Salt Lake City (song)
| "Salt Lake City" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Song by The Beach Boys | |
| from the album Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) | |
| Released | July 5, 1965 |
| Recorded | track:March 30, 1965 Western Studios vocals: late May 1965 Columbia Recording Studios |
| Genre | Rock |
| Length | 2:00 |
| Label | Capitol |
| Songwriter(s) | Brian Wilson/Mike Love |
| Producer(s) | Brian Wilson |
"Salt Lake City" is a song written by
band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1965 album Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
.
Background
"Salt Lake City" was written to call attention to the band's major fan base in
deejay Gene Davis said, "[Brian Wilson] remembered coming to Salt Lake, but it was not a big deal. When you talk to Mike Love, Salt Lake was big time to them. He loved Salt Lake City. But [Wilson] remembered writing 'Salt Lake City' as one of those fun songs they sat down and did."[1] The song was also released as a promo single, backed with "Amusement Parks U.S.A.", by the city's downtown merchants association.[2]
The song lyrics extol the attractions of northern Utah: summer sun, winter skiing, local girls and the
Lagoon amusement park
. Mike Love and Brian Wilson sing the leads vocals on the song.
Critical opinion
AllMusic writer Richie Unterberger called the song a "subpar effort" as well as one of the "throwbacks to the empty-headed summer filler of previous days" on Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!).[3] Author Jim Fuselli described the track as a throwback "to the group's happy-go-lucky days."[4]
Personnel
Partial credits via Craig Slowinski.[5]
The Beach Boys
- Al Jardine – harmony and backing vocals
- Mike Love – lead and bass vocals
- Brian Wilson – lead, harmony, and backing vocals
- Carl Wilson – harmony and backing vocals, electric guitar
- Dennis Wilson – harmony and backing vocals
Additional musicians and staff
- Hal Blaine – drums
- Leon Russell – Hammond B-3 organ
- Frank Capp – vibraphone
- Roy Caton – trumpet
- Jerry Cole – electric rhythm guitar
- Al De Lory – grand piano
- Steve Douglas – tenor saxophone
- Plas Johnson – tenor saxophone
- Jay Migliori – baritone saxophone
- Carol Kaye – Danelectro 6-string bass guitar
- Lyle Ritz – upright bass
- 12-string electric guitar
- Billy Strange – tambourine
References
- ^ a b Wharton, Tom. "Utah's long love affair with the Beach Boys". The Salt Lake Tribune.
- ^ Lambert, Philip. Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius.
- ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!)". allmusic.com.
- ^ Fuselli, Jim. The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds.
- ^ Slowinski, Craig (2009). "The Beach Boys - The Beach Boys Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)" (PDF). Retrieved October 27, 2012.
