Posted on 02/07/2025 2:13:59 PM PST by nickcarraway
The Beach Boys ‘Fun, Fun, Fun’ is one of their best-loved numbers, and a highlight of their live shows since it was released.
The Beach Boys’ “Fun, Fun, Fun” is one of their best-loved numbers, and a highlight of their live shows for the past 50 years. Released on February 3, 1964, it entered the Billboard Hot 100 on February 15 at No.69 and on the week of March 21, it climbed to No.5 on the charts. It was kept from climbing any higher by three Beatles singles, “She Loves You,” “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” and “Please Please Me,” with the Four Seasons, “Dawn (Go Away)” holding down the fourth spot. Perhaps most surprising of all, given its popularity, is that “Fun Fun Fun” never made the UK chart.
It’s a great example of the way things were done back in the 60s. The Beach Boys recorded “Fun, Fun, Fun” only six weeks earlier on New Year’s Day 1964. Beginning at shortly after mid-day at Western Recorders in Hollywood, the Beach Boys were all there, along with drummer Hal Blaine, saxophonists, Steve Douglas, Ed Migliori, and bass player Ray Pohlman. As Brian Wilson would later tell Newsweek magazine, “I could go into the studio and cut a record in three hours. I’d say, ‘Hey we’ll make the best record ever tonight.’ I had that kind of spirit – and goddamn if it didn’t work!”
This was the start of The Beach Boys recording their new album, Shut Down Vol.2 and “Fun Fun Fun” was first attempted by the group working on a slower version of the song. Mike Love’s lead vocals were added to the backing track, followed by percussion and guitar parts inserted. There then followed 19 takes of recording the backing vocals that completed work on what is for many a masterpiece of the California sound.
What is it that makes the song work so well? Well, there’s the driving beat and the underpinning of everything by the fabulous bass line and the honking saxes of Douglas and Migliori giving it a fuller sound than many other records at the time. The song is written by Mike Love and Brian Wilson, Love the lyricist, Wilson the music. It is Mike’s brilliant evocation of what people around the world imagined to be the American dream– or the California dream of living in the Sunshine State. To round it all off, there are the great harmony vocals.
Both the stereo and mono versions were done at the New Year’s Day session; the difference between the two is that the stereo mix fades out early, with the instruments fading away before the vocals. The mono mix, on the single release as well as mono copies of Shut Down Vol. 2 features an extended outro.
I think the inspiration was a banker’s daughter in Salt Lake City that they learned about while on tour.
Or something like that. I know it was SLC.
Kind of ironic how the article paints it as SoCal American Culture, when it’s more just American.
“And we’ll have fun with our guns until the lifeguard takes our ammo away”
They should know what a Roman chariot race is, since they were once part of the Roman Empire. (People from the U.S. had to hear about yellow matter custard.)
People probably think about other Beach Boys songs, which touch on surfing, and think all their songs are about the southern California teenage lifestyle of the ‘60s.
“We have a citation here for you sir under Section 936A of the California ‘Catch a Wave’ Statute.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RW8PFJTJJY
Keith Moon’s favorite band. Roger Daltrey later said that given the opportunity, Moon would have left to play for the California band even at the peak of The Who’s fame.
XKE Jaguar
“She’s real fine my 409...”
They probably didn’t have ‘62 Impala Super Sports with a 409, 4 speed, 2 Carter 4bls, and a positraction rear end either.
I can’t count the number of times I played this song in cover bands over the years.
Always a win with audiences!
Those were golden years in music creativity.
(All the modern songs seem like shallow rehashes.)
John Belushi would be 76 years old now.
Here’s a nice live rendition of the original band doing that song in 1964. Brian on bass and singing the high falsetto at the end. Back before Brian completely lost his sh#t.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brZfudD4vKA
They don’t have muscle cars in the U.K.?
No...they have Fiats...
I grew up in SO Cal during the 60s. Thus music was always playing on my AM transistor radio. Moved in 1971.
Later in life my wife and I moved to the Raleigh Durham NC area when I was hired as the GM of a large Sheraton. Everyone was talking about “Beach music “.
I thought they must like the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, etc.
It was Motown and they danced barefoot on sand.
Perhaps the problem was that T-Bird is a brand name. The British used to frown on brand names being mentioned in song lyrics. George Hamilton had to redo his 1956 hit "A Rose and a Baby Ruth" for release in England, singing instead, "A Rose and a Candy Bar." Similarly, to pass muster in the UK, Johnny Bond had to redo his 1960 hit "Hot Rod Lincoln" as " Hot Rod Jalopy" with no mention of any brand names of cars. He also described the hot rod race in question as starting in Southampton, England instead of San Pedro, Calif.
The Tradewinds' "New York's a Lonely Town" hit hard in SoCal. KRLA, one of LA's two rock blasters, had its own version of the song, which it played exclusively.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.