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Cover of So Long, Astoria by The Ataris
Cover: So Long, Astoria

Song · The Ataris

“The Boys of Summer” by The Ataris

From the album So Long, Astoria (2003)

“The Boys of Summer” by The Ataris appears on 32 radio countdowns from 28 stations between 2003 and 2026. It was first released in 2003 on the album So Long, Astoria. Its best result is #9 on the Y100 Top 100 Songs of 2003. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #15 alternative song of 2003, #2,032 alternative song of all time and #193 of the '00s.

32countdowns
28stations
#9best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
2003–2026years charted

Watch

The Ataris - The Boys Of Summer

Video from YouTube (TheAtarisVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

The Ataris took a Don Henley song and made it their own on So Long, Astoria, the 2003 album where the American punk band gave "The Boys of Summer" a fresh coat of paint. The words are Henley's and the music belongs to Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, but the Ataris play it like it's their own memory: guitars cranked bright and loud, drums shoving hard, the wistful melody turned into a full-throated singalong that sounds made for the back seat of a car with the windows down.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2003 27 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2003 107
2003 30 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2003 106
2003 31 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2003 101
2003 11 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 2003 100
2003 17 K-Rock New York, NY K-Rock Top 92.3 Songs of 2003 92
2003 34 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2003 100
2003 23 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON 89X Top 89 Songs of 2003 89
2003 9 Y100 Philadelphia, PA Y100 Top 100 Songs of 2003 100
2003 16 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON CFNY Top 102 Songs of 2003 102
2003 31 The Bear Ottawa, ON The Bear Top 107 Songs of 2003 107
2003 23 The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2003 99
2003 80 WCCC The Rock Hartford, CT WCCC Top 106 Songs of 2003 106
2003 17 Channel 104.9 San Jose, CA Channel 104.9 Top 104.9 Songs of 2003 105
2003 24 102.1 The Edge Dallas-Fort Worth, TX KDGE Top 102 Songs of 2003 102
2003 32 103.1 The Buzz West Palm Beach, FL Buzz 103.1 Top 103 Buzz Cuts of 2003 103
2003 32 WBCN Boston, MA WBCN Top 104 Songs of 2003 104
2003 32 88.3 The Sting Cleveland, OH 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 50 Songs of 2003 50
2003 18 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 2003 103
2003 23 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 100 Songs of 2003 100

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2005 279 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 391 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2008 465 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2009 354 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2019 492 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2020 113 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2022 233 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2022 158 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2023 293 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2024 12 107.7 The End The End Sweet Summer Vibes Countdown (2024) 100
2024 79 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Cover Songs 850
2025 310 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2026 148 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500

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

Charting alongside it in 2003

Best songs of 2003 →
  1. 1Seven Nation ArmyThe White Stripes
  2. 2Like a StoneAudioslave
  3. 3Bring Me to LifeEvanescence
  4. 4Somewhere I BelongLinkin Park
  5. 5Times Like TheseFoo Fighters
  6. 6Weak and PowerlessA Perfect Circle

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