Before Streaming, Before Algorithms, There Were Songs That Changed Everything-Those Were "Summertime Classics"
NBC's The Voice Standout Bay Simpson Pays Tribute to First Love, Classic Records, and the Summers That Stay With Us Forever
Before playlists took over, before streaming put every song ever recorded at our fingertips, and before algorithms started deciding what we should hear next, finding a favorite song meant something. You heard it on the radio, borrowed the CD from a friend, burned it onto a mix, and played it until the speakers rattled. It became the soundtrack to first loves, summer nights, wrong turns, and the moments you didn't realize would matter forever. Years later, one chorus can still stop you in your tracks and take you right back. For Bay Simpson, those songs became "Summertime Classics." Fresh off his breakout run on NBC's The Voice, where Adam Levine called him "different than anybody on the show," the 20-year-old Muscle Shoals native returns with a sun-soaked rock anthem built on nostalgia, freedom, and the records that become part of who we are.
"Summertime Classics is really a tale about summertime love, and how it coincides with the music I grew up listening to," says Simpson. "I don't know about you, but I can almost always tie a certain song or artist to a certain period of time in my life."
Written alongside Logan Platt, Chris Miller, and Landon Sears, the song turns nostalgia into something bigger than memory. It's a celebration of the way music and relationships become tangled together until it's impossible to separate one from the other. With references to artists like Sublime and classics like "Jet Airliner," Simpson isn't just name-dropping influences. He's documenting a feeling. "A lot of people view me as a throwback sort of artist," he says. "All the more reason to pay homage to the greats in a song."
That throwback quality has become part of Simpson's appeal. While many artists his age chase trends, Simpson continues to build his sound on the foundation of classic rock, Southern soul, and timeless songwriting.
The chorus captures that perfectly: "Still feels like the first time / With a touch of Sublime / Just a couple midnight riders..." It's a song about young love. It's a song about growing up. But more than anything, it's a song about the records that become the soundtrack to both.
"When we finished the song, I knew it was great," Simpson says. "The way we tied the comparison between those legendary songs and two summertime lovers just made perfect sense to me."
The release continues a breakout stretch for Simpson following his nationally televised run on The Voice and the momentum generated by previous releases "Too Good To Be True" and "Different Animal."
At just 20 years old, Simpson has already accomplished what many songwriters spend a lifetime chasing. Before appearing on The Voice, he earned a major cut with Kid Rock, who recorded Simpson's song "Never Enough."
Raised in the legendary music town of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Simpson grew up surrounded by the ghosts of great records, a lineage that includes an unlikely family connection to Elvis Presley himself. His mother's grandfather's aunt was Presley's grandmother, making the King of Rock 'n' Roll a distant relative.
Yet what makes Simpson compelling isn't where he comes from. It's that he understands something many artists spend years trying to learn: The best songs don't just tell stories. They take people back. "Who knows," Simpson says. "Maybe 'Summertime Classics' will be a summertime classic one day."
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About Bay Simpson
Authentic songwriting grounded in the roots of Alabama
Born and raised in the legendary music town of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Bay Simpson grew up with music in his blood. Raised around the studio and the stage, Bay learned early what it meant to pour heart, grit, and truth into a song. By his mid-20s, he had already lived a lifetime of music, earning the kind of experience most artists don’t see until much later in their careers.
Bay also gained national recognition as a contestant on The Voice, where he earned a spot on Team Adam Levine. His time on the show introduced his powerful vocals and authentic storytelling to a national audience, further solidifying his reputation as a compelling live performer.
At just 20 years old, Bay got his first major break as a songwriter when Kid Rock recorded and released his song “Never Enough.” That early success fueled years of touring, writing, and fronting his country-rock band, Outlaw Apostles, where he shared stages with legends including Dwight Yoakam and Jamey Johnson. Those years on the road shaped his sound, raw, soulful, southern, and unmistakably his own.
Now stepping into the spotlight as a solo artist, Bay Simpson is ready to carve his own path. With each song and every show, he brings authenticity, a powerful voice, and the spirit of Muscle Shoals to the forefront. This is a new chapter, one built on passion, resilience, and a lifelong love of music. Bay Simpson is just getting started.
