Handwritten lyrics

[mikeyj]

I know this may be pretty trivial but does anyone know if any handwritten lyrics/music still exist for any Beach Boys songs (or songs written by one of the boys) Obviously there is the hand written lyrics to Surf City. But is there anything else that still exists?

I was just wondering cause you always hear about things like handwritten John Lennon lyrics (eg: Give Peace A Chance, Nowhere Man etc..)

[punkinhead]

for instance on the lennon situation, (referring to Lennon Legend (the book)), they have so many of his great tunes handwritten (in my life has an extra verse I believe!) We need a Wilson Legend book real soon with a replica of the SMiLE booklet!!!

[Christian]

There are handwritten lyrics for two Survivors´ songs:

"A Joyride Cruise" (BW)  in Brian´s handwriting

"Wich Stand" (BW, Dave Nowlen, Rich Peterson, Steve Rusk) - chorus in Brian´s handwriting, the verses are Dave Nowlen´s.

Both were shown in the Summer 1983 issue of Don Cunningham´s Add Some Music Magazine.

[Mark A. Moore]

I know this may be pretty trivial but does anyone know if any handwritten lyrics/music still exist for any Beach Boys songs (or songs written by one of the boys) Obviously there is the hand written lyrics to Surf City. But is there anything else that still exists?

I was just wondering cause you always hear about things like handwritten John Lennon lyrics (eg: Give Peace A Chance, Nowhere Man etc..)

There are tons of handwritten lyrics in Jan Berry's archive . . . including "Surf City."

[mikeyj]

"Wich Stand" (BW, Dave Nowlen, Rich Peterson, Steve Rusk) - chorus in Brian´s handwriting, the verses are Dave Nowlen´s.

Ahyes, I have seen a small picture of that one (in one of Stephen McParland's books) but forgot about that, so thanks for reminding me. Don't recall seeing the other one though.

[mikeyj]

There are tons of handwritten lyrics in Jan Berry's archive . . . including "Surf City."

I've always wondered, how much of Surf City did Brian write? In fact, I've always wondered how much Brian wrote of some of the other Jan & Dean songs that he co-wrote. Besides Sidewalk Surfin', which of course is just Catch A Wave with re-written lyrics.

Mark does the Jan Berry archive have handwritten lyrics to all of the Brian co-writes (including Sidewalk Surfin')?

[Roger Ryan]

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame & Museum in Cleveland had a number of handwritten lyric sheets on display for their Beach Boys exhibit which closed at the end of December. The exhibit only covered the formative years ('61 - '66, I think), but they had some interesting items. Specifically, I remember Brian's handwritten lyrics to an unreleased song entitled "Bluebird" from '62 or '63.

[mikeyj]

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame & Museum in Cleveland had a number of handwritten lyric sheets on display for their Beach Boys exhibit which closed at the end of December. The exhibit only covered the formative years ('61 - '66, I think), but they had some interesting items. Specifically, I remember Brian's handwritten lyrics to an unreleased song entitled "Bluebird" from '62 or '63.

Wow, that's fascinating, did you sneak a photo or two that you could share?

[Mark A. Moore]

There are tons of handwritten lyrics in Jan Berry's archive . . . including "Surf City."

I've always wondered, how much of Surf City did Brian write? In fact, I've always wondered how much Brian wrote of some of the other Jan & Dean songs that he co-wrote. Besides Sidewalk Surfin', which of course is just Catch A Wave with re-written lyrics.

Mark does the Jan Berry archive have handwritten lyrics to all of the Brian co-writes (including Sidewalk Surfin')?

Yes, there are handwritten or typed lyrics for pretty much everything.

M.

[Pretty Funky]

Where are they? Any examples?

[mrski]

Memory recalls that original hand written lyrics for 'Good Vibrations' (and maybe 'God Only Knows') were due to be auctioned off along with other BBoy memorabilia in London last year, (or maybe the year before...)

However the auction was halted by Brother, claiming that the memorabilia had been stolen and was not the legal property of the collector commiting them/it for auction...

I believe however that once the proceedings got to court the claims put forward by Brother were dismissed, effectively confirming that said collector had acquired the material by legitimate means, was now the legal owner and was free to do as he pleased with his own property...

Memory is alittle vague on this but perhaps someone else will remember... 

There are tons of handwritten lyrics in Jan Berry's archive . . . including "Surf City."

But doesn't Dean have the original Brian Wilson hand written lyrics to 'Surf City' as shown on his J&D websight? Didn't he suggest afew years ago that, due to the fact that his [Dean's] hand writing is evident on there too, (amending some of the original lyrics which Brian had scribbled down), that this was proof that he contributed lyrics to the song and was never given a co/writing credit?

[mikeyj]

There are tons of handwritten lyrics in Jan Berry's archive . . . including "Surf City."

But doesn't Dean have the original Brian Wilson hand written lyrics to 'Surf City' as shown on his J&D websight? Didn't he suggest afew years ago that, due to the fact that his [Dean's] hand writing is evident on there too, (amending some of the original lyrics which Brian had scribbled down), that this was proof that he contributed lyrics to the song and was never given a co/writing credit?

Well according to Wikipedia (which of course we all know to be 100% fact ) it says:

"Although Torrence contributed several important phrases to the song and kept the original lyrics which were scanned and now appear on the official Jan and Dean website, Torrence never insisted that his name should be recognized on the label as one of the authors of the song and his contribution is often overlooked."

[mrski]

I've always wondered, how much of Surf City did Brian write?

Reference to an interview with the late Mark Groseclose which was published in the book "Surfin Guitars; Instrumental Surf bands Of the 60s" by Robert J. Dalley... Mark was drummer for Dave & The Marksmen as well as stand in BBoy drummer for at least 4 gigs (when Dennis broke his ankle in a car accident) which coincided with The BBoys providing backing for J&D who were appearing on the same show.

Legend has it that after one of these shows Brian gave J&D a preview of the then unreleased Surfin USA which (again, as legend has it) Jan tried talk Brian into giving to J&D. As this was already recorded and planned to be the next BBoys 45, (Mark Groseclose mentions learning the song from a studio acetate), instead Brian passed on a couple of others...:

"It was about this time that Brian wrote a song called "Goodie Connie Won't You Come Back Home". he was going to produce these two brothers Eddy and Albert Haddad and a friend of theirs by the name of Dennis. Anyway, Brian decided to chuck the song and gave it to J&D. Jan did alittle rewriting and it became a big hit for them Perhaps you've heard it, Surf City?"

Note: Eddy Haddad, along with David Marks were members of the post Marksmen group Band Without A Name, (which was run by Casey Kasem who was Eddy's uncle apparently), so musically speaking he was certainly 'around' if not exactly 'in the fold' as it were...

One opinion is that Brian gave to Jan the melody and the 'Two girls for every boy' line (which coincidently fits musically to the 'Goodie Connie won't you come back home' line also.)

Indeed given what's stated in the above interview it seems that Brian had a complete set of different (non-surfing) lyrics to the song originally.

[Roger Ryan]

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame & Museum in Cleveland had a number of handwritten lyric sheets on display for their Beach Boys exhibit which closed at the end of December. The exhibit only covered the formative years ('61 - '66, I think), but they had some interesting items. Specifically, I remember Brian's handwritten lyrics to an unreleased song entitled "Bluebird" from '62 or '63.

Wow, that's fascinating, did you sneak a photo or two that you could share?

No photography allowed in the museum, I'm afraid (and no opportunity to sneak one either). The "Bluebird" lyrics reminded me a bit of the "Friends"-era material: "in my backyard, there's a pretty bluebird in a tree singing a song for me" kind of stuff (this is not an exact quote by any means).

[mikeyj]

No photography allowed in the museum, I'm afraid (and no opportunity to sneak one either). The "Bluebird" lyrics reminded a bit of the "Friends"-era material: "in my backyard, there's a pretty bluebird in a tree singing a song for me" kind of stuff (this is not an exact quote by any means).

That sucks. I mean what about people like me from Australia, there's very little chance I will ever get the opportunity to see these kinds of things!! Ah well, thanks for letting us know about the song anyway. I wish someone would release a sort of "Beach Boys Diary" which included photos of handwritten lyrics+music, rare photos, AFM sheets, track sheets and just any rare memorabilia that very few people have seen.. I'm aloud to dream aren't I?

By the way, those lyrics (I know you say they aren't exact) sound a little similar to Little Bird. Was the song only credited to Brian or was there someone else? And how many other songs had handwritten lyrics and/or music on display?

[Mark A. Moore]

Memory recalls that original hand written lyrics for 'Good Vibrations' (and maybe 'God Only Knows') were due to be auctioned off along with other BBoy memorabilia in London last year, (or maybe the year before...)

However the auction was halted by Brother, claiming that the memorabilia had been stolen and was not the legal property of the collector commiting them/it for auction...

I believe however that once the proceedings got to court the claims put forward by Brother were dismissed, effectively confirming that said collector had acquired the material by legitimate means, was now the legal owner and was free to do as he pleased with his own property...

Memory is alittle vague on this but perhaps someone else will remember... 

There are tons of handwritten lyrics in Jan Berry's archive . . . including "Surf City."

But doesn't Dean have the original Brian Wilson hand written lyrics to 'Surf City' as shown on his J&D websight? Didn't he suggest afew years ago that, due to the fact that his [Dean's] hand writing is evident on there too, (amending some of the original lyrics which Brian had scribbled down), that this was proof that he contributed lyrics to the song and was never given a co/writing credit?

Well, I've made this point many times before, but I'll say it again. Especially since Bob Greene has published a few paragraphs saying Dean has thought about suing for credit.

Dean's lyric sheet for "Surf City" -- by itself -- proves nothing. There are other lyric sheets, and there are even other lyric sheets where Dean has crossed out words and replaced them with new words -- on songs that we know he didn't co-write, such as "Little Deuce Coupe." In fact, there are a number of handwritten lyrics with Dean's handwriting, in Jan's archive.

See, there's no frame of reference for Dean's copy of the "Surf City" lyric sheet. There's no way to tell WHEN he crossed out the lyrics, even if it was on a sheet with Brian's handwriting. Dean could have changed an old lyric sheet after the song was updated.

So again, that lyric sheet Dean has proves nothing by itself . . . nothing on its own. Given other evidence that exists, it wouldn't hold up in court as proof.

In my opinion, if Dean co-wrote "Surf City," he should have found a way to prove it a long time ago . . . and not after Jan Berry's death.

Dean has always said he didn't care at the time (though he did make similar claims in writing years ago).. . . so the question becomes . . . why does he care now? . . . And it seems to me that it can be traced  to the recent SURF CITY USA trademark and marketing ploy for Huntington Beach.

Dean was on TV making the case, saying "we didn't write the song about Santa Cruz", etc. (paraphrased) . . . trying to tie the song to specifically Huntngton Beach. Problem is, the subject in the song claims he'll "hitch a ride in my wetsuit" . . . which indicates surfing father north where the water is cold (and Santa Cruz gave us the wetsuit, correct)?

Truth is, the song was not written about any specific place. (The town of Surf City, N.C. was incorporated in 1949 . . . when Jan & Dean were 8 and 9 years old. There is also a Surf City in New Jersey).

Here's an example of Dean's handwritten lyrics . . . Dig the flourish for "DOT Productions.":



M.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

The water's pretty darn cold in Huntington Beach, too.  Brr...

[Roger Ryan]

By the way, those lyrics (I know you say they aren't exact) sound a little similar to Little Bird. Was the song only credited to Brian or was there someone else? And how many other songs had handwritten lyrics and/or music on display?

The lyrics (and they were just handwritten lyrics - no chords or anything else notated) were credited just to Brian; it was probably less similar to "Little Bird" than I'm remembering, but it was not like the typical "surf/car" lyrics of '63. In fact, they reminded me a bit of Brian's material written for the SURFIN' SAFARI album (tracks like "Cuckoo Clock") before the emphasis shifted to "fun in the sun" themes (which is probably why "Bluebird" never made it to the recording stage). I'm sorry I don't have a better recollection about the lyrics on display at the museum - I believe most of the others were well-known ("409", "Surfin' Safari", etc.); probably five or six examples were displayed in total.

[mikeyj]

The lyrics (and they were just handwritten lyrics - no chords or anything else notated) were credited just to Brian; it was probably less similar to "Little Bird" than I'm remembering, but it was not like the typical "surf/car" lyrics of '63. In fact, they reminded me a bit of Brian's material written for the SURFIN' SAFARI album (tracks like "Cuckoo Clock") before the emphasis shifted to "fun in the sun" themes (which is probably why "Bluebird" never made it to the recording stage). I'm sorry I don't have a better recollection about the lyrics on display at the museum - I believe most of the others were well-known ("409", "Surfin's Safari", etc.); probably five or six examples were displayed in total.

Thanks for the info, very much appreciated. It doesn't matter if you can't remember the specifics, it's just cool to know that there is this kind of stuff still in existence.

[mrski]

See, there's no frame of reference for Dean's copy of the "Surf City" lyric sheet. There's no way to tell WHEN he crossed out the lyrics, even if it was on a sheet with Brian's handwriting. Dean could have changed an old lyric sheet after the song was updated.
M.

Putting Dean’s ‘debateable’ contribution aside and not wanting to get into another Jan vs. Dean type debate…

How much input into ‘Surf City’ did BW actually have?

The lyrics which Dean has show, (prior to his amendments), a set of lyrics which do not correspond 100% to those of the final version of the song yet supposedly they are written out in Brian’s hand…

If Jan took the ‘Goodie Connie’ song from Brian then effectively went away and wrote a completely new set of lyrics with NO BW input (ie. the FINAL version), why then does there exist an ‘intermediate’ set of lyrics written out by Brian?

Surely, if Brian was not involved, wouldn’t any preliminary lyrics only be written out solely by Jan?

My guess is this:

Melody                             : Brian (from ‘Goodie Connie’)
Lyrics                               : Brian & Jan with input from Dean
Production/Arrangement       : Jan


But as was stated, just like there is no way of knowing in what time frame/situation Dean made his amendments, maybe equally there is no way of knowing for sure if Brian’s hand written lyrics were made during the actual creative process of writing the song… (Maybe at some later date  Jan dictated what words he had, and Brian simply noted down what was said without contributing anything…?!)

Who knows either way...?

[Mark A. Moore]

See, there's no frame of reference for Dean's copy of the "Surf City" lyric sheet. There's no way to tell WHEN he crossed out the lyrics, even if it was on a sheet with Brian's handwriting. Dean could have changed an old lyric sheet after the song was updated.
M.

Putting Dean’s ‘debateable’ contribution aside and not wanting to get into another Jan vs. Dean type debate…

How much input into ‘Surf City’ did BW actually have?

The lyrics which Dean has show, (prior to his amendments), a set of lyrics which do not correspond 100% to those of the final version of the song yet supposedly they are written out in Brian’s hand…

If Jan took the ‘Goodie Connie’ song from Brian then effectively went away and wrote a completely new set of lyrics with NO BW input (ie. the FINAL version), why then does there exist an ‘intermediate’ set of lyrics written out by Brian?

Surely, if Brian was not involved, wouldn’t any preliminary lyrics only be written out solely by Jan?

My guess is this:

Melody                             : Brian (from ‘Goodie Connie’)
Lyrics                               : Brian & Jan with input from Dean
Production/Arrangement       : Jan


But as was stated, just like there is no way of knowing in what time frame/situation Dean made his amendments, maybe equally there is no way of knowing for sure if Brian’s hand written lyrics were made during the actual creative process of writing the song… (Maybe at some later date  Jan dictated what words he had, and Brian simply noted down what was said without contributing anything…?!)

Who knows either way...?

According to Jan, he and Brian wrote both the music and lyrics together at Brian's piano. Brian's own statements support this (at least in part), explaining that he and Jan wrote "Surf City" by sitting down together at a piano -- and Brian claims they wrote the song really fast.

I think the Groseclose story is the only reference to the "Goodie Connie" scenario -- which could be quite true, but no other supporting evidence.

Don Altfeld has also floated the idea (to myself and others) that Roger Christian later claimed to have co-written the lyrics, and it became an issue when Jan first tried to get his writing credit restored to "Little Old Lady" (which finally happened officially, much later, in 2002 -- thanks to Don Altfeld). "Honolulu Lulu" -- the follow-up hit after "Surf City" -- was Roger's first official credit.

But as a friend and lyricist, Roger Christian stuck with Jan Berry all the way through Carnival of Sound in 1967-68, and well into the 1970s (Jan's solo singles). So if there was a rift there, it developed late in the game.

Dean may well have had input. It would make sense on the surface . . . Yet all indictaions point to Dean not being a member of Jan's creative inner circle, at least as remembered and related (in interviews with me) by Jan's associates.

Dean's name appears on precious few Jan & Dean songs (in terms of writing credit) . . . and it seems that Dean co-wrote more during the earlier pre-surf phase of their career.

M.