The lyrics were written by Henley and the music was composed by Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Mike Campbell, the guitarist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, wrote a demo for "The Boys of Summer" while experimenting with a LinnDrum drum machine and Oberheim OB-X synthesizer.

At the suggestion of the producer Jimmy Iovine, Campbell played it for Don Henley, the vocalist and drummer for the Eagles, who wrote the lyrics and recorded the vocal.

[7][8] The lyrics appear to be about the passing of youth and entering middle age, with the nostalgic theme of "summer love"[9] and reminiscence of a past relationship.

[13]) In an interview with NME in 1985, Henley explained the '"Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac" lyric as an example of his generation selling out.

[14][15] I was driving down the San Diego Freeway and got passed by a $21,000 Cadillac Seville, the status symbol of the right-wing upper-middle-class American bourgeoisie – all the guys with the blue blazers with the crests and the grey pants – and there was this Grateful Dead "Deadhead" bumper sticker on it!The song's title is taken from Roger Kahn's 1972 book about the Brooklyn Dodgers, which was in turn taken from a Dylan Thomas poem.

One day, he and Campbell were out on a car drive to listen to a mix of their song "Don't Come Around Here No More", but turned on the ignition and heard "The Boys of Summer".

[20] The music video to "The Boys of Summer" is a French New Wave-influenced piece directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.

Interspersed with these scenes are segments of Henley singing the words of the song while riding in a pickup truck.

As a boy in the 1950s, the protagonist practices playing the drums, suggesting musical aspirations; as a teenager in the 1960s, he walks down a beach with his girlfriend whom he kisses passionately; and as a middle-aged man in the 1980s, he appears to be an executive of some sort who is comfortable, but unhappy in life as he sits at his desk remembering his youth.

At its conclusion, the video uses the post-modern concept of exposing its own workings, as with a wry expression Henley drives the car away from a rear projection screen.

In 2002, Spanish trance artist DJ Sammy (with vocals performed by Dutch singer Loona) covered the song.

Asked in a 2016 interview whether he was okay with the lyric change, Henley responded, "No, not really ... And if you noticed, we haven't heard much from the Ataris since then.