The song was recorded in Advision Studios, based in London, and is the second track and only original composition written for the project, with all of the other songs being covers of previously released compositions, including their own. The track is a rock song which features string arrangements from frequent David Bowie collaborator Tony Visconti.
The song was originally meant to be released as a single, although the single release was cancelled due to Carl Wayne's departure around that same time, as he was a lead vocalist on the song. Eventually, in January 1971, the song would be re-released as the B-side of the Looking On single "Turkish Tram Conductor Blues" in Germany, through Ariola Records.
Composition
Tony Visconti (pictured performing with Holy Holy) helped with the string arrangements in the track
The song, a rock composition, features Carl Wayne on vocals, Roy Wood on guitar, and Bev Bevan on drums, alongside Tony Visconti (mainly known for his work with David Bowie and T. Rex) on bass and string arrangements. "Beautiful Daughter" was Visconti's sole contribution to Shazam. The song was written by Wood and produced by him too, alongside Wayne, Rick Price (the newest member of the group at the time) and Gerald Chevin. According to Wood, the song "just sort of happened. I think I based it around the chord sequences on that. I based the whole song around the chords. I did a lot of open string work on that and it worked quite well."[1]
The song is the only original composition on the whole album. All of the other songs are covers of pre-existing songs (including their own), and "Beautiful Daughter" is the only original composition made for the album. Because of this, alongside the very few full tracks recorded, spoken word segments were added to the album to pad out the runtime, alongside giving the album a concept.
Release
"Beautiful Daughter" was first released on Shazam, the band's second studio album, on the 27th of February, 1970. The song was originally going to be released as a single, but the idea dropped once Carl Wayne left the band.[2] The song was, however, released in Germany as the B-side to the third and final single from the band's third studio album, Looking On, called "Turkish Tram Conductor Blues", in January 1971.[3] By then, Jeff Lynne had taken over lead vocals, replacing Wayne's position.
Critical reception
AllMusic, when reviewing Shazam, described the song as "gentle", "string-laden", and "quite clearly a holdover from previous sessions due to both its sweetness and brevity".[4]
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