concert in London and the post-Hurricane Katrina show at New Orleans' Superdome.

"Beautiful Day" won three Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Rolling Stone listed the song as one of the top 10 best songs of the decade from 2000 through 2009. "Beautiful Day" was selected as the first single for "American Idol" winner Lee DeWyze in 2010.

Watch Video

Buy From Amazon

Andy Grammer: 'Keep Your Head Up' (2011)

San Francisco Tree Lighting Ceremony With 49ers Running Back Frank Gore And Recording Artists Pia Toscano And Andy Grammar

FilmMagic/Getty Images

Singer-songwriter Andy Grammer is known for the upbeat nature of his songs. "Keep Your Head Up" stands out in its clear encouragement to stay positive in the face of life's challenges. Andy Grammer told the Hollywood Reporter, "My ultimate goal is to try to be real. It just so happens that I'm usually more happy than sad when I'm writing."

"Keep Your Head Up" appears on his self-titled debut album and broke him into the national charts, peaking at No. 5 on the adult pop radio chart.

Watch Video

Buy From Amazon

Cat Stevens: 'Morning Has Broken' (1972)

Cat Stevens

Michael Putland/Getty Images

"Morning Has Broken" was first published in 1931 as a Christian hymn, celebrating the gift of a new day. The words are set to a Gaelic melody called "Bunessan," and the words were written by Eleanor Farjeon, who was a well-known children's author. The piano arrangement that kicks off Cat Stevens' ​recording of the song is played by Rick Wakeman, best known for his work with the progressive rock band Yes. 

Released as a single in 1972, "Morning Has Broken" became Cat Stevens' second top-10 hit in the U.S. and, peaking at No. 6, ties for the biggest pop hit of his career. It went to No. 1 on the adult contemporary chart. The song is included on the album "Teaser and the Firecat," which also contains the top 10 hit "Peace Train."

Watch Video

Buy From Amazon

Patti LaBelle: 'New Attitude' (1985)

Patti Labelle

Paul Natkin/Getty Images

After the breakup of the successful female R&B trio Labelle in 1976, Patti Labelle struggled to kick off a successful solo career. A series of songs reached the R&B charts, but none climbed higher than No. 26 until 1982. That year, her single "The Best Is Yet to Come" broke into the R&B top 20 with a prescient title. It was followed by the No. 11 R&B smash "If Only You Knew."

While the producers of the Eddie Murphy film "Beverly Hills Cop" were putting together the soundtrack, they asked Patti LaBelle to record two songs. One was the anthem to striking out with a new approach to life, "New Attitude." It was a smash and brought Patti LaBelle to the pop top 20 for the first time as a solo artist. She earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal.

Watch Video

Buy From Amazon

Smash Mouth: 'All Star' (1999)

'NYC Style' Party

WireImage/Getty Images

Rock band Smash Mouth broke into the pop charts in 1997 with their debut single "Walkin' on the Sun." Looking for a follow-up from their second album, "Astro Lounge," they released "All Star," which went all the way to No. 4 on the pop chart in 1999. It is a celebration of an upbeat approach to life. The accompanying music video featured cameos from a range of actors from the film "Mystery Men," starring William H. Macy, Ben Stiller, and Janeane Garofalo. Smash Mouth had one more big pop hit with "Then the Morning Comes," peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 while going all the way to No. 2 at adult pop radio.

Watch Video

Buy From Amazon

American Authors: 'Best Day of My Life' (2014)

Members of the pop-rock group American Authors met as students at Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music. The pop breakthrough single "Best Day of My Life" is notable for its upbeat lyrics and banjo introduction. It first received support on rock and adult pop radio in late 2013 before crossing over into mainstream pop in 2014. Ultimately "Best Day of My Life" topped the adult pop radio chart and went to No. 4 on the mainstream pop radio chart. "Best Day of My Life" was used extensively in television sports coverage and advertising.

Watch Video

Buy From Amazon

Dario G: 'Sunchyme' (1998)

"Sunchyme" was released in 1997 as the first single by Dario G, the stage name of British musician Paul Spencer. It is notable for using a sample from the Dream Academy's hit single "Life in a Northern Town." The song slowly builds in imitation of a morning sunrise. It climbed to No. 1 on the dance chart in the U.S., No. 2 pop in the U.K., and was a top 10 pop smash around the world. 

Dario G was originally a trio. The group was first called simply Dario, but they changed their name after being threatened with a lawsuit by another artist with the same name. "Sunchyme" was included on "Sunmachine," the debut Dario G album released in 1998.

Buy From Amazon