I’ll be alone each and every night
While you’re away, don’t forget to write
Bye-bye, so long, farewell
Bye-bye, so long

See you in September
See you when the summer’s through
Here we are
Saying goodbye at the station
Summer vacation
Is taking you away

The Happenings may have been singing while you were dancing at the IHS ’71 prom and saying “See You in September,” but who could have imagined or even thought about our class getting together again 55 years later?

Have a good time, but remember
There is danger in the summer moon above
Will I see you in September
Or lose you to a summer love?
(counting the days ’til I’ll be with you)
(counting the hours and the minutes, too)

On this Labor Day Weekend with September just a few hours away, this time of year still makes me nostalgic about a new school year. (40 years of teaching and old age will do that.)

Our Reunion 55 is all booked for Jumping Brook in September 2026. (On the 26th, to be exact.) Is it on your calendar? Are you joining your classmates? Will this be the final reunion? So many unanswered questions. Details about registering, hotel suggestions, and all the rest will be going out to our class database in the first part of 2026

“See You in September” is one of those timeless summer songs that evokes for many people some nostalgia, young love, and the bittersweet feeling of seasonal goodbyes. The Happenings made it a hit, but the song goes back a few years from 1971.

It was written in just a few hours during a songwriting session in New York’s Brill Building, a legendary hub for pop music creation, by Sid Wayne and Sherman Edwards in June 1959. Maybe they were thinking about their own June high school graduations. It was first recorded by The Tempos, a Pittsburgh vocal group. Their version peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1959 while most of were getting ready for first grade.

Members of the original group that started in 1961 were initially called “The Four Graduates” because all four of them had just graduated from high school in nearby Paterson, New Jersey. later they became The Happenings and were known for reviving older standards with fresh arrangements and strong harmonies. Their upbeat, harmony-rich version of “See You in September” went to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966, so it wasn’t exactly a new hit in 1971. The Happenings infused the song with a bright, Beach Boys-esque sound that resonated in the mid-1960s. It became a defining summer anthem and sold over a million copies, earning a gold record.

The song has been covered by numerous artists and featured in films like American Graffiti, which helped revive interest in the original Tempos version in the 1970s. It’s often cited as one of the greatest summer songs of all time, capturing the essence of teenage romance and the anticipation of reuniting after a break.

The band had a string of hits. The two other most popular are “I Got Rhythm,” another upbeat cover of the Gershwin classic that reached No. 3 on Billboard in 1967. “Go Away Little Girl” written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King was a number 12 hit for the band in 1966. The group had nine Billboard Hot 100 Singles hits from 1966 to 1968.

The Happenings, led by Bob Miranda, had largely faded from the charts by the time they were playing high school proms. They were most active from 1966 to 1968, and by 1971, they were no longer releasing major records. While the original lineup from the 1960s has changed over the years, Bob Miranda remains active and occasionally performs with a new band as The Happenings and have been featured at oldies festivals, retro music cruises, and special events that celebrate the golden age of pop. I checked out their website to see if there were any nearby tour dates, but didn’t see anything in 2025.

Their “Ultimate Collection / All Their Hits” on CDs is still available, and of course, most of their hits are also on streaming services.

Have a good time, but remember
There is danger in the summer moon above
Will I see you in September
Or lose you to a summer love
I’ll be alone each and every night
While you’re away, don’t forget to write

Let’s hope for our classmates that our Reunion 55 won’t be “Bye-bye, so long, farewell.”