[Editor’s note: While your Flavorwire editors take a much-needed holiday break, we’re revisiting some of our most popular features of the year. This post was originally published July 30, 2011.] It’s the last weekend of July and summer is in full swing (it won’t last forever, though, so if you haven’t busted out your bathing suit by now, you’d better do it soon). We already know that many of the literary greats we admire liked to flit around the beach in their bathing suits, but what about their sonic storytelling counterparts? Turns out they fancied a swim now and again too. Not surprising, since their days were most likely filled with sticky tour bus rides and sweat-inducing live performances. Also not surprising: they tend to look just a little better in their next-to-nothing duds than our dear group of authors, since for many of them, part of their job was inspiring teenage lovesickness. Click through to see our gallery of rock stars from the 60s, 70s and 80s as they frolic, pose and pout in their swimsuits.
Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, and Charlie Watts, 1965 [via]
Mick Jagger, 1965 [via]
Betty Davis, 1969 [via]
Rod Stewart [via]
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts [via]
Brian Jones and Keith Richards, 1965 [via]
Elvis Presley, 1961 [via]
The Monkees (okay, so you can only see Davy Jones’ bathing suit, but we imagine Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz have got them on under all that sand), 1967 [via]
David Bowie (and Iman) [via]
The Beach Boys, 1966 [via]
This may be a lot of Rick James and not a lot of bathing suit, but you get the idea. 1981 [via]
Ozzy Osbourne, 1985 [via]
The Beatles, 1964 [via]
AC/DC, 1985 [via]
Grace Slick is wearing pants over her bathing suit, but we still love her. 1970. [via]
Robert Plant and Zeppelin road manager Richard Cole, 1969 [via]
No Doubt, 1989 [via]