It’s “National Sunglasses Day!” A day set aside to celebrate a popular fashion accessory which also contributes to the health of your eyes. Let’s join in the celebration with six great songs from the 80s and 90s which mention those cool shades.

National Sunglasses Day: There Are Health Benefits

Sure, a stylish pair of sunglasses looks cool. It completes the look of summer. However, by now you know that you must protect your eyes from harmful UVA and UVB sun rays. Even if the sunshine isn’t hurting your eyes, its always a good idea to don a pair of sunglasses.

According to an article on NationalToday.com, you don’t have to shop for the most expensive pair of sunglasses. They say even those “cheap sunglasses” on the grocery store or drug store spinning rack will do the trick. Nonetheless, the article recommends shopping for a pair of shades that will protect your eyes from “99 to 100 percent of both UVA and UVB light.” This should protect your peepers from serious retinal damage.

National Sunglasses Day: Further Health And Beauty Benefits

Wearing shades doesn’t just protect your retinas from suffering damage. In like manner, donning a pair of sunglasses also protects the sensitive skin around your eyes. The NationalToday.com article points out that the fashion accessory will keep you from squinting in the sun. Therefore, they help prevent you from getting wrinkles around your eyes.

It must be remembered that the skin around your eyes is very sensitive to UV rays. Those rays are very harmful, and not only to your retinas. Wearing sunglasses blocks those harmful UV rays from reaching that sensitive skin around your eyes. UV rays can cause skin damage, or worse yet, skin cancer.

Sunglasses Are One Of The Most Popular Fashion Accessories

Armed with all this information about the health and beauty benefits of wearing sunglasses, that’s not why most of us wear them. Surprisingly, research cited in the NationalToday.com article shows that “only 40% of Americans wear sunglasses for their eye-saving properties.”

Science also shows that wearing shades just makes us look more attractive. The NationalToday.com piece points out three reasons for this:

• They add symmetry to our faces.
• Shades add mystery to your persona because we can’t see your eyes.
• Sunglasses will always be linked to the glamor of Hollywood movie stars.

Scroll down to enjoy six great songs featured on 96.3 KKLZ which show our love of shades on “National Sunglasses Day!”

• "She Talks To Angels" - The Black Crowes

  This dark song from The Black Crowes isn’t about sunglasses, but it does mention them. It was the fourth single released from their 1990 album, Shake Your Money Maker. The single reached #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991. Per Wikipedia.org, lead singer Chris Robinson said the “song is loosely based on a ‘goth girl’ he was acquainted with in Atlanta who was ‘into heroin.'” You have to get to the middle of the song to catch the lyrics: “She paints her eyes as black as night now. She pulls those shades down tight.”

• "Sharp Dressed Man" - ZZ Top

  The unmistakable sound of ZZ Top from their Eliminator album. Gotta love it. Once again, this song isn’t all about sunglasses, but every “Sharp Dressed Man” accessorizes with a cool pair of shades. Especially during the 80s! As ZZ Top goes through the list of what a “Sharp Dressed Man” wears, they include the lyrics: “Black shades, white gloves. Lookin’ sharp. Lookin’ for love.” Turn it up to “11” and rock out.

• "The Boys Of Summer" - Don Henley

  One of the great 80s songs we pull out when summer begins every June. Once again, the lyrics aren’t all about sunglasses, but Henley does sing, “You got your hair combed back and your sunglasses on, baby.” Later, near the end of “The Boys of Summer,” he name drops the Ray-Ban® “Wayfarer” brand of shades. Man, those were popular during the 80s.

• "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" - Timbuk 3

  Here’s one of the most misunderstood songs of the 80s. The husband and wife songwriting team of Barbara and Pat MacDonald did not write it from a positive perspective. In fact, according to Wikipedia.org, they actually wrote it as an ironic quip about “impending nuclear holocaust.” But that’s not what the rest of us heard. In fact, this song became very popular at high school graduations during the late 80s.

• "Cheap Sunglasses" - ZZ Top

  There’s just something about ZZ Top and their sunglasses. They wear them when they perform. And, they love to sing about those cool shades. There is no official music video for “Cheap Sunglasses,” but we must include it in this list. The single barely broke onto the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979. It peaked at #89, but it remains one of ZZ Top’s memorable rockin’ blues songs.

• "Sunglasses At Night" - Corey Hart

  We saved the best for last. It is, without a doubt, the most iconic song from the 80s about sunglasses. I bumped into a lot of walls and doors when I tried to wear my “Sunglasses At Night” like Corey Hart. But it sure looked cool to wear shades when heading out to party. Hart was only 22 when this song reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984. According to Wikipedia.org, the lyric was created because they recorded this song in a studio where the air conditioning vents blew cold air into the eyes of the control room personnel. So, they all put on sunglasses to protect their peepers. Who knew!?

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