Wild Honey (The Beach Boys song)

Last updated
"Wild Honey"
Beach Boys - Wild Honey (single).jpg
Single by the Beach Boys
from the album Wild Honey
B-side "Wind Chimes"
ReleasedOctober 23, 1967 (1967-10-23)
RecordedSeptember 26–27, 1967
Studio Beach Boys Studio, Los Angeles
Length2:37
Label Capitol
Songwriter(s) Brian Wilson, Mike Love
Producer(s) The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"Heroes and Villains"
(1967)
"Wild Honey"
(1967)
"Darlin'"
(1967)

"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.

Contents

Composition

In a 1992 issue of Goldmine , Mike Love explained the idea for the lyrics of the song:

Brian was doing this track with a Theremin and we were doing the song. I went into the kitchen and we were in this health food thing and wild honey was all natural. So there's this can of wild honey and we're making some tea. So I said, I'll write the lyrics about this girl who was a wild little honey. And I wrote it from the perspective that that album was Brian's R&B-influenced album, in his mind. It may not sound like it to a Motown executive but that was where he was coming from on that record. In that particular instance I wrote it from the perspective of Stevie Wonder singing it. [1]

Recording

Recording for the song began on September 26, 1967 at Brian Wilson's home studio in Bel Air, California with Jim Lockert engineering the session. The song would be almost completely recorded in one day. The band would initially record organ and electric bass guitar courtesy of Bruce Johnston, percussion, tambourine and piano and following that Carl Wilson's lead vocal was overdubbed onto the basic track. The band then recorded instrumental inserts including bongos, percussion and drums, in which Dennis Wilson's bass drum was recorded in a hallway. [2] The session then concluded with the band doing further vocal overdubs and Bruce Johnston performing the organ solo. [3]

Work was resumed on the track the following day with Paul Tanner overdubbing his custom-built Electro-Theremin over the otherwise finished track.[ citation needed ]

Reception

Billboard described the single as an "easy rocker with a steady and solid dance beat." [4] Cash Box said that it's a "thumping, pulsing ditty." [5]

Variations

The song was first released as a single on October 23, 1967, with "Wind Chimes" as its B-side (except in Greece, where 1965's "The Girl from New York City" was the B-side). It was then released as the first track on Wild Honey in December of the same year. The following year, the song's backing track was released on the Stack-O-Tracks album. The song has appeared on several of the groups greatest hits compilations including the 1999 compilation album The Greatest Hits - Volume 2: 20 More Good Vibrations ; the 2003 compilation Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of The Beach Boys as well as the 1993 box set Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys .

Personnel

Credits per Craig Slowinski. [6]

The Beach Boys

Additional musician

Charts

Chart (1968)Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart10
New Zealand Singles Chart11
UK Singles Chart29
U.S. Billboard Hot 10031
U.S. Cashbox Top 10022

Related Research Articles

<i>Wild Honey</i> (album) 1967 studio album by the Beach Boys

Wild Honey is the thirteenth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on December 18, 1967, by Capitol Records. It was the group's first foray into soul music and was heavily influenced by the R&B of Motown and Stax Records. The album was the band's worst-selling at that point, charting at number 24 in the US. Lead single "Wild Honey" peaked at number 31, while its follow-up "Darlin'" reached number 19. In the UK, the album peaked at number seven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good Vibrations</span> 1966 single by the Beach Boys

"Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966, and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record charts in several countries including the United States and the United Kingdom. Characterized by its complex soundscapes, episodic structure and subversions of pop music formula, it was at the time the most expensive single ever recorded. "Good Vibrations" later became widely acclaimed as one of the finest and most important works of the rock era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heroes and Villains</span> 1967 single by the Beach Boys

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fun, Fun, Fun</span> Single by the Beach Boys

"Fun, Fun, Fun" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1964 album Shut Down Volume 2. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was released as a single in February, backed with "Why Do Fools Fall in Love". "Fun, Fun, Fun" is one of the Beach Boys' many songs that defined a genre of music called the California myth.

"That's Not Me" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, it is distinguished for its sophisticated harmonic structure and its sudden shifts in mood and instrumental textures. Owing to its relatively sparse orchestration, it is the track on Pet Sounds that most closely resembles a conventional rock song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You're So Good to Me</span> 1966 single by the Beach Boys

"You're So Good to Me" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on July 5, 1965, on their ninth studio album Summer Days . It was later included as the B-side of the group's single "Sloop John B", which was released on March 21, 1966. Mojo later wrote that the song was the closest the group had come to northern soul.

<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">Please Let Me Wonder</span> 1965 single by the Beach Boys

"Please Let Me Wonder" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album The Beach Boys Today!. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was the first song Wilson wrote under the influence of marijuana. The lyrics are about a man who does not know if a girl loves him and is afraid of learning the answer, and so he prefers to fantasize that she does. On February 15, the song was issued as the B-side to their "Do You Wanna Dance?" single before the album's release.

"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.

<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.

"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.

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

"Darlin'" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Wild Honey. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was inspired by singer Danny Hutton and was originally intended to be recorded by an early version of Three Dog Night. Carl Wilson ultimately sang the lead vocal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cool, Cool Water</span> 1971 single by the Beach Boys

"Cool, Cool Water" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1970 album Sunflower. It was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love and later issued as an A-sided single in March 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Add Some Music to Your Day</span> 1970 single by the Beach Boys

"Add Some Music to Your Day" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys that was released in the US on February 23, 1970 as the lead single from their album Sunflower. It was written by Brian Wilson, Joe Knott, and Mike Love. Wilson later said that Knott "was a friend of mine who wasn't a songwriter but he contributed a couple of lines. But I can't remember which ones!"

"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.

"Let Him Run Wild" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album Summer Days . Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was issued as the B-side to "California Girls".

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Getcha Back</span> 1985 single by the Beach Boys

"Getcha Back" is a song written by Mike Love and Terry Melcher for the American rock band the Beach Boys, on their 1985 album The Beach Boys. It was the band's first release since the drowning death of Dennis Wilson in 1983. The song peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Adult Contemporary chart.

"California Feelin'" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Stephen Kalinich that was recorded by the Beach Boys in the 1970s. Wilson recorded a solo version in 2002 for the Beach Boys compilation Classics Selected by Brian Wilson. Wilson’s bandmate Al Jardine later recorded his own version for his debut solo album A Postcard from California. Two composite versions of the Beach Boys' original recordings – one complete and the other a piano/vocal demo – were included on the 2013 compilation Made in California.

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

Summer Days is the ninth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on July 5, 1965, by Capitol Records. 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. Sharp, Ken (1992-09-18). "Love Among The Ruins". Goldmine . p. 19.
  2. Doe, Andrew G, Tobler, John (2004). Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys: the Complete Guide to their Music. p. 63.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. Badman, Keith (2004). The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band on Stage and in the Studio. pp. 200–201.
  4. "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. October 21, 1967. p. 12. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  5. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. October 21, 1967. p. 46. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  6. Slowinski, Craig (2017). Endless Summer Quarterly. Vol. 121.