Take me back to Summerfest 1981: Various artists

There have been so many Summerfests. We know this. It’s part of the marketing of the thing, but it is still wild to think about how many of these there have been and how many artists have performed on these grounds. There have been Summerfests my entire life. There were Summerfests before I had life, and I am not particularly young.

In past “Take me back to…” entries, I’ve looked at shows that took place in my lifetime: a Depeche Mode concert that took place at the perfect time and a Club MTV show that feels like it might have taken place in another universe. This time, I want to go back to the beginning…of my life.

I was born in 1981. What would it have been like to walk the Summerfest grounds back then? Would I need a church key for my beer? How much Dallas knowledge would I need for between-set chatter? Most importantly, what kind of bands would I see?

Technically, based on my birth date, the first Summerfest I could’ve attended was in 1982, but for this article, I’ll stick with the year and go with 1981. Why? Because Jan & Dean played opening night!

There is something about hearing “Surf City,” co-written by the late Brian Wilson and the first surf song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, that feels impossible today. The music is an artifact, a mostly fake reminiscence of a time that didn’t exist even in the present. It is pure Americana. Two swingin’ honeys for every guy? In this economy?

Jan and Dean’s big hit was released in 1963, and it’s not unusual for a Summerfest act to play on success from the past like that. Eighteen years is nothing in the life cycle of a hit like that. But in 2025? We might as well be talking about Shakespeare at the Globe Theatre.

Another night that seems impossible through 2025 eyes is the monster lineup of blues legends on July 3, 1981. Mighty Joe Young (who began his career in Milwaukee in the early 1950s), “The Queen of Blues” Koko Taylor, and the legendary Muddy Waters all played that night.

This isn’t meant to be a things were so much better in the past kind of piece, but the truth is, music just does not sound like this anymore. And I don’t mean mainstream or popular artists either. I mean, if you search every record label, every nightclub, every open mic, karaoke night, shower, and everywhere in between, you won’t find another Koko Taylor. Because there isn’t one.

Muddy Waters inspired all kinds of music. His influences are everywhere, from the Rolling Stones to Martin Scorsese. He’s been covered and imitated, but this was the real deal: Muddy Waters in his final year of touring. The last chance to see an all-time great.

If you stayed for the credits of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, then you know the song I’m going to finish with. “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” by The 5th Dimension was listed by Billboard at No. 66 on their Greatest Songs of All Time list, and my first thought reading that was: too low.

This song, the real one not the version sung by Steve Carrell, is amazing. “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” is actually a medley of two songs written for the musical Hair, arguably the greatest musical ever made about being drafted. That almost undercuts what The 5th Dimension does with it, though. The musical used the songs to tell a story. The 5th Dimension used them to create a masterpiece.

When the horns come in as they transition from “Aquarius” to “Let the Sunshine In” is akin to a religious experience. Every member of The 5th Dimension has the greatest voice you’ve ever heard, and they all work in sync with the Wrecking Crew to create something magical.

“Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” is a song I could listen to exclusively for the rest of my life and never get bored. Seeing this live would fix me. I know it would.