"Sail On,Sailor" (mislabeled "Sail On Sailor" on original pressings) is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1973 album Holland . It was written primarily by Van Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson with Ray Kennedy,Tandyn Almer,and Jack Rieley. The lead singer on the song is Blondie Chaplin,making this one of the band's few well-known songs not sung by Mike Love,Brian Wilson or Carl Wilson. The song was released as a single in 1973,backed with "Only with You",and peaked at No. 79 on the Billboard singles chart. A 1975 reissue (also backed with "Only with You") charted higher,at No. 49.
Brian Wilson himself later stated,"It's the only song that we did that I absolutely do not like at all. I never liked 'Sail On,Sailor'." [1] However,Wilson personally selected the song as one of 19 track selections for the compilation Classics Selected by Brian Wilson ,saying,"I love how this song rocks." According to biographer Jon Stebbins,the song "is perhaps the only perennial Beach Boys favorite to still thrive in the classic rock and album rock FM radio formats of the present." [2]
Van Dyke Parks,who was then director of audio-visual services at Warner Bros. Records,explained the impetus for the song:"I called [Brian] up out of the clear blue sky and at some point he said,'Let's write a tune.' It was better than having him stare at the angels on his headboard and write tunes about them." [3] On another occasion,he shared further context,
Chart (1973) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary [26] | 52 |
Netherlands[ citation needed ] | 73 |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [22] | 79 |
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [27] | 96 |
Chart (1975) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada RPM Top Singles [28] | 73 |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [29] | 49 |
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [30] | 62 |
Holland is the 19th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released January 8, 1973 on Brother/Reprise. It is their first album recorded without Bruce Johnston since 1965, their second with Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar, and their final studio album created under the de facto leadership of Carl Wilson and manager Jack Rieley. The LP was originally packaged with a bonus EP, Mount Vernon and Fairway, which consisted of a 12-minute fairy tale written and produced by Brian and Carl Wilson.
Surf's Up is the 17th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on August 30, 1971 on Brother/Reprise. It received largely favorable reviews and reached number 29 on the U.S. record charts, becoming their highest-charting LP of new music in the U.S. since 1967. In the UK, Surf's Up peaked at number 15, continuing a string of top 40 records that had not abated since 1965.
Carl and the Passions – "So Tough" is the 18th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released May 15, 1972 on Brother/Reprise. The album is a significant musical departure for the band and is the first to feature the Flames' Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar as additions to their official line-up. It sold poorly and was met with lukewarm reviews, but later gained stature as a cult favorite among fans.
"Heroes and Villains" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Smiley Smile and their unfinished Smile project. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, Wilson envisioned the song as an Old West-themed musical comedy that would surpass the recording and artistic achievements of "Good Vibrations". The single was Brother Records' first release. While it failed to meet critical and commercial expectations, it was nevertheless a hit record, peaking at number 12 in the U.S. and number 8 in the UK.
Love Sweat is the twenty-second album by Dutch hard rock band Golden Earring, released in 1995. It contains covers of other artists' songs. The album was not issued in the U.S.
Classics selected by Brian Wilson is a compilation of songs by The Beach Boys and released through Capitol Records in mid-2002. It was compiled by Brian Wilson himself that February. It includes a new recording of an unreleased 1970s track, "California Feelin'" not by The Beach Boys but Wilson and his live band.
"Surf's Up" is a song recorded by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks. It was originally intended for Smile, an unfinished Beach Boys album that was scrapped in 1967. The song was later completed by Brian and Carl Wilson as the closing track of the band's 1971 album Surf's Up.
"Funky Pretty" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their January 1973 album Holland. Themed around astrology, the song was written by Brian Wilson, Mike Love, and Jack Rieley. Carl Wilson explained that the song was quickly recorded in a "spontaneous flurry". Brian was an active participant in its production, a rare occurrence at the time. In April 1973, it was issued as the B-side to their single "California Saga/California".
"Wonderful" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Smiley Smile and their unfinished Smile project. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, it was their only collaboration that resulted in a love song, telling the story of a young girl's sexual awakening and its disruption of her devotion to God and her parents.
"A Day in the Life of a Tree" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1971 album Surf's Up. It was written by Brian Wilson and the group's manager Jack Rieley, who also performed lead vocal. The lyrics were inspired by Wilson's feelings toward environmental pollution.
"Marcella" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1972 album Carl and the Passions – "So Tough". Written by Brian Wilson, Jack Rieley, and Tandyn Almer, the lyrics were inspired by Wilson's fixation with a local massage therapist. It is the last song to feature Bruce Johnston during his original tenure in the band.
"You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1972 album Carl and the Passions – "So Tough". It was written by Brian Wilson and Jack Rieley, and was issued as the album's lead single with the B-side "Cuddle Up". The single failed to chart.
"Long Promised Road" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1971 album Surf's Up. It was written by Carl Wilson and Jack Rieley. Aside from a few guitar instrumentals written in the early days of the band and collective co-writing credits, the song is Wilson's first solo composition, and he plays all of the instruments himself.
"Vegetables" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Smiley Smile and their unfinished Smile project. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, the song was conceived by Wilson as a tongue-in-cheek promotion of organic food. Another reported inspiration for the song was a humorous comment Wilson heard about the effect of marijuana turning him and his friends into a "vegetative" state.
John Frank Rieley III was an American businessman, record producer, songwriter, and disc jockey who managed the Beach Boys between mid-1970 and late 1973. He is credited with guiding them back to popular acclaim and was described by New Statesman as "a radio DJ turned career mentor."
"Loop de Loop (Flip Flop Flyin' in an Aeroplane)" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was written by Al Jardine, Brian Wilson, and Carl Wilson. It was originally recorded between the late 1960s and 1970s. In 1998, Jardine finished the song for its release on Endless Harmony Soundtrack.
"Look" is an incomplete musical piece that was composed by American musician Brian Wilson for the Beach Boys' aborted Smile album. Wilson produced the backing track at the start of the Smile sessions in August 1966. It is theorized that a missing session tape may have contained a vocal track that he recorded with his bandmates in October.
"Child Is Father of the Man" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys that was written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks. It was originally recorded for the band's never-finished album Smile. In 2004, Wilson rerecorded the song for Brian Wilson Presents Smile. In 2011, the Beach Boys' original recording was released on The Smile Sessions.
Live – The 50th Anniversary Tour is a live album by the Beach Boys released on May 21, 2013. The album was recorded during the band's 50th anniversary reunion tour.
Mount Vernon and Fairway is an EP by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was included as a bonus record with their 1973 release Holland. It is a 12-minute musical fairy tale, primarily composed by Brian Wilson, assembled by Carl Wilson, and narrated by manager Jack Rieley. Brian provided the voice of the Pied Piper and drew the sleeve cover.