| "The Dolphins" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Fred Neil | |
| from the album Fred Neil | |
| Released | 1967 |
| Genre | Folk rock |
| Length | 2:26 |
| Label | Elektra |
| Songwriter(s) | Fred Neil |
| Producer(s) | Nik Venet |
"The Dolphins" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Fred Neil and released in 1967 on his eponymous second solo album Fred Neil, as well as being issued as a single.
Writer Mark Brend described the song's lyrics as "ambivalent and elusive", and its use of a chorus line "I've been searching for the dolphins in the sea" is purely a metaphorical one. Nevertheless Neil, who had been interested in dolphins since the mid-1960s when he began visiting the Miami Seaquarium, went on to found the Dolphin Research Project with Ric O'Barry in 1970, an organization dedicated to stopping the capture, trafficking and exploitation of dolphins worldwide.
The song was frequently performed by Tim Buckley, who had been present during Neil's recording of the song on 11 October, 1966, although Buckley did not record his own version until his album Sefronia in 1973.
Since 1967 the song has also been recorded by other notable artists such as Al Wilson (1968), Linda Ronstadt (1969), Harry Belafonte (1969), It's A Beautiful Day (1970), Ritchie Havens (live, 1972), Billy Bragg (1991), Eddi Reader (1992), Beth Orton (1997), and Dave Alvin with The Third Mind (2020).
References
- Unterberger, Richie. "Great Moments in Folk Rock: Lists of Author Favorites". www.richieunterberger.com. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
- Pollock, Bruce (2014). Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era. Routledge. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-135-46296-3.
- Brend, Mark (2001). American troubadours : groundbreaking singer-songwriters of the '60s. San Francisco, CA: Backbeat Books. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-87930-641-0.
- Brend, Mark (2001) "Fred Neil", Record Collector, No. 265, September 2001, p. 11.
- Hann, Michael (2012-03-09). "Old music: Fred Neil – The Dolphins". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
- Houghton, Mick (2010). Becoming Elektra : the true story of Jac Holzman's visionary record label. London: Jawbone. p. 219. ISBN 978-1-906002-29-9.
- ^ "Cover Versions of Dolphins by Fred Neil". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
- Williamson, Nigel (2008). The rough guide to the best music you've never heard. London; New York: Rough Guides : Distributed by the Penguin Group. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-84836-003-7.