"The Boys of Summer" cover by the Ataris?

Question

I heard from a friend that "The Boys of Summer" cover by The Ataris was actually a throw-away album filler, and that they never ever expected it to be their first hit. My friend also said that they were glad it got their name out to the public, but they were sort of disappointed that their first big hit was a cover, and not an original song.

I was just wondering if any big Ataris fans can tell me if that is accurate or not.

Thanks for your input.

Answer 1

Another interesting fact about Boys of Summer by the Ataris...not only was it a throw away cover they did, but they hadn't made a video for it either, so when it started getting a lot of radio play, the record company took a video from another of their songs and put it to the Boys of Summer. That is why the video has absolutely nothing to do with the song.

Answer 2

Their first single from "So Long Astoria" was acutally "In This Diary" and that started the mainstream exposure for the band. "Boys Of Summer" was thier second single.

As far as being glad it got them out into the public, I think any band would be happy about that.