Do It Again (The Beach Boys song)
"Do It Again" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Beach Boys singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Audio sample | ||||
"Do It Again" is a song by the American
The song was issued only two weeks after the release of the band's album
"Do It Again" has been rerecorded once by the band (in 2011), once by Wilson as a solo artist (in 1995), and twice by Love as a solo artist (in 1996 and 2017). The song was an influence on
Background and recording
"Do It Again" is a self-conscious callback to the band's earlier
Yes, I suppose it has got the old Beach Boys surfing sound. It's back to that surfing idea with the voice harmony and the simple, direct melody and lyrics. We didn't plan the record as a return to the surf or anything. We just did it one day round a piano in the studio. Brian had the idea and played it over to us. We improved on that and recorded it very quickly, in about five minutes. It's certainly not an old track of ours; in fact it was recorded only a few weeks before it was released. We liked how it turned out and decided to release it.[4]
Conversely, Bruce Johnston told a reporter in September 1968 that he shared the reporter's underwhelming opinion of the song. "I don't like it either. I don't think that the group were entirely happy with it, but everyone else was going back to basics, so I suppose it was inevitable that we should."[7]
During the mixdown, engineer Stephen Desper came up with the drum effect heard at the beginning of the track. He explained that he had "commissioned Philips, in Holland, to build two tape delay units for use on the road (to double live vocals). [he] moved four of the Philips PB heads very close together so that one drum strike was repeated four times about 10 milliseconds apart, and blended it with the original to give the effect you hear."[citation needed].
Promotional film
A
Release
Released on July 19, 1968 in the United Kingdom the single, forty days after its release, peaked at No. 1 on the
"Do It Again" remained at the top position for only one week, after which it was supplanted by
Critical reception
In the U.S.,
In Britain's Disc & Music Echo, Penny Valentine praised the single:
This is a vast improvement on The Beach Boys' last single, and thank goodness for it. It sounds like bees humming on a summer breeze and is so completely solid; there isn't room for a fly to creep in. It goes on very gently and easily and is very, very pleasant. In a way it reminds me of one of the tracks off Pet Sounds, which is nice to say the least, and a hit it will most certainly be. I can imagine a few people will be muttering, "Well, she said they were finished," but I didn't. I said they should get back to their competent, commercial sound and they have. So there.[3]
Retrospectively, "Do It Again" has been praised by music critics. Donald A. Guarisco, writing for AllMusic, described it as "doo-wop on steroids", and praised its "metallic" drum sound.[13] In 2012, Mojo magazine named the song the 46th best by the band.[14] The French edition of Rolling Stone magazine ranked it 49th in a similar ranking of the Beach Boys' greatest songs.[citation needed]
Influence and use in media
Eric Carmen credited the "did-its" in this song with being the initial inspiration for his 1977 Top 40 hit, "She Did It".[16] Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys also participated in the production and vocals of Carmen's song. "Did It in a Minute", a 1982 hit by Hall & Oates, was in turn inspired by the 'did-its' in both songs.[17][18]
ABBA's "On and On and On" (1980) was also influenced by "Do It Again", and in response, Mike Love recorded a cover version of the ABBA song for his 1981 album Looking Back with Love.[19]
The opening drum line of "Do It Again" was sampled for "Remember" by French electronic duo Air on their album Moon Safari (1997).[20]
"Do It Again" was featured in the films One Crazy Summer,
Variations
Alternate studio versions
"Do It Again" was first released on an LP in 1969 for the band's 20/20 album. This version added a fade which consists of hammering and drilling sound effects originating from the Smile "Workshop" session recorded on November 29, 1966. This session was rerecorded for the solo album Brian Wilson Presents Smile (2004). The original Beach Boys recording was used to follow a 1966 take of "I Wanna Be Around" on The Smile Sessions (2011).
The song's backing track was released on the 1968 album
Live performances
The first officially released live recording of the song was released on the 1970 live album Live In London. Brian Wilson, who sings falsetto on the studio track, had retired from touring by this time and in concert his part was replaced by horns as evident on the Live In London album version. In 1980, a live rendition was recorded, though not released until 2002 on the Good Timin': Live at Knebworth England 1980 live album. Footage from the concert was also released on video and DVD format. The footage was also released on the 1998 documentary Endless Harmony with the sound re-mixed by Mark Linett into Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.[citation needed]
2011 remake
In 2011 the surviving Beach Boys; Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks came together in the studio to re-record "Do It Again" as part of their 50th anniversary celebration. The re-recorded version featured Mike Love (verses) and Brian Wilson (bridge) on lead vocals with longtime Beach Boys and Brian Wilson associate,
Solo versions
In 1995, Brian Wilson rerecorded the song for his album
In 1996, Mike Love rerecorded "Do It Again". On July 4, 2017, Love remade and released the song again, this time with Mark McGrath, and released it as a single.[24]
Personnel
Credits from Craig Slowinski.[25]
The Beach Boys
- Al Jardine – backing vocals, electric rhythm guitar, handclaps
- Bruce Johnston – backing vocals, handclaps
- Mike Love – lead and backing vocals, handclaps
- Brian Wilson – backing vocals, piano, organ, producer; possible bass
- Carl Wilson – backing vocals, electric lead and rhythm guitars, producer; possible bass, possible tambourine
- Dennis Wilson – backing vocals, drums
Session musicians
- John Guerin – drums, wood block; possible tambourine
- John Lowe – bass saxophone
- Ernie Small – baritone saxophone
Cover versions
- 1969 – A Taste Of Honey and Ronnie Aldrich
- 1983 – Papa Doo Run Run
- 1985 – Twist
- 1987 – Happy Planet; the band also recorded a promotional film for the song which featured a guest appearance by Brian Wilson.[26]
- 1994 – Trygve Thue
- 2000 – John Hunter Phillips, Diamonds On The Beach
- 2008 – Los Reactivos, Split Single (as "Hazlo Otra Vez")
- 2012 – Wilson Phillips, Dedicated
- 2017 – Mike Love (with Mark McGrath & John Stamos)
- 2022 – She & Him, Melt Away
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
References
- ^ "Do It Again – the Beach Boys | Song Info | AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ a b c d Rice 1982, p. 119.
- ^ a b c Badman 2004, p. 223.
- ^ a b c Badman 2004, p. 221.
- ^ Simpson, Dave. "The Beach Boys' Mike Love: 'There are a lot of fallacies about me'". theguardian.co.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
- ^ Love 2016, p. 200.
- ISBN 0890091749.
- ^ Badman 2004, p. 224.
- ^ Beard, David (July 2, 2008). "Cover Story: 'Friends' The Beach Boys' Feel-Good Record". Goldmine. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. July 13, 1968. p. 22. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
- ^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. July 13, 1968. p. 70. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
- ^ "Single Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. July 20, 1968. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
- ^ Guarisco, Donald A. (August 5, 2023). "Song Review by Donald A. Guarisco". AllMusic.
- ^ "The Beach Boys' 50 Greatest Songs Ranked!". Mojo. 2023. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
- ^ Neil Sedaka's mini-concert, September 1, 2020 from Sedaka's official YouTube account
- ^ "Did Eric "inspire" Hall & Oates? – That's Rock 'N' Roll – EricCarmen.com Community". Ericcarmen.com. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
- ^ "Hall & Oates Live Concert History". Hallandoates.de. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
- ^ "Did Eric "inspire" Hall & Oates? – That's Rock 'N' Roll – EricCarmen.com Community". Ericcarmen.com. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
- ^ Marszalek, Julian (May 21, 2018). "Ah-haa! ABBA, Beyond The Hits". The Quietus.
- ^ Guarisco, Donald A. "Do It Again – The Beach Boys : Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
- ^ "Beach Boys Producers Alan Boyd, Dennis Wolfe, Mark Linett Discuss 'Made in California' (Q&A)". Rock Cellar Magazine. September 4, 2013. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
- ^ "Do It Again- new version question".
- ^ "Brian says Beach Boys reunion album sounds "mellow"".
- ^ Graff, Gary (2017-07-18). "Mike Love Remakes a Beach Boys Classic With Mark McGrath & John Stamos: Exclusive Video". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
- ^ Slowinski, Craig (Spring 2019). Beard, David (ed.). "20/20: 50 Year Anniversary Special Edition". Endless Summer Quarterly Magazine. Charlotte, North Carolina.
- ^ "Video Music" (PDF). Billboard. June 6, 1987. p. 52. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
Brian Wilson, at left, views the video in which he stars with I.R.S. Records act Wall of Voodoo.
- ^ "Go-Set Magazine Charts". www.poparchives.com.au. Barry McKay. January 2007. Archived from the original on 27 March 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ "austriancharts.at The Beach Boys – Do it Again" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved April 14, 2013.
- ^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-09-16. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Do It Again". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
- MegaCharts. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
- ^ "New Zealand Singles Charts". mountvernonandfairway.de. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com The Beach Boys – Do it Again" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
- ^ "SA Charts 1965 – March 1989". Retrieved 1 September 2018.
- ^ "The Beach Boys – Do it Again– hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, September 14, 1968". Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
- ^ "Go-Set Magazine Charts". www.poparchives.com.au. Barry McKay. January 2007. Archived from the original on 27 March 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ "Sixties City – Pop Music Charts – Every Week of the Sixties".
- ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 28, 1968". Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
- Bibliography
- Badman, Keith (2004). The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band, on Stage and in the Studio. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-818-6.
- ISBN 978-0-698-40886-9.
- Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
External links
- The Beach Boys - Do It Again on YouTube