Wild Honey (The Beach Boys song)

"Wild Honey" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1967 album Wild Honey. It was also released as a single, with the B-side of the single being "Wind Chimes". The single peaked at #31 in the U.S. and #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 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 purportedly 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 Theremin over the otherwise finished track. This was the third song in the Beach Boys catalog after "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" and "Good Vibrations" to feature the Theremin.

Personnel

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

From Keith Badman.^[3]

The Beach Boys

Bruce Johnston – organ solo, electric bass guitar
Carl Wilson – lead vocals

Additional musicians and technical staff

Jim Lokert – engineer
Paul Tanner – Theremin
unknown – bass drum, bongos, percussion, drums, backing vocals

Release

The single peaked at No. 22 in Cash Box and No. 14 in Canada. It broke the top 10 playlists of many large markets including Philadelphia, Detroit, Dallas, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Cleveland and the rest of Ohio, Portland, Phoenix, and Vancouver, and lodged at No. 2 in Washington DC for three weeks, kept out only by the Monkees; it reached No. 20 in New York.

Variations

The song was first released as a single on October 23, 1967. 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.

Charts

Chart (1968)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart^[4]	10
Dutch Singles Chart^[5]	26
New Zealand Singles Chart^[6]	11
UK Singles Chart	29
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	31

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.
1 2 Badman, Keith (2004). The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band on Stage and in the Studio. pp. 200–201.
↑ "Australian Singles Charts". mountvernonandfairway.de. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
↑ "Dutch Singles Charts". mountvernonandfairway.de. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
↑ "New Zealand Singles Charts". mountvernonandfairway.de. Retrieved 13 November 2007.

External links

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Wild Honey

Songs

Side one	"Wild Honey" "Aren't You Glad" "I Was Made to Love Her" "Country Air" "A Thing or Two"

Side two	"Darlin'" "I'd Love Just Once to See You" "Here Comes the Night" "Let the Wind Blow" "How She Boogalooed It" "Mama Says"

Outtakes

The Beach Boys singles discography

1960s

1961	"Surfin'" / "Luau"

1962	"Surfin' Safari" / "409" "Ten Little Indians" / "County Fair"

1963	"Surfin' U.S.A." / "Shut Down" "Surfer Girl" / "Little Deuce Coupe" "Be True to Your School" / "In My Room" "Little Saint Nick" / "The Lord's Prayer"

1964	"Fun, Fun, Fun" / "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" "I Get Around" / "Don't Worry Baby" "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)" / "She Knows Me Too Well" "Dance, Dance, Dance" / "The Warmth of the Sun" "The Man with All the Toys" / "Blue Christmas"

1965	"Do You Want to Dance" / "Please Let Me Wonder" "Help Me, Rhonda" / "Kiss Me, Baby" "California Girls"/ "Let Him Run Wild" "The Little Girl I Once Knew" / "There's No Other (Like My Baby)" "Barbara Ann" / "Girl Don't Tell Me"

1966	"Sloop John B" / "You're So Good to Me" "Wouldn't It Be Nice" / "God Only Knows" "Good Vibrations" / "Let's Go Away for Awhile"

1967	"Then I Kissed Her" / "Mountain of Love" "Heroes and Villains" / "You're Welcome" "Wild Honey" / "Wind Chimes" "Darlin'" / "Here Today"

1968	"Friends" / "Little Bird" "Do It Again" / "Wake the World" "Bluebirds over the Mountain" / "Never Learn Not to Love"

1969	"I Can Hear Music" / "All I Want to Do" "Break Away" / "Celebrate the News"

1970s

1970	"Add Some Music to Your Day" / "Susie Cincinnati" "Cottonfields" / "The Nearest Faraway Place" "Slip On Through" / "This Whole World" "Tears in the Morning" / "It's About Time"

1971	"Cool, Cool Water" / "Forever" "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (live) / "The Times They Are a-Changin'" (by Merry Clayton) "Long Promised Road" / "Deirdre" "Long Promised Road" / "'Til I Die" "Surf's Up" / "Don't Go Near the Water"

1972	"You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone" / "Cuddle Up" "Marcella" / "Hold On Dear Brother"

1973	"Sail On, Sailor" / "Only with You" "California Saga: California" / "Funky Pretty"

1974	"Surfin' U.S.A." / "The Warmth of the Sun" "Child of Winter (Christmas Song)" / "Susie Cincinnati"

1975	"Sail On, Sailor" / "Only with You"

1976	"Rock and Roll Music" / "T M Song" "It's O.K." / "Had to Phone Ya" "Everyone's in Love with You" / "Susie Cincinnati"

1977	"Honkin' Down the Highway" / "Solar System"

1978	"Peggy Sue" / "Hey Little Tomboy"

1979	"Here Comes the Night" / "Baby Blue" "Good Timin'" / "Love Surrounds Me" "Lady Lynda" / "Full Sail" "It's a Beautiful Day" / "Sumahama"

1980s

1980	"Goin' On" / "Endless Harmony" "Livin' with a Heartache" / "Santa Ana Winds"

1981	"The Beach Boys Medley" / "God Only Knows" "Come Go with Me" / "Don't Go Near the Water"

1985	"Getcha Back" / "Male Ego" "It's Gettin' Late" / "It's O.K." "She Believes in Love Again" / "It's Just a Matter of Time"

1986	"Rock 'n' Roll to the Rescue" / "Good Vibrations" (live) "California Dreamin'" / "Lady Liberty"

1987	"Happy Endings" (with Little Richard) / "California Girls" (live)

1988	"Kokomo" / "Tutti Frutti" (Little Richard)

1989	"Still Cruisin'" / "Kokomo"

1990s

1990	"Somewhere Near Japan" / "Kokomo" "Problem Child" / "Problem Child (Instrumental)"

1992	"Hot Fun in the Summertime" / "Summer of Love"

1996	"I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" / "Wouldn't It Be Nice" / "Here Today"

2010s

2011	"Good Vibrations" / "Heroes and Villains" "Don't Fight the Sea" / "Friends" "Cabinessence" / "Wonderful"

2012	"That's Why God Made the Radio" / "That's Why God Made the Radio" (instrumental) "Isn't It Time" / Live in Chicago

Book
Category

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.