Wake the World

Last updated
"Wake the World"
Single by the Beach Boys
from the album Friends
A-side "Do It Again"
ReleasedJuly 8, 1968
RecordedMarch 1968
Studio ID Sound and Beach Boys Studio, California
Length1:28
Label Capitol
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"Friends"
(1968)		"Do It Again" / "Wake the World"
(1968)		"Bluebirds over the Mountain"
(1968)

"Wake the World" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1968 album Friends . It was written by Brian Wilson and Al Jardine about getting up in the morning for work. In addition to appearing on Friends, "Wake the World" was released as B-side to "Do It Again" in July 1968. The song has since appeared multiple times on the band's live setlists and has been described as a cult favorite.

Contents

Background

"Wake the World" was the first original song that Brian Wilson and Al Jardine wrote together. Jardine recalled, "I seem to remember that I was sitting at the piano with Brian, and he had the music worked out when we did 'Wake the World.' That was great; I love that song. We wrote that at his house right under that beautiful stained glass Wild Honey cover window. [...] It was a great little room." [1]

On the song's lyrics, Jardine commented, "It was inspired by a conversation about people having to get up every day and go to work. Something, thankfully, we never had to do!" [2] Wilson stated, "'Wake the World' was my favorite cut. It was so descriptive to how I felt about the dramatic change over from day to night." [1]

The song was recorded in March 1968. The song was one of the few tracks that featured contributions from Mike Love, who for much of the album's recording sessions was studying with the Maharishi in India. [3] The chorus features a tuba line. [4]

Release

In addition to appearing as the third track on the band's 1968 album Friends , "Wake the World" was released as the B-side of the band's subsequent 1968 single "Do It Again". [1] The song also served as the title track to the 2018 compilation Wake the World: The Friends Sessions . [5]

Live performances

"Wake the World" was regularly performed live by the band during the late 1960s and early 1970s, [6] appearing on albums such as Live in London (1970) and the archival The Beach Boys On Tour: 1968 (2018).

Brian Wilson performed the song on solo tours with Jardine in later years. [7] Jardine explained in 2019, "We've been doing that for a couple of years now. So that one, we have been doing, come to think of it. Because, I don't know, 'cause we like it [laughs]." [8] Jardine has also performed the song live in his solo setlist. [9]

Critical reception

"Wake the World" became a fan favorite from Friends. [10] In a 1968 review, Rolling Stone 's Arthur Schmidt named the song as one of the "great" tracks on the first side of the album that "evoke the elation of Wild Honey." [11] Goldmine described the track as "one of true beauty with an accompanying message of peace" and noted it as "one of the best collaborative efforts between Al Jardine and Brian." [1] Biographer Jon Stebbins said of the song, "It's incredible to think that such a well-developed composition and arrangement could be shorter than any song on the Surfin' U.S.A. LP." [12]

Personnel

Credits from Craig Slowinski [13]

The Beach Boys
Additional musicians

Related Research Articles

<i>Sunflower</i> (The Beach Boys album) 1970 studio album by the Beach Boys

Sunflower is the sixteenth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on August 31, 1970, and their first on Reprise Records. It received favorable reviews, but sold poorly, reaching number 151 on the US record charts during a four-week stay and becoming the lowest-charting Beach Boys album to that point. "Add Some Music to Your Day" was the only single that charted in the US, peaking at number 64. In the UK, the album peaked at number 29.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Jardine</span> American musician, singer, songwriter

Alan Charles Jardine is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as "Help Me, Rhonda" (1965), "Then I Kissed Her" (1965), "Cottonfields" (1970), and "Come Go with Me" (1978). His song "Lady Lynda" was also a UK top 10 hit for the group in 1978. Other Beach Boys songs that feature Jardine on lead include "I Know There's an Answer" (1966), "Vegetables" (1967), and "From There to Back Again" (2012).

<i>The Beach Boys Christmas Album</i> 1964 studio album by The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys' Christmas Album is the seventh studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released November 9, 1964 on Capitol Records. It contains five original songs and seven standards on a Christmas theme. The album proved to be a long-running success during subsequent Christmas seasons, initially reaching No. 6 on Billboard's Christmas LP's chart in its initial release and eventually going gold. Music historian James Perone wrote that it is "regarded as one of the finest holiday albums of the rock era".

<i>Friends</i> (The Beach Boys album) 1968 album by the Beach Boys

Friends is the fourteenth studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on June 24, 1968, through Capitol Records. The album is characterized by its calm and peaceful atmosphere, which contrasted the prevailing music trends of the time, and for its brevity, with five of its 12 tracks running less than two minutes long. It sold poorly, peaking at number 126 on the Billboard charts, the group's lowest U.S. chart performance to date, although it reached number 13 in the UK. Fans generally came to regard the album as one of the band's finest.

<i>20/20</i> (The Beach Boys album) 1969 studio album by US band The Beach Boys

20/20 is the fifteenth studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released February 10, 1969 on Capitol Records. The LP was named for being their 20th overall release when factoring in live albums and compilations. Much of 20/20 consists of outtakes from earlier albums. It reached number 3 on UK record charts and number 68 in the U.S. Brian Wilson was absent during most of the album's recording after admitting himself into a psychiatric hospital, requiring brothers Carl and Dennis to retrieve several outtakes he had recorded years earlier. While Brian does not appear on the front cover, the inner gatefold of the original vinyl release features him alone, behind an eye examination chart.

<i>Surfs Up</i> (album) 1971 studio album by the Beach Boys

Surf's Up is the seventeenth studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released August 30, 1971 on Brother/Reprise. It received largely favorable reviews and reached number 29 on the US record charts, becoming their highest-charting LP of new music in the US 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.

<i>L.A. (Light Album)</i> 1979 album by the Beach Boys

L.A. is the 23rd studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on March 16, 1979, and their first issued through CBS Records. Recorded during a period of acrimony between the band members, it was a critical and commercial failure, peaking at number 100 in the U.S. and number 32 in the UK.

<i>M.I.U. Album</i> 1978 album by the Beach Boys

M.I.U. Album is the 22nd studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on September 25, 1978. Characterized for its easy-listening sound, the album was produced by Al Jardine and touring member Ron Altbach during one of the most acrimonious periods in the band's history. It sold poorly, peaking at number 151 in the U.S, and was met with confused reactions from critics and fans.

<i>Keepin the Summer Alive</i> 1980 studio album by The Beach Boys

Keepin' the Summer Alive is the 24th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released March 24, 1980 on Brother, Caribou and CBS Records. Produced by Bruce Johnston, the album peaked at number 75 in the US, during a chart stay of 6 weeks, and number 54 in the UK. It is the group's last album recorded with Dennis Wilson, who drowned in 1983, although he only appears on one song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Never Learn Not to Love</span> 1968 single by the Beach Boys

"Never Learn Not to Love" is a song recorded by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was issued as the B-side to their "Bluebirds over the Mountain" single on December 2, 1968. Credited to Dennis Wilson, the song was an altered version of "Cease to Exist", written by the cult leader Charles Manson. Manson wrote his version of the song specifically for the Beach Boys to record, and his lyrics were meant to address personal tensions he had witnessed between Dennis and his brothers Brian and Carl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Help Me, Rhonda</span> 1965 song by the Beach Boys

"Help Me, Rhonda" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys, appearing first on their 1965 album The Beach Boys Today! and subsequently in re-recorded form on the following 1965 album Summer Days . It was written by Brian Wilson, with additional lyrics by Mike Love. Unlike many other songs by the band from this period, "Help Me, Rhonda" features a lead vocal sung by Al Jardine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Do It Again (The Beach Boys song)</span> 1968 single by Beach Boys

"Do It Again" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was released as single on July 8, 1968. It was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love as a self-conscious callback to the group's earlier surf image, which they had not embraced since 1964. Love and Wilson also share the lead vocal on the song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good Timin' (The Beach Boys song)</span> 1979 single by the Beach Boys

"Good Timin’" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys and the second single from their 1979 album L.A. . It is one of the few songs jointly credited to Brian and Carl Wilson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friends (The Beach Boys song)</span> 1968 single by the Beach Boys

"Friends" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1968 album Friends. It was written by Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson and Al Jardine. Sung by Carl, the song was recorded in waltz time. "Friends" was the first single from the album of the same name and has since been described as a "cult favorite."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild Honey (The Beach Boys song)</span> 1967 single by The Beach Boys

"Wild Honey" is a song recorded by the American rock band the Beach Boys. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was released as the lead single from their 1967 album Wild Honey, with the B-side of the single being "Wind Chimes". The single peaked at number 31 in the U.S. and number 29 in the U.K.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's About Time (The Beach Boys song)</span> 1970 single by the Beach Boys

"It's About Time" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1970 album Sunflower. Written by Dennis Wilson, Al Jardine, Bob Burchman and Carl Wilson, it was issued as the B-side of the "Tears in the Morning" single. Jardine said, "'It's About Time' was Carl, Dennis and I. That's a good one. I like that production. That was mostly Dennis, and I just helped with the lyrics. Dennis and Carl did the track."

"Our Sweet Love" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1970 album Sunflower. Written by Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, and Al Jardine, "Our Sweet Love" features a lush sound that has been compared to the band's work on Pet Sounds. Brian Wilson originally left the song unfinished, resulting in the band completing it for Sunflower. Carl Wilson sings the song's lead vocal.

"Take a Load Off Your Feet" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1971 album Surf's Up. It was written by Al Jardine, Brian Wilson and Gary Winfrey.

"Here Comes the Night" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Wild Honey. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the group later rerecorded the track for their 1979 album, L.A. , as a disco song lasting nearly eleven minutes. A four-minute edit of this version was released as a single on February 19, 1979 and reached number 44 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

<i>Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)</i> 1965 studio album by the Beach Boys

Summer Days is the ninth studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on July 5, 1965, on Capitol. The band's previous album, The Beach Boys Today!, represented a departure for the group through its abandonment of themes related to surfing, cars, and teenage love, but it sold below Capitol's expectations. In response, the label pressured the group to produce bigger hits. Summer Days thus returned the band's music to simpler themes for one last album, with Brian Wilson combining Capitol's commercial demands with his artistic calling.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Cover Story: 'Friends' The Beach Boys' Feel-Good Record". Goldmine Magazine: Record Collector & Music Memorabilia. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  2. ↑ "Review: Al Jardine, Family & Friends » Endless Summer Quarterly". Endless Summer Quarterly. 5 March 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  3. ↑ "Friends". smileysmile.net.
  4. ↑ Leaf, David (1990). Friends / 20/20 (CD Liner). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records.
  5. ↑ Hermes, Will (15 January 2019). "How the Beach Boys' Lost Late-Sixties Gems Got a Second Life". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  6. ↑ Dillon, Mark (1 June 2012). Fifty Sides of the Beach Boys: The Songs That Tell Their Story. ECW Press. ISBN   978-1-77090-198-8.
  7. ↑ "What would Brian Wilson change about 'Pet Sounds'? He reflects 50 years later". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  8. ↑ Moser, John J. "Q&A Interview: Beach Boys' Al Jardine, with Brian Wilson at Wind Creek Event Center on Sunday, says singer has his Mojo back". The Morning Call. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  9. ↑ "Al Jardine at Sony Hall". Music Connection Magazine. 1 April 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  10. ↑ Knollwood, Johnny (16 February 2022). "Al Jardine, Co-Founder of the Beach Boys Talks Family and Friends". The New School Free Press. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  11. ↑ Schmidt, Arthur (24 August 1968). "Friends". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  12. ↑ Stebbins, Jon (September 2011). The Beach Boys FAQ. Backbeat. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  13. ↑ Endless Summer Quarterly, Spring 2018 Edition[ full citation needed ]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.