100 Songs of Summer #66 “(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave” by Martha and the Vandellas

Back in 1963, people weren’t talking about global warming or heat indices or anything of that ilk. They wanted their summers hot—the hotter, the better. As we kiss June goodbye and move to the next tune in our Top 100 Songs of Summer countdown, we share that sentiment.

Hamptons 100 Songs of Summer #66

“(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave” by Martha and the Vandellas

As it celebrates its golden anniversary, this Motown classic is as hot as when it hit #1 on the Billboard R&B charts and #4 on the Hot 100 back in 1963. The song written by the legendary Holland-Dozier-Holland team has been covered by acts ranging from Cilla Black to Bruce Springsteen, Joan Osborne to The Who, Phil Collins to Linda Ronstadt, but our favorite is still the original, which made Martha and the Vandellas the first Motown group to earn a Grammy nomination.