Having spent lots of fun family vacations on the South Jersey shore in wonderful Wildwood-By-The-Sea, I'm envious that I won't be taking the trip this Summer to join you there.
Here's a few songs you can't forget to include in your road trip playlist:
Of course you have to have this one from 1963 that would forever make Bobby Rydell a South Jersey legend:
Bobby Rydell- Wildwood Days
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN99qXkcnKI (I see Sheriff John Stone has already mentioned this one. Good call, Sheriff!)
Then you have Chubby Checker getting into the Surfing fad in 1963. You can be sure that they were all twisting at the Jersey Shore to this one. Keep in mind, Chubby Checker grew up in nearby Philadelphia (just like Rydell) and, in fact, first introduced the world to his version of 'The Twist' in 1960 at the Rainbow Club in Wildood. That's right, Wildwood is actually the birthplace of The Twist craze! When he sings about a surfin' party, you know he's singing about summers at the South Jersey shore:
Cubby Checker- Surf Party
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeZqBxTWHD0This one's not fun in the sun, but a bluesy 1968 cooker from Todd Rundgren's Nazz about Todd's dues-paying days, back in the 60s, playing the nightclubs of Wildwood NJ. Love the line about the city looking like it was 1953. C'mon- how many songs have been written about Wildwood? Rundgren is also from the Philly area (I'm seeing a pattern here.)
Nazz- Wildwood Blues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGJ1JcZ7eNUTraveling to the West Coast now, there's this sublime 1967 hit from Lesley Gore (memorably immortalized on the Batman TV show):
Lesley Gore: California Nights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCO46rZJG-IThis obscuro Rick Henn (the Soulful Old Man Sunshine guy) homage to Brian Wilson from 1973 has long been a favorite of mine:
Rick Henn- Girl On The Beach
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMxdXCL_hqQ