The 1972 song Bob Dylan called “the national anthem of summer”

Bob Dylan called Alice Cooper’s 1972 song “School’s Out” the “national anthem of summer vacation”, linking its appeal to the anticipation and release felt at the end of the school year. The choice is notable because Dylan is not usually associated with sun-soaked summer music, while the song captures a youthful moment of freedom and possibility.

Dylan made the remark while hosting a 2006 episode of his radio programme focused on education, introducing the song as graduation approached. Written and performed by Cooper, born Vincent Furnier, “School’s Out” became a celebration of leaving school, though Dylan would have been far older than a typical pupil when it was released. Cooper described its mounting excitement as a “slow fuse burning”.