| "Darlin'" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 U.S. picture sleeve | ||||
| Single bythe Beach Boys | ||||
| from the albumWild Honey | ||||
| B-side | "Here Today" | |||
| Released | December 18, 1967 (1967-12-18) | |||
| Recorded | October 10–27, 1967 | |||
| Studio | Wally Heider Recording, Hollywood | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:12 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | The Beach Boys | |||
| The Beach Boys singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Darlin'" onYouTube | ||||
"Darlin'" is a song by the American rock bandthe Beach Boys from their 1967 albumWild Honey.[5] Written byBrian Wilson andMike Love, it was inspired by singerDanny Hutton (the title word featured heavily in his vocabulary) and was originally intended to be recorded by an early version ofThree Dog Night.Carl Wilson ultimately sang the lead vocal.
Released as the second single fromWild Honey, "Darlin'" peaked at number 19 in the U.S. and number 11 in the UK. Artists who have covered the song includeDavid Cassidy,Paul Davis,Yipes!,Tatsuro Yamashita,Sweet Trip, andDarlin', the band that later evolved intoDaft Punk.
| "Thinkin' 'Bout You Baby" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Sharon Marie | ||||
| Released | June 1, 1964 (1964-06-01) | |||
| Recorded | April 1964 (1964-04) | |||
| Length | 2:35 | |||
| Songwriters |
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| Producer | Brian Wilson | |||
| Sharon Marie singles chronology | ||||
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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[6]—a teenager Love met at a June 1963 Beach Boys concert inSonoma County and helped sign toCapitol Records[7]—with production by Wilson himself.[8] The track was included on the 2004 compilationPet Projects: The Brian Wilson Productions.
Working in 1967, Wilson weaved a "radically different" hook and chorus into these preexisting elements.[9] He recalled, "I was writing more in asoul/R&B bag. The horns were conceived as aPhil Spector kind of a horn thing. ... That song took about a week to write."[10] SingerDanny Hutton laid claim to inspiring the title for "Darlin'", it being frequent in his vocabulary at the time.[11][5]
Wilson produced the instrumental track for "Darlin'" on October 11, 1967.[12] Initially, he had planned to give this song and "Time to Get Alone" to Hutton's group Redwood (later known asThree Dog Night). Redwood only got as far as recording a guide vocal beforeCarl Wilson andMike Love insisted that Brian focus his attention on producing work for the Beach Boys, according to various accounts.[11][5][13] 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."[10] Further recording on the track followed on October 27.[12]
"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."[14]
"Darlin'" was released as a single, backed with "Here Today", on December 18, 1967, the same date as the release of theWild 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."[15]
In England and several foreign markets, "Darlin'" was backed by theWild Honey track "Country Air".
As predicted byCash Box, "Darlin'" was a commercial uptick for the band, peaking at number 19 in theUSBillboard Chart and number 11 in theUK Singles Chart.[5] It has since appeared on several live and compilation albums.
Upon release,Rolling Stone wrote in a review of the album, "Darlin'" is the song in which the Beach Boys really takeR&B styling and make it work in an original way."[16]Jazz & Pop'sGene Sculatti commented that "a whole lot of soul is used up" on the song.[17]
Retrospectively, biographer Mark Dillon said the song was "ahead of its time, anticipating theblue-eyed soul of such '70s acts asTodd Rundgren andChicago."[18] Matthew Greenwald ofAllMusic 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' andBuffalo Springfield's 'On the Way Home'."[19]Rolling Stone readers ranked the song seventh on their vote for the top ten best Beach Boys deep cuts,[20] while writers forThe Guardian anduDiscoverMusic ranked the song 24th and 13th respectively on their lists of the best Beach Boys songs. It has been regarded as one of the band's finest songs, and a live staple.[21][22]
Asked in 2015 for his favorite ever song that he had written, Wilson cited "Darlin'" and explained, "I just like the melody."[23]
Per Craig Slowinski.[25]
The Beach Boys
Additional players
"Thinkin' 'Bout You Baby"
"Darlin'"
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