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Post by Kapitan on Mar 1, 2021 12:46:55 GMT
In May 1964, the Beach Boys released the single that would become their first #1 hit in the US--with its B-side a Top 20 hit, itself--and a release that would help define them for the rest of their careers.
"I Get Around" was a #1 hit in the US and Canada; it reached #7 and was the song they played on their first ever British television appearance, on Ready Steady Go! Its appearance as a single in May preceded its release on an album. All Summer Long, released in July 1964, led off with the song about two months after its single release.
"Don't Worry Baby" reached #17 on the Billboard singles chart (and higher on the adult contemporary and Cash Box charts). It had been released previously on Shut Down Vol 2, released in March 1964.
Please rate and discuss "I Get Around" b/w "Don't Worry Baby."
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 1, 2021 12:47:29 GMT
Easy 10 for me. Probably their best single release, two of their 10 best songs.
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Post by kds on Mar 1, 2021 13:24:44 GMT
If I could go higher than ten, I would.
Two absolute classics. I think I Get Around is their best early rocker. While Don't Worry Baby is one of their best ballads.
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Post by jk on Mar 1, 2021 14:03:37 GMT
Anyone else remember hearing this at the time? In the UK we just heard "I Get Around". My first hearing was rather like my first hearing of "Please Please Me". Even though I didn't like "PPM" at the time, there was something of interest, often something never done before, at every turn. It was exactly the same with "IGA" -- I couldn't believe my ears -- although this I liked! I never did get what the high voice was singing. To me it sounded like (and still sounds like): "I get around / Round out of town / I'm a roo hoo wee / I take a roo hoo through" I heard "Don't Worry Baby" once only, fading in and out on Radio Luxembourg, a godsend in those days of Musician Union rules on UK radio, where one was likely to hear, say, "Apache" or "Last Night" played by a big band. But who was this? The Four Seasons? No, this was something special.
Ten.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 1, 2021 14:54:01 GMT
This was the Brian Wilson you got when he was inspired and motivated to prove himself to people like Phil Spector and The Beatles. What a year 1964 was in music. It must've been a joy to turn on the radio every day. Kids were flocking to the record stores. And our guys were right there at the top! No. 1.
This is an easy one. "I Get Around" is a 10. "Don't Worry Baby" is a 10. So, ...
I'll repeat again that I'm a little surprised "Don't Worry Baby" - a Shut Down Volume 2 song - ended up on this B-side, and not on "Fun, Fun, Fun". If it would've, who knows, the B-side of "I Get Around" might've been "Hushabye", "Girl's On the Beach", or "Wendy".
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 1, 2021 15:16:24 GMT
I'll repeat again that I'm a little surprised "Don't Worry Baby" - a Shut Down Volume 2 song - ended up on this B-side, and not on "Fun, Fun, Fun". If it would've, who knows, the B-side of "I Get Around" might've been "Hushabye", "Girl's On the Beach", or "Wendy". There is something a little odd about the split of an A-side from the upcoming album with the B-side from a few-months' old album. ...or is that genius!? (Hey, like the sound of this new song? It'll be on our new album! And hey, did you happen to get our previous album?)
I realize the Beach Boys played fast and loose with the timing of singles, especially B-sides, sometimes reaching back a ways. But it strikes me as odd.
Important disclaimer: I was never a consumer of physical singles. In my era, where cassettes ruled (and then CDs), physical singles just didn't much matter. A single was whatever was on MTV; then you'd buy the corresponding album. So maybe the practice of mixing and matching across albums is more common than I realize.
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Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Mar 1, 2021 15:33:34 GMT
Not sure how anyone could rate this anything other than a 10.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 1, 2021 15:35:02 GMT
Not sure how anyone could rate this anything other than a 10. Don't tempt fate.
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Post by kds on Mar 1, 2021 15:52:28 GMT
I'm also sure I've mentioned this several times here, and on Endless Harmony, Pet Sounds Forum, SSMB, and Brian's forum, but Don't Worry Baby was one of the big three ballads (with In My Room and Surfer Girl) to hooked me into the BB world in 2006.
Here's a random memory of DWB. In April 1994, I attended Orioles Opening Day for the first time. The Orioles took a 6-1 lead over the KC Royals into the ninth inning. But, the bullpen struggled a bit. KC scored a couple runs to make it 6-3, and brought the tying run to the plate with two outs. Since this was now a save situation, newly acquired closer Lee Smith was summoned from the bullpen. As he took his long stroll to the mound, Don't Worry Baby played over the stadium PA. Smith did retire the lone batter he faced to secure the 6-3 Baltimore win.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 1, 2021 16:01:41 GMT
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 1, 2021 16:12:38 GMT
I'm also sure I've mentioned this several times here, and on Endless Harmony, Pet Sounds Forum, SSMB, and Brian's forum, but Don't Worry Baby was one of the big three ballads (with In My Room and Surfer Girl) to hooked me into the BB world in 2006. Here's a random memory of DWB. In April 1994, I attended Orioles Opening Day for the first time. The Orioles took a 6-1 lead over the KC Royals into the ninth inning. But, the bullpen struggled a bit. KC scored a couple runs to make it 6-3, and brought the tying run to the plate with two outs. Since this was now a save situation, newly acquired closer Lee Smith was summoned from the bullpen. As he took his long stroll to the mound, Don't Worry Baby played over the stadium PA. Smith did retire the lone batter he faced to secure the 6-3 Baltimore win. It's one of the biggies for me, too. It was several years (2-3?) into my real fandom when I finally expanded beyond Pet Sounds and Smile-ish stuff, especially going back to accept earlier music. It was the June 2001 concert when they performed this--obviously with Jeff Foskett doing the heavy lifting--and actually choked me up. Literally, a tear or two forced themselves right out of big, bad me, right there at the show. I've admitted the song's undeniable power ever since.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 1, 2021 16:14:37 GMT
Very.
I've always wondered what it was like to be in a studio audience for these kinds of "performances." I mean, forget that they're not playing instruments, there aren't even mics. Are they actually singing along with what I presume was the recording being played over the PA? Or just lip syncing? Could the studio audience hear any actual singing, or (being un-mic'd) was the track typically loud enough to make it irrelevant?
(Obviously the above assumes studio audiences. I'm sure not all shows had them, but many seem to have.)
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 1, 2021 16:23:44 GMT
Was the I Get Around/Don't Worry Baby single - the moment it hit No 1 on July 4, 1964 - the peak of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys - musically? Probably not to you, me, and countless diehards. But to MANY Beach Boys' fans, I'll bet it was. To many fans, it DIDN'T get any better than this.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 1, 2021 16:34:09 GMT
Was the I Get Around/Don't Worry Baby single - the moment it hit No 1 on July 4, 1964 - the peak of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys - musically? Probably not to you, me, and countless diehards. But to MANY Beach Boys' fans, I'll bet it was. To many fans, it DIDN'T get any better than this. I'd say it isn't the peak musically, if by "musically" a person means complexity, innovation, etc.
But honestly I'd say it is the peak musically--or right up there, at least--if you mean popularity, identity-defining, mass appeal. It is the music people loved and wanted more of. I'd put myself right in there. As much as I love the kinds of music I'm referencing in the first option, above, I'm also a lover of blues, of rock and roll, of standards. Not everything has to be far-out or even particularly innovative. These two songs are pop perfection.
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Post by kds on Mar 1, 2021 16:53:45 GMT
Was the I Get Around/Don't Worry Baby single - the moment it hit No 1 on July 4, 1964 - the peak of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys - musically? Probably not to you, me, and countless diehards. But to MANY Beach Boys' fans, I'll bet it was. To many fans, it DIDN'T get any better than this. I'd say at the very least, it's the peak of the early surf / car years.
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