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THE BEACH BOYS AND ANDY WILLIAMS - Little Honda (as: Little Cycle) (1965)
Wherein Mike Love coaxes middle-of-the-road pop crooner Andy Williams into the chorus of “Little Honda,” in this amiable, inter-generational mega-star mash-up from late 1965.
By this point, Williams was the highest-paid recording artist in the U.S., the informal mouthpiece for all of Henry Mancini’s Oscar-nominated songs on Academy Awards telecasts, and the host of his own variety show on NBC. For their part, The Beach Boys were the most popular American rock band in the world, and pretty much owned the Billboard charts through this particular calendar year, with three monster albums (#4, #2, #6) and three smash singles (#1, #3, #2) to back up the claim. And if that weren’t enough, leader Brian Wilson had just finished the ambitious “Little Girl I Once Knew” single and had started laying down basic tracks for what became Pet Sounds.
It’s not on the level of Elvis Presley meeting Frank Sinatra on the latter’s 1960 Timex Show, but it’s a worthy silver medallist.
Brian Wilson had retired from live performance eight months earlier, but agreed to this appearance. The band recorded backing tracks on October 20, and taped the show two days later. Vocals and Carl Wilson’s guitar were live. The show included three songs, all of which have survived on video, and we’re the better for it. “Help Me, Rhonda” is winningly buoyant, and the a cappella “Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring” captures the four-part harmony in stunning fashion, something especially apparent in the madly brilliant cold open, with the boys stepping to the mic to deliver the complex, wordless intro with goosebump-inducing precision.
And then there’s “Little Honda.”
This is the audience pander piece, the one-off curio pitting the crooner against the rockers. ”Little Honda” was an album track on 1964’s All Summer Long, but the public heard it when The Hondells took a slavish cover version to #9 on the U.S. chart. For some reason, despite a couple handfuls’ worth of Beach Boys hits to choose from, some bright spark decided this would be the song the guests and host would sing, and in a perfect example of a make-work project they had to placate nervous sponsors by replacing the brand “Honda” with the nebulous “cycle” at every turn. WTF, y’know? Although these artistic compromises mar the performance, it’s not only less gangly than the Presley-Sinatra summit from five years earlier, it’s even alright.
Andy’s a little under-rehearsed but game, giving us an amusing jig in the final chorus, and no doubt Beach Boys nerds will enjoy the “Andy, Andy, go faster, faster” backing vocals. And frankly, considering the lushness of The Beach Boys’ studio singing, and the resonant, burnished vocals on Andy’s concurrent pop LPs, there are a few spots in the piece where I can’t help thinking this gang might’ve made an interesting 45 together.
And no, man, I have no idea why Mike pronounces “cycle” as “sickle.”
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THE BEACH BOYS - The Monster Mash (1964)
In the spirit of Halloween - my favourite day of the year - here’s The Beach Boys‘cover of Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s chart-topping “Monster Mash,” recorded December 17, 1964 for Shindig!, featuring Mike Love on the ghoulish lead vocal, and a totally uncool crowd of shrieking teenyboppers threatening to shred Brian Wilson’s good ear.
Early Beach Boys concerts featured a curious mix of hit singles, second-tier album tracks and a lot of cover versions. In an era when 30-to-45 minute sets were the norm, that heavy emphasis on other artists’ songs seemed misplaced.
From an archivist’s perspective, though, it’s a gas to watch old clips of the legendary golden throats rippin’ up lightweight novelties like “Long Tall Texan,” or rock ‘n’ roll classics like “Johnny B. Goode” and “The Little Old Lady From Pasadena.”
For you historians out there, check out that date again. Although he seems in awfully good spirits here, Brian Wilson suffered his first nervous breakdown six days later. He played that night’s show in Houston, then flew home, and retired from touring. A pre-stardom Glen Campbell was in the lineup the next night. I’m not saying we should blame Mike Love for everything that went wrong in Beach Boysville but, ooooh, get a load of that scream at 1:22. Foreshadowing?
(For a larger sampling from that show [Christmas perennial “Little Saint Nick,” “Monster Mash,” ”Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow” and “Johnny B. Goode”], head here. Not a Beach Boys regular to be found, but any student of Brian and Mike’s wonderfully complimentary singing styles should stick it out through “Papa” at least, because the throat-shredding acrobatics on the nonsensical lyric are awesome. Don’t try this at home.)
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THE BEACH BOYS - I Can Hear Music (1969)
The great American songwriter Ellie Greenwich died last Wednesday, and our iPods, blip.fm streams and CD changers have been humming with the likes of “Be My Baby,” “Leader Of The Pack,” “Da Doo Ron Ron” and “Chapel Of Love” in memoriam to her estimable body of work with partner Jeff Barry.
And this brings me to my favourite Ellie Greenwich confection: a gleaming cover of The Ronettes’ 1966 single ”I Can Hear Music,” as done by The Beach Boys.
Backstory:
The Beach Boys’ star was in full retreat by the time they recorded this on October 1, 1968. Brian Wilson had abandoned SMiLE, the music press had condemned the band for bailing on a headline spot at the Monterey Pop Festival in ‘67, and the records were tanking on radio and in the shops. The band’s contract with Capitol Records was nearing term, and the next LP was conceivably the last they’d get to record for the label.
Brian Wilson was still de facto producer for the band, but the “I Can Hear Music” session is notable for the fact he had nothing to do with its finished product. The whole shebang was the work of the youngest Wilson brother, 22-year-old Carl, who led the session, supplied the lush guitar strums, shepherded the Boys through a series of stunning vocal parts and sang the sterling lead. I mean, holy shit, if you haven’t heard this one before, slip on the headphones and crank it, because the intro and crystalline lead vocal are so sharp they’ll clear your sinuses for a week. Absolutely gobsmacking. And the angelic mid-song a cappella break shoots this into a league of its own, in terms of cover versions of songs from the Phil Spector stable.
Carl’s grand efforts were rewarded: in spite of the band’s low stock, the single made #24 U.S. and #10 U.K. in early 1969.
Greenwich and Barry never worked with The Beach Boys, but their songs clearly had an impact on the band:
- “Then I Kissed Her,” done wonderfully well for 1965’s Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) LP, and a #5 U.K. single in 1967,
- “I Can Hear Music,” recorded twice, the second time as a gloopy 1996 country-pop duet with Kathy Troccoli,
- “Chapel Of Love,” appearing as a wheezy synth-rock album filler on 1976’s 15 Big Ones LP, and
- “Be My Baby,” never recorded by the band, but oft-stated as Brian Wilson’s favourite pop record of all-time.
In a perverse turn, Beach Boys lead singer/curmudgeon/Brian foil Mike Love recorded “Be My Baby” in 1981 for his oft-derided solo LP Looking Back With Love. Given his strained relationship with Brian at the time, most observers heard Love’s cover as a barb directed at his troubled cousin. I’m willing to bet it was part tribute, part fuck-you. Mike’s amazingly adept at double-edged swordplay.
Anyway, R.I.P. Miss Ellie. You’ll be missed. It’s only a matter of months ‘til “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” reminds us again of your gift.
