1. Arrow/Buster Poindexter “Hot Hot Hot” (1982/1987)
You simply can’t take a cruise or stay at an all inclusive hotel in the tropics—we’re going beyond just the Caribbean here—without hearing “Hot Hot Hot.” Recorded by an artist (Arrow) from one of the Caribbean’s smallest and least populated territories (Montserrat), it managed to have a worldwide impact both before and after New York Dolls singer David Johansen—then operating as Buster Poindexter—put his own spin on it and made it one of the signature “vacation tunes” of the late ’80s, right next to “Kokomo” by the Beach Boys.