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"Livin' with a Heartache"
Single by The Beach Boys
from the album Keepin' the Summer Alive
B-side	"Santa Ana Winds"
Released	May 21, 1980
Recorded	August–December 1979
Genre	Pop, country
Length	3:05 (single) 4:06 (album)
Label	Caribou Records
Songwriter(s)	Carl Wilson, Randy Bachman
Producer(s)	Bruce Johnston
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"Goin' On" (1980) "Livin' with a Heartache" (1980) "The Beach Boys Medley" (1981)

"Livin' with a Heartache" is a song written by Carl Wilson and Randy Bachman for the American rock band the Beach Boys, one of two collaborations between the two writers. It was recorded from August 27–29 at Bachman's home studio known as "The Barn" in Lynden, Washington with two further sessions at Rumbo Studios in November and December 1979. "Livin' with a Heartache" was released on the Beach Boys' 1980 album Keepin' the Summer Alive and was subsequently released with a truncated 3:05 mix as a single backed with "Santa Ana Winds" which failed to chart in the US.

Record World called it a "gem" and said that the "melody & hook are perfect."

Performers

Adapted from 2000 liner notes and Craig Slowinski.

Livin’ with a Heartache

The Beach Boys

• Carl Wilson – lead vocals, guitar, Yamaha electric piano, uncredited producer
• Bruce Johnston – harmony and backing vocals, producer

Additional musicians and production staff

• Terry Melcher, Curt Boettcher, Jon Joyce – harmony and backing vocals
• Billy Joe Walker, Jr. – lead and acoustic guitars
• Bryan Garofalo – bass
• John Hobbs – tack piano
• Gary Mallaber – drums
• Steve Forman – percussion
• Steve Desper – engineer, mixing

Santa Ana Winds

The Beach Boys

• Brian Wilson – harmony and backing vocals, producer
• Carl Wilson – harmony and backing vocals, additional lead vocals
• Al Jardine – lead vocals, harmony and backing vocals, acoustic guitars, spoken word introduction, producer
• Mike Love – harmony and backing vocals, additional lead vocals
• Bruce Johnston – harmony and backing vocals, producer

Additional musicians

• Lyle Ritz – double bass
• Steve Forman – brushed snare drum and timpani
• Tommy Morgan – harmonica
• Igor Horoshevsky, Raymond Kelley – cellos
• James Getzoff, Murray Adler, Bonnie Douglas, Paul Shure, Alfred Breuning, Marshall Sosson, Endre Granat, Spiro Stamos – violins
• Harry Hyams, Samuel Boghossian – violas
• Harry Betts – string arrangements
• Steve Desper – chief engineer, mixing
• Chuck Leary – engineer
• Chuck Britz – engineer

References

1. "Livin' With a Heartache - The Beach Boys | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
2. "GIGS79". Esquarterly.com. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
3. "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. May 31, 1980. p. 16. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
4. Bachman, Randy; Doe, Andrew (2000). Keepin’ the Summer Alive/The Beach Boys (booklet). The Beach Boys. California: Capitol Records. p. 2.
5. Slowinski, Craig (Summer 2020). Beard, David (ed.). "Keepin' the Summer Alive: 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition". Endless Summer Quarterly Magazine. Vol. 33, no. 132. Charlotte, North Carolina.

External links

• "Livin' With a Heartache" review at Allmusic

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• 1980 singles
• The Beach Boys songs
• Songs written by Carl Wilson
• Songs written by Randy Bachman
• Song recordings produced by Bruce Johnston
• 1980 songs
• 1980s pop song stubs