Wild Honey (The Beach Boys song)
"Wild Honey" | ||||
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Single by the Beach Boys | ||||
from the album Wild Honey | ||||
B-side | "Wind Chimes" | |||
Released | October 23, 1967 | |||
Recorded | September 26–27, 1967 | |||
Studio | Beach Boys Studio, Los Angeles | |||
Length | 2:37 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Songwriter(s) | Brian Wilson, Mike Love | |||
Producer(s) | The Beach Boys | |||
The Beach Boys singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
"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.
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
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
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 "
Personnel
Credits per Craig Slowinski.[6]
The Beach Boys
- Al Jardine - backing vocals
- Bruce Johnston - backing vocals, Farfisa organs, bass guitar
- Mike Love - backing vocals
- Brian Wilson - backing vocals, piano
- Carl Wilson - lead and backing vocals, guitar, tambourine
- Dennis Wilson - backing vocals, drums, bongos
Additional musician
Charts
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References
- ^ Sharp, Ken (1992-09-18). "Love Among The Ruins". Goldmine. p. 19.
- ^ 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) - ^ Badman, Keith (2004). The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band on Stage and in the Studio. pp. 200–201.
- ^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. October 21, 1967. p. 12. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. October 21, 1967. p. 46. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
- ^ Slowinski, Craig (2017). Endless Summer Quarterly. Vol. 121.