Springtime mix: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel and The Royal Jokers usher in warmer days

Weather in the Greater Lansing area is often dicey, especially this time of year. One day is unseasonably warm, while a hellacious ice storm rolls in the next. But, since it’s now officially springtime, Michigan will soon return to its mild temps and picture-perfect settings for outdoor adventures. 

 With that said, there are all sorts of songs to add to a spring playlist. Here are just a few to get your own list started.  

The Beatles “Here Comes the Sun” (1969) 

Here is a true Captain Obvious pick, but one that can’t be skipped. Written in early 1969 by George Harrison (a.k.a. “the quiet Beatle”), the song not only lyrically reflects the changing of the seasons, but also sonically captures that imagery. The tones are bright, jangly and uplifting. Sparkly guitars and harmonious vocals are adorned by a mood-setting nine-piece string section.

“It was a bit like ‘If I Needed Someone,’ you know, the basic riff going through it, you know all those ‘Bells of Rhymney,’ Byrds type things,” Harrison later recalled. “So, that’s how I see it, anyway. It’s quite vintage.”

Written and recorded during the final, tumultuous days of The Beatles’ existence, this would be the last song Harrison would present to his bandmates. “Here Comes the Sun” and “Something” (Harrison’s other contribution to “Abbey Road”) would later be hailed as two of standout songs on the swansong LP. While in a blue funk about the rapidly dissolving Beatles, Harrison churned out “Here Comes the Sun” in the garden at Eric Clapton’s Hurtwood Edge estate in Ewhurst, Surrey.

In his autobiography, “I, Me, Mine,” Harrisondished on the now iconic springtime single. ‘“Here Comes the Sun’ was written at the time when Apple (The Beatles’ label and headquarters) was getting like school, where we had to go and be businessmen: ‘Sign this’ and ‘sign that,’” he recalled. “It seems as if winter in England goes on forever, by the time spring comes you really deserve it. So, one day I decided I was going to slag off Apple and I went over to Eric Clapton’s house. The relief of not having to go see all those dopey accountants was wonderful, and I walked around the garden with one of Eric’s acoustic guitars and wrote ‘Here Comes the Sun.’”

The Royal Jokers “Spring” (1958) 

There’s a jubilant saxophone, some breezy-yet-gritty vocals — the perfect mixture for a classic Detroit-made R&B track. “Spring,” a festive 1958 B-side cut by the Royal Jokers, is one of the dozens of unforgettable 45s pressed up by the Fortune Records imprint. Released on the label’s Hi-Q Records subsidiary, today the 7-inch single sells for nearly $300, but at the time failed to gain much traction outside of the Motor City. From the opening line, “I’m so glad that spring is here,” written by the group’s leader, Noah Howell, the scene is set. Flowers are blooming, birds and bees are singing and love is in the air. While the group lasted from the 1950s through the 1970s, the vocal group saw its high point in the mid-’50s, during its ATCO Records stint. Today, the Royal Jokers are mostly lost in the sands of time, but 65-plus years ago, they were performing at all-star doo-wop shows held at The Fox Theater on Woodward in Detroit. While the Jokers mainstream success fizzled before reaching its full potential, the outfit left behind a stack of stellar 45s, on a string of labels, like Metro (MGM), Big Top and Venus — all are equally as impressive as “Spring.” Throw on the Royal Jokers’ “You Tickle Me Baby” single, a 1955 R&B monster, and then tell me Michigan isn’t responsible for the rawest sounds ever created. 

Simon and Garfunkel “April Come She Will” (1966) 

It’s can’t all be flowers and rainbows, even with springtime anthems. Leave it to Simon and Garfunkel to find the melancholy in snow melting away. In “April Come She Will,” a track included on the pair’s 1966 “Sounds of Silence” LP, you’ll hear the signature combination of delicate fingerpicking and faultless vocal harmonizing the duo is known for — but also the gradual, poetic narrative showing how a relationship can change, for better or for worse, like the seasons. 

It opens with Art Garfunkel singing: “April, come she will/When streams are ripe and swelled with rain/May, she will stay/Resting in my arms again.”

From there, in June she “will change her tune” and by the time July comes around, she will “fly … and give no warning to her flight.” For only lasting 1:51, this short but sweet tune covers a lot of ground — and emotional baggage. 

Of course, the last verse, penned by chief songwriter Paul Simon, gets epically emo. Garfunkel somberly croons: “August, die she must/The autumn winds blow chilly and cold/September, I’ll remember/A love once new has now grown old.”

Moods will change. Feelings change. Seasons change. So, let’s all enjoy the approaching Michigan weather, and enjoy it while it lasts. And don’t forget to play some good music while you’re at it.