| "Little Bird" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single bythe Beach Boys | ||||
| from the albumFriends | ||||
| A-side | "Friends" | |||
| Released | April 8, 1968 | |||
| Recorded | February 29, 1968 | |||
| Studio | Beach Boys Studio, Los Angeles | |||
| Length | 1:57 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | The Beach Boys | |||
| The Beach Boys singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Little Bird" is a song by Americanrock bandthe Beach Boys from their 1968 albumFriends. It was credited toDennis Wilson andStephen Kalinich, however, it was written primarily byBrian Wilson, who declined a songwriting credit. The track was placed as the B-side of the album's "Friends" single, which peaked at number 47 in the US and number 25 in the UK.[not verified in body]
Brian recalled; "Dennis gave us 'Little Bird' which blew my mind because it was so full of spiritualness. He was a late bloomer as a music maker. He lived hard and rough but his music was as sensitive as anyone's."[1] The outro of "Little Bird" features music reworked from Brian's unfinished 1966 composition "Child Is Father of the Man", originally intended for theSmile album.[2] Brian's contribution remains uncredited.[3]
According to Kalinich, Brian rewrote virtually all of the composition. "I always claimed Brian wrote the bridge and changed my words around, but he also changed the whole melody. I talked to Brian recently and he said, 'Well, I touched it up, arranged it and produced it.' So he calls that an arrangement, but it's really a rewrite. Brian didn't take credit. He was trying to help his little brother."[4]
Matthew Greenwald ofAllMusic called the song a "wonderful surprise" from Dennis: "[his] earthy ability to capture his love of the power of nature is the basis for this minor masterpiece, and along with talented collaborator Steve Kalinich, he was able to nail his emotions."[5]
Per Craig Slowinski.[6][full citation needed]
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