Superstar GRAMMY Award-winning musician and producer Narada Michael Walden dedicates his effervescent reimagining of “Hot Fun in the Summertime” to the legendary Sly Stone, who passed away earlier this month.
Custom-made for hot days and sizzling nights, this sweeping new version of the Sly and the Family Stone classic is the first single from Walden’s upcoming album, Still Yours For the Summer, due out in August.
“There’s a slew of originals I wrote for the album, and they’ve all got the summertime spirit,” Walden says. “I knew I wanted to do a remake, and my mind went to Nat King Cole’s ‘Lazy, Crazy Days of Summer,’ but every arrangement I tried sounded dated. Then my wife, Katie, suggested ‘Hot Fun in the Summertime,’ and it immediately made sense to me. Sly Stone has been and will always be a hero of mine. The same goes for his drummer, Greg Errico, who’s a good friend. I said to my wife, ‘I think I know what to do with that.'”
Walden sat down at the piano and started playing the same arrangement that he would soon record in the studio. Whereas the original 1969 hit conjured laid-back summer bliss, Walden’s idea of vacation jubilation is built around a driving disco beat. “It came to me right away,” he says. “I seized on the ‘hot fun’ aspect of the title, and to me that spelled disco. I wanted a song that could party!”
Producing at his own Tarpan Studios, Walden rocked the drums to a programmed rhythm (“always a combination I love”) and laid down a warm and inviting lead vocal; meanwhile, keyboardist Justus Dobrin provided zesty flourishes, and guitarist Jackson Allen peppered the track with breezy chords and a stinging solo. “We actually have three basses – Kirk Crumpler does some brilliant popping, and there’s additional bass by Jim Reitzel and me on synth bass,” Walden notes.
With its shimmering, vibrant strings and the rousing background vocals of Cornel “CC” Carter, Nate’ the Soulsanger, Katie Walden and Kristie Isaacsen, “Hot Fun in the Summertime” (engineered by Jim Reitzel and Josh Nelson) evokes ’70s dance floor nostalgia while simultaneously sounding every bit 2025. It’s the perfect soundtrack for months of sunscreen and sunglasses, beaches and boardwalks. “I can’t wait for people to turn this one up,” Walden enthuses. “Like the title says, it’s hot fun. And it’s all dedicated to the one and only genius of Sly Stone. He’s a musical master like no other!”
Walden plans to issue “a waterfall of singles” ahead of Still Yours For the Summer. Following “Hot Fun in the Summertime” is a complete change of pace – the deep-grooving, power-packed R&B winner “Bougie Cherry Bomb.”
“It’s got a bit of a Bruno Mars vibe,” Walden says, “meaning how Bruno can pay homage to an earlier time of funk, but he’s still right now. I do the same thing – I love mixing the two worlds.”
He blends galaxies with a remake of his 1979 hit, “I Shoulda Loved Ya,” remixed by a frequent collaborator, famed Italian hitmaker Lino Nicolosi. Walden also reveals that the 2025 “I Shoulda Loved Ya” will feature a duet with a young TikTok star, whose identity will be revealed soon. “It’s going to be incredible,” he says. “I can’t wait to get it out into the world.”
Kicking off Still Yours For the Summer with the June release of “Hot Fun in the Summertime” has special resonance for Walden. As he notes, “We put out Aretha Franklin’s ‘Freeway of Love’ in June, and it exploded. Let’s do it again with music for the summer experience. Tops down, beach radios everywhere! Summertime is the celebration of life! And let’s all celebrate Sly Stone, who created music that changed the world!”