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"Darlin'"
Single by the Beach Boys
from the album Wild Honey
B-side	"Here Today"
Released	December 18, 1967 (1967-12-18)
Recorded	October 10–27, 1967
Studio	Wally Heider Recording, Hollywood
Genre	Soul R&B
Length	2:12
Label	Capitol
Songwriter(s)	Brian Wilson Mike Love
Producer(s)	The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"Wild Honey" (1967) "Darlin'" (1967) "Friends" (1968)
Music video
"Darlin'" on YouTube

"Darlin'" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Wild Honey. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was inspired by singer Danny Hutton (the title word featured heavily in his vocabulary) and was originally intended to be recorded by an early version of Three Dog Night. Carl Wilson ultimately sang the lead vocal.

Released as the second single from Wild Honey, "Darlin'" peaked at number 19 in the U.S. and number 11 in the UK. Artists who have covered the song include David Cassidy, Paul Davis, Yipes!, Tatsuro Yamashita, Sweet Trip, and Darlin', the band that later evolved into Daft Punk.

Background and recording

The song interpolates the verse melody and chords of "Thinkin' 'Bout You Baby", an earlier Wilson-Love composition that was first recorded in April 1964 and released as a single two months later by Sharon Marie—a teenager Love met at a June 1963 Beach Boys concert in Sonoma County and helped sign to Capitol Records—with production by Wilson himself. The track was included on the 2004 compilation Pet Projects: The Brian Wilson Productions.

Working in 1967, Wilson weaved a "radically different" hook and chorus into these preexisting elements. He recalled, "I was writing more in a soul/R&B bag. The horns were conceived as a Phil Spector kind of a horn thing. ... That song took about a week to write." Singer Danny Hutton laid claim to inspiring the title for "Darlin'", it being frequent in his vocabulary at the time.

Wilson produced the instrumental track for "Darlin'" on October 11, 1967. Initially, he had planned to give this song and "Time to Get Alone" to Hutton's group Redwood (later known as Three Dog Night). Redwood only got as far as recording a guide vocal before Carl Wilson and Mike Love insisted that Brian focus his attention on producing work for the Beach Boys, according to various accounts. Wilson stated in a later interview, "Darlin was for Three Dog Night. They recorded it and said, 'No, you can have it' so I gave it to Carl to sing." Further recording on the track followed on October 27.

"Darlin'" features a lead vocal by Carl Wilson. When asked what songs worked best for Carl Wilson's voice, Brian Wilson singled out the track, responding, "Wow, well 'Darlin'' of course, Carl did an amazing vocal on that song."

Release

"Darlin'" was released as a single, backed with "Here Today", on December 18, 1967, the same date as the release of the Wild Honey album. It was the second single released from the album, after "Wild Honey". Upon its release, Cash Box said that the song represented "a shift in sound from the Beach Boys into a less elaborate but extra-commercial teen beat right between mid-and-up tempo. The deck's hard-throb rhythm and very fine group sound is complemented by a good set of teen-oriented lyrics to catch a maximum of exposure on the top pop programs. Instant breakout selection."

As predicted by Cash Box, "Darlin'" was a commercial uptick for the band, peaking at number 19 in the US Billboard Chart and number 11 in the UK Singles Chart. It has since appeared on several live and compilation albums.

Reception and legacy

Upon release, Rolling Stone wrote in a review of the album, "Darlin'" is the song in which the Beach Boys really take R&B styling and make it work in an original way." Jazz & Pop's Gene Sculatti commented that "a whole lot of soul is used up" on the song.

Retrospectively, biographer Mark Dillon said the song was "ahead of its time, anticipating the blue-eyed soul of such '70s acts as Todd Rundgren and Chicago." Matthew Greenwald of AllMusic wrote of the song, "Loaded with simple emotions and sentimentality, it's a luscious piece of late-'60s pop, and not unlike the finer efforts of groups like the Turtles' 'Happy Together' and Buffalo Springfield's 'On the Way Home'." Rolling Stone readers ranked the song seventh on their vote for the top ten best Beach Boys deep cuts, while writers for The Guardian and uDiscoverMusic ranked the song 24th and 13th respectively on their lists of the best Beach Boys songs.

Asked in 2015 for his favorite ever song that he had written, Wilson cited "Darlin'" and explained, "I just like the melody."

In popular culture

• French rock trio Darlin' took their name from the song. Two of its members later reformed as the electronic music duo Daft Punk, and the third joined pop band Phoenix.
• The song features in the 2015 The Big Bang Theory episode, "The Earworm Reverberation", where this song becomes an earworm to Sheldon. He later remembers this song which is significant because it is about Amy and the impact she has had on his life.

Personnel

Per Craig Slowinski.

The Beach Boys

• Brian Wilson – piano
• Carl Wilson – lead vocals, inaudible drums
• The Beach Boys – backing vocals, tambourine, other percussion

Additional players

• Harold Billings – trumpet
• Ron Brown – bass
• Hal Blaine – overdubbed drums
• Virgil Evans – trumpet
• Billy Hinsche – backing vocals
• Lew McCreary – bass trombone
• Jay Migliori – baritone saxophone
• Ollie Mitchell – trumpet

Cover versions

"Thinkin' 'Bout You Baby"

• 1972 – American Spring, Spring
• 1993 – BMX Bandits, Kylie's Got A Crush On Us

"Darlin'"

• 1968 – Paper Dolls, Paper Dolls House
• 1971 – Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Summertime
• 1975 – David Cassidy, The Higher They Climb (w/Bruce Johnston)
• 1977 – Paul Davis, Singer Of Songs, Teller Of Tales
• 1978 – Triumvirat, A la Carte
• 1984 – Tatsuro Yamashita, Big Wave
• 1991 – The Records, Smiles, Vibes & Harmony: A Tribute to Brian Wilson
• 1993 – Darlin', Shimmies in Super 8
• 2017 – Mike Love featuring AJR, Unleash the Love
• 2022 – Sweet Trip, Seen / Unseen
• 2022 – She & Him, Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson

Charts

References

1. Gaines 1986, p. 183.
2. Fine 2004, pp. 46, 48.
3. Hodgkins, Nig; et al. (1996). Buckley, Jonathan (ed.). Rock: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides. p. 69. ISBN 1858282012.
4. Petridis, Alexis (January 27, 2022). "The Beach Boys' 40 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
5. ^ Badman 2004, p. 208.
6. Doe, Andrew G. "GIGS64". Endless Summer Quarterly. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
7. Murphy, James B. (June 8, 2015). Becoming the Beach Boys, 1961-1963. McFarland. p. 292. ISBN 978-1-4766-1853-1.
8. Badman 2004, p. 203.
9. "Between 1967 and 1976 what albums/Songs did Brian produce for the Beach Boys?".
10. ^ Sharp, Ken (January 2, 2009). "Brian Wilson: God's Messenger". American Songwriter.
11. ^ Priore 2005, pp. 153–55.
12. ^ Doe, Andrew G. "GIGS67". Endless Summer Quarterly. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
13. Matijas-Mecca 2017, p. 84.
14. Sharp, Ken (March 2, 2011). "Best Individual Artist: Brian Wilson". Goldmine Magazine: Record Collector & Music Memorabilia. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
15. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. December 16, 1967. p. 28. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
16. "Wild Honey". Rolling Stone. New York. February 24, 1968. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
17. Sculatti, Gene (September 1968). "Villains and Heroes: In Defense of the Beach Boys". Jazz & Pop. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014.
18. Dillon 2012, p. 156.
19. Greenwald, Matthew. "Darlin' by The Beach Boys - Track Info". AllMusic. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
20. Greene, Andy (July 27, 2016). "Readers' Poll: 10 Best Beach Boys Deep Cuts". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
21. "The Beach Boys' 40 greatest songs – ranked!". the Guardian. January 27, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
22. Atkins, Jamie (June 20, 2022). "Best Beach Boys Songs: 25 Essential Tracks For Fun, Fun, Fun". uDiscover Music. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
23. Maxwell, Emily (April 27, 2015). "Brian Wilson". American Songwriter. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
24. "The Beach Boys Song "Darlin'" Gets Newfound Attention Thanks to the Big Bang Theory at the Amoeblog". www.amoeba.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
25. Slowinski, Craig (2017). Endless Summer Quarterly. Vol. 121. p. ?.
26. Robbins, Ira. "BMX Bandits". Trouser Press. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
27. Minsker, Evan (May 18, 2022). "She & Him Announce Brian Wilson Covers Album Melt Away, Share New Video for "Darlin'": Watch". Pitchfork.
28. Flavour of New Zealand, 15 March 1968
29. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
30. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, January 27, 1968
31. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Darlin'". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
32. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved April 11, 2022.
33. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
34. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, June 24, 1978

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.
• Dillon, Mark (2012). Fifty Sides of the Beach Boys: The Songs That Tell Their Story. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-77090-198-8.
• Fine, Jason (2004). "The Beach Boys". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
• Gaines, Steven (1986). Heroes and Villains: The True Story of The Beach Boys. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0306806479.
• Matijas-Mecca, Christian (2017). The Words and Music of Brian Wilson. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-3899-6.
• Priore, Domenic (2005). Smile: The Story of Brian Wilson's Lost Masterpiece. Domenic Priore. ISBN 978-1-78323-198-0.

External links

• Darlin' (session highlights instrumental) on YouTube
• Darlin' (track and backing vocals) on YouTube
• Darlin' (live at Knebworth, 1980) on YouTube
• Darlin' (2012 stereo mix) on YouTube
• Darlin' (2018 Royal Philharmonic Orchestra version) on YouTube

• 1967 songs
• 1967 singles
• 1975 singles
• 1978 singles
• The Beach Boys songs
• Songs written by Brian Wilson
• Songs written by Mike Love
• Song recordings produced by the Beach Boys
• David Cassidy songs
• Paul Davis (singer) songs
• Capitol Records singles
• Bang Records singles
• American soul songs
• Rhythm and blues songs
• Number-one singles in South Africa