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Cover of Building the Perfect Beast by Don Henley
Cover: Building the Perfect Beast

Song · Don Henley

“The Boys of Summer” by Don Henley

From the album Building the Perfect Beast (1984)

“The Boys of Summer” by Don Henley appears on 97 radio countdowns from 34 stations between 1991 and 2026. It was first released in 1984 on the album Building the Perfect Beast. Its best result is #7 on the WMGK Philly 500 (2026). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,327 alternative song of all time.

97countdowns
34stations
#7best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1991–2026years charted

Watch

The Boys Of Summer

Video from YouTube (Don Henley - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"The Boys of Summer" led off Don Henley's second solo album, Building the Perfect Beast, as its first single in 1984, on Geffen. Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers wrote the music and Henley the words, and Campbell is all over the record: guitar, synthesizer and percussion, plus a production credit alongside Henley, Danny Kortchmar and Greg Ladanyi. Kortchmar adds guitar synth, Steve Porcaro more synths and Larry Klein bass, and the result is a shimmering, melancholy drive, all chilly electronic pulse under a warm, rueful vocal.

It reached number five on the Hot 100, topped Billboard's Top Rock Tracks chart and got to 12 in the UK, and its video collected several awards. Henley later took it on stage with the reunited Eagles, and a version landed on their Farewell 1 Tour DVD from Melbourne.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1991 450 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1991 71 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1991) 500
1996 103 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1996) 500
1997 149 104.5 KZEP KZEP Memorial Weekend Top 500 (1997) 500
1997 215 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (1997) 499
1997 289 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
2001 138 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 500
2002 162 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (2002) 500
2004 652 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2004 96 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 500
2004 524 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2005 74 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 500
2006 130 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) 500
2007 481 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2010 132 WXPN WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010) 885
2011 243 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2012 245 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2012 87 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2012) 500
2012 18 93.3 WMMR WMMR Top 50 Songs of Summer (2012) 49
2013 120 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 484 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2013 108 Big 100 BIG 500 Labor Day Countdown (2013) 500
2014 290 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2014 622 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2014 321 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 230 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 484 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2015 221 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2015 172 I-95 I-95 Memorial Day Weekend Top 500 (2015) 500
2015 201 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2015) 500
2016 107 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2016 130 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2016) 500
2016 462 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2016) 500
2016 297 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2016) 500
2017 440 97.9 The Loop 97.9 The Loop Top 540 Countdown (2017) 540
2017 241 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2017) 500
2017 140 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2017) 500
2018 144 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2018) 500
2018 139 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2018) 500
2019 340 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2019) 500
2019 250 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2019 76 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2019) 500
2019 179 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2019) 500
2019 219 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2019) 499
2020 351 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2020) 500
2020 225 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 103 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2020) 500
2020 390 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2021 142 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2021 271 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2021 183 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2021 125 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2021) 500
2021 39 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2021) 499
2021 233 WCSX WCSX Rock & Roll 500 (2021) 499
2021 59 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2021) 500
2022 53 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2022 59 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 121 94.1 KRNA KRNA Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 326 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 303 97.1 The River River 500 (2022) 500
2022 86 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 158 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 61 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2022) 500
2022 93 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2022) 500
2022 53 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2023 397 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 58 97.1 The Drive 97.1 The Drive Memorial Day Weekend Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 49 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 237 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 263 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 474 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 186 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 236 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 121 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 123 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2023) 500
2023 897 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2023 300 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2024 261 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2024) 500
2024 167 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 499
2024 118 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2024 128 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2024 472 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2024) 498
2024 62 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 301 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2024) 500
2024 200 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 484 KQRS KQRS KQ 500 (2024) 499
2025 43 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2025) 500
2025 118 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 473 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2025) 498
2025 197 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2025 362 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2026 43 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s 498
2026 534 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180
2026 7 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2026) 500
2026 157 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2026) 500
2026 219 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2026) 500
2026 368 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: The Boys Of Summer; Boys of Summer; Boys Of Summer.

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