| "Do It Again" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single byBeach Boys | ||||
| B-side | "Wake the World" | |||
| Released | July 8, 1968 | |||
| Recorded | May 26 – June 1968 | |||
| Studio | Beach Boys Studio,Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:19 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | The Beach Boys | |||
| Beach Boys singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio sample | ||||
"Do It Again" is a song by the Americanrock bandthe Beach Boys that was released as a standalone single on July 8, 1968.[2][3] It was written byBrian Wilson andMike Love as a self-conscious callback to the group's earliersurf image, which they had not embraced since 1964. Love and Wilson also share the lead vocal on the song.
The song was issued only two weeks after the release of the band's albumFriends, with the album track "Wake the World" as its B-side. It reached number 20 on the United States'Billboard Hot 100 and became their second number-one hit in the United Kingdom. A slightly edited version of the song, using an excerpt from theSmile outtake "Workshop", subsequently appeared as the opening track on the Beach Boys' 1969 album20/20.
"Do It Again" has been rerecorded once by the band (in 2011), once by Wilson as a solo artist (in 1995), and twice by Love as a solo artist (in 1996 and 2017). The song was an influence onNeil Sedaka's "Love Will Keep Us Together" (1973),Eric Carmen's "She Did It" (1977),Gary Numan's "Metal" (1979),ABBA's "On and on and On" (1980), andHall & Oates' "Did It in a Minute" (1982).
"Do It Again" is a self-conscious callback to the band's earliersurf-based material. Originally titled "Rendezvous", the lyrics to the song were inspired after a dayMike Love had spent at the beach in which he had gone surfing with an old friend named Bill Jackson.[4] Love then showed the lyrics to his cousinBrian Wilson, who proceeded to write the music to Love's lyrics of nostalgia. Wilson stated that he believes the song was the best collaboration that he and Love ever worked on.[4] Love commented, "He remembers it being at my house. I remember it as being at his house. He starts pounding at the piano, I was summoning up the words and we got a chorus together, which was basically a bunch ofdoo-wop inspiredharmonies. We created that whole song in fifteen minutes."[5] Other inspiration came fromHank Ballard's &The Midnighters 1960 song "Finger Poppin' Time".[6]Carl Wilson recalled inMelody Maker:
Yes, I suppose it has got the old Beach Boys surfing sound. It's back to that surfing idea with the voice harmony and the simple, direct melody and lyrics. We didn't plan the record as a return to the surf or anything. We just did it one day round a piano in the studio. Brian had the idea and played it over to us. We improved on that and recorded it very quickly, in about five minutes. It's certainly not an old track of ours; in fact it was recorded only a few weeks before it was released. We liked how it turned out and decided to release it.[4]
Conversely,Bruce Johnston told a reporter in September 1968 that he shared the reporter's underwhelming opinion of the song. "I don't like it either. I don't think that the group were entirely happy with it, but everyone else was going back to basics, so I suppose it was inevitable that we should."[7]
During the mixdown, engineerStephen Desper came up with the drum effect heard at the beginning of the track. He explained that he had "commissionedPhilips, in Holland, to build two tape delay units for use on the road (to double live vocals). [he] moved four of the Philips PB heads very close together so that one drum strike was repeated four times about 10 milliseconds apart, and blended it with the original to give the effect you hear."[citation needed].
Apromotional film, directed byPeter Clifton, was shot inLos Angeles. The film, shot in color, features the group pulling up in a van and visiting a surfing shop. The band members then drive to the beach in their van and begin surfing. The first screenings of the promotional film were shown onBBC One'sTop of the Pops during broadcasts of the show on August 8, 22 and 29. In Germany, the promotional film was shown in September during broadcasts of theHits A Go Go show on ZDF TV. The clip was later featured in the 1969 Peter Clifton Australian surfing filmFluid Journey.[3] An alternate promotional film for "Do It Again" was planned with the idea to feature special guest,Beatles memberPaul McCartney, as a clerk. However the idea was abandoned due to his busy schedule.[8]
Released on July 19, 1968, in the United Kingdom, the single peaked at number one on theUK Singles Chart on August 28, 1968, 40 days after its release, and thus became the band's second number-one hit in the UK after "Good Vibrations" two years earlier.[2] Love remembered thinking that the song's success in Britain "was unbelievable. It showed how many fans we had there and how attractive the whole California lifestyle is."
"Do It Again" remained at the top for only one week, after which it was supplanted bythe Bee Gees' "I've Gotta Get a Message to You".[2] WhenFriends was issued in Japan, "Do It Again" was included in its track list.[9]
In the US,Cash Box said: "Overtones of their current interest in electronic innovation are almost over-lookable in this surfin’ return by the Beach Boys" and that the song "couples their old summer sound with the ingenius production."[10]Billboard said: "Much in the vein of the earlier Beach hits, this smooth rocker with a summertime smash sound should fast prove one of their all-time biggest hits.[11]Record World said that "the Beach Boys go back to the beach for some of that unadulterated surfing sound '68."[12]
In Britain'sDisc & Music Echo,Penny Valentine praised the single:
This is a vast improvement on The Beach Boys' last single, and thank goodness for it. It sounds like bees humming on a summer breeze and is so completely solid; there isn't room for a fly to creep in. It goes on very gently and easily and is very, very pleasant. In a way it reminds me of one of the tracks offPet Sounds, which is nice to say the least, and a hit it will most certainly be. I can imagine a few people will be muttering, "Well, she said they were finished," but I didn't. I said they should get back to their competent, commercial sound and they have. So there.[3]
Retrospectively, "Do It Again" has been praised by music critics. Donald A. Guarisco, writing forAllMusic, described it as "doo-wop on steroids", and praised its "metallic" drum sound.[13] In 2012,Mojo magazine named the song the 46th best by the band.[14] The French edition ofRolling Stone ranked it 49th in a similar ranking of the band's greatest songs.[citation needed]
Neil Sedaka borrowed the main riff from "Do It Again" for his own song "Love Will Keep Us Together," a hit for theCaptain and Tennille.[15]Eric Carmen credited the "did-its" in this song with being the initial inspiration for his 1977 Top 40 hit, "She Did It".[16]Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys also participated in the production and vocals of Carmen's song. "Did It in a Minute", a 1982 hit byHall & Oates, was in turn inspired by the 'did-its' in both songs.[17][18]
ABBA's "On and On and On" (1980) was also influenced by "Do It Again", and in response, Mike Love recorded a cover version of the ABBA song for his 1981 albumLooking Back with Love.[19] The opening drum line of "Do It Again" was sampled for "Remember" by French electronic duoAir on their albumMoon Safari (1997).[20]
"Do It Again" was featured in the filmsOne Crazy Summer,Flipper,Life on the Longboard, andHappy Feet.[21]
"Do It Again" was first released on an LP in 1969 for the band's20/20 album. This version added a fade which consists of hammering and drilling sound effects originating from theSmile "Workshop" session recorded on November 29, 1966. This session was rerecorded for the solo albumBrian Wilson Presents Smile (2004). The original Beach Boys recording was used to follow a 1966 take of "I Wanna Be Around" onThe Smile Sessions (2011).
The song's backing track was released on the 1968 albumStack-O-Tracks. On the 1998 compilation album,Endless Harmony Soundtrack, an early incarnation of the song was released.[citation needed] Until 2013, the song was only available in mono because the studio multi-track tape was believed to have been stolen sometime in 1980. The tape was retrieved thirty years later; the first true stereo mix was released on theMade in California box set.[22]
The first officially released live recording of the song was released on the 1970 live albumLive In London. Brian Wilson, who sings falsetto on the studio track, had retired from touring by this time and in concert his part was replaced by horns as evident on theLive In London album version. In 1980, a live rendition was recorded, though not released until 2002 on theGood Timin': Live at Knebworth England 1980 live album. Footage from the concert was also released on video and DVD format. The footage was also released on the 1998 documentaryEndless Harmony with the sound re-mixed by Mark Linett intoDolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.[citation needed]
In 2011 the surviving Beach Boys; Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks came together in the studio to re-record "Do It Again" as part of their 50th anniversary celebration. The re-recorded version featured Mike Love (verses) and Brian Wilson (bridge) on lead vocals with longtime Beach Boys and Brian Wilson associate,Jeff Foskett, performing the falsetto vocals. It was released as a bonus track in special editions ofThat's Why God Made the Radio.[citation needed] "Do It Again" was the opening song performed at all Beach Boys 50th Reunion Tour concerts.[citation needed] Both Marks and Beach Boys sideman Scott Totten play guitar on the song; according to sidemanJohn Cowsill, the original processed drum sound from 1968 was sampled for the re-recorded version.[23] Other Beach Boys sidemen who play on the re-recording include Cowsill (drums),Darian Sahanaja, Nick Walusko (guitar), Scott Bennett,Gary Griffin, and Brett Simons (bass).[24]
In 1995, Brian Wilson rerecorded the song for his albumI Just Wasn't Made for These Times and released the track as a single in Britain, although it did not chart. The single also featured his rerecording of "'Til I Die", which was also fromI Just Wasn't Made for These Times, and a rare B-side "This Song Wants to Sleep with You Tonight".[citation needed] He performed the song on theLate Night With David Letterman broadcast of August 17, 1995, with daughterWendy Wilson performing back up vocals.
In 1996, Mike Love rerecorded "Do It Again". On July 4, 2017, Love remade and released the song again, this time withMark McGrath, and released it as a single.[25]
In 1984,Capitol Records released a cassette-only Beach Boys compilation titledDo It Again which included the song.[26] The cassette's cover—featuring band members against a blue background—was the visual inspiration for the cover ofWeezer's first album, known as theBlue Album.[27][28]
Credits from Craig Slowinski.[29]
The Beach Boys
Session musicians
Weekly charts
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Brian Wilson, at left, views the video in which he stars with I.R.S. Records act Wall of Voodoo.
