Recycled musical motifs in Brian's music

[Myk Luhv]

I was watching this amusing YouTube video, which details the various songs that Brian has (at least) inserted the "Shortenin' Bread" bass riff into, and it got me a-wonderin' about other examples of this sort of musical recycling. I guess I'm not especially good at this sort of auditory guesswork because I've only noticed it before in the 'dit-dit-dit' melody bits of "All Dressed Up for School" > "Games Two Can Play" > "Marcella" [and, at that, only especially in the first two]. Any other neat examples would be instructive and fun too! Smiley

There are books that could be written about this. Brian never forgets a good riff (or song). If we restrict ourselves to riffs, rather than melodies, one that comes to mind is the "ah-oom bop-did-it" from "This Whole World" which later popped up on the Paley sessions tune "God Did It" as the melody behind the title line, and then at the end of "Your Imagination." Likewise, the little "bop didit, bop didit" that Brian used to accompany his late 90s version of "Joy to the World" shows up as a flute figure in the remake of "Don't Let Her Know She's an Angel" on GIOMH. And many, many others.

That above quote (in response to my initial probing) is from Wirestone. Sure there are books than could be written about this -- one such book that was written about this (among other things) is Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius by Phillip Lambert (2007), although it deals with the 1962-67 period first and foremost -- but until then, would a stand-alone thread, dedicated to this sort of archaeology, suffice? I hope so; to this end, let's list instances where Brian Wilson has become smitten with some melody or phrase or what-have-you and reused to notable effect in various other songs.

...I cannot think of any more, so you need to start! Yes, you!

[Wrightfan]

The beginning of "The Like in I love You" is reminiscent of "Spirit of Rock and Roll"
The end of "Little Bird" reminds me of "Child is Father of the Man"
There's also a bit of "God Only Knows" influence in "Our Sweet Love"

[cutterschoice]

guitar riff in The Little Girl I Once Knew and Pet Sounds.

[punkinhead]

Pied Piper tune - Lazy Lizzie
County Fair- I do
Car Crazy Cutie- Pamela Jean

[Don't Back Down]

Mountain of Love (though I know he didn't write it) - Little Children

[Wirestone]

Virtually every single Beach Boys album -- and every single BW solo album -- contains reused material of some sort to some degree. Brian's boyhood friends have spoken of recognizing melodies he composed during high school showing up years later on Beach Boys records. This is a man whose head seemingly recombines and reuses dozens or hundreds of melodic fragments.

Early on, he used the songwriter's trick of rewriting other tunes. When You Wish Upon a Star morphed into Surfer Girl. Sweet Little Sixteen became Surfin' USA. Surfin Down the Swanee River. He went back to this more recently -- Little Children takes the Mountain of Love chorus, as mentioned, and the unreleased Someone to Love takes the verse melody from Dennis's San Miguel. Heck, even on TLOS, Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl reworks Who Loves You by the Four Seasons.

Most people will mention his re-use of his own melodic phrases -- or entire songs. This just goes on and on. Heck, Girls on the Beach is a Surfer Girl rewrite in and of itself. Much of the original Smile material was repurposed -- He Gives Speeches into She's Goin' Bald, for example. The bass line of Wind Chimes shows up in Can't Wait too Long and the unreleased anti-drug song Just Say No from the Usher sessions.

And then there are the riffs or little instrumental passages that repeat. The Mow-mama-yama-glory-halleluyah chant that finally found its way into Morning Beat after 30 years. The "boys and girls" vocal bit from Heroes and Villains appears on the Christmas album. And so on.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Two words: Shortenin' Bread. 

[The Shift]

Proud Mary.

Maybe Brian's next album of own-writes will include a number entitled Short Mary, or Mary's Bread. Call the album Mother's Pride and be done with it Make it a concept album with a character called Mother Mary. (I knew it'd come to me...)




it's been a long week guys, I'm fading....

[Alex]

Da Doo Ron Ron-He Couldn't Get His Poor Old Body To Move
Being With The One You Love-Doing Time On Planet Earth

[punkinhead]

Da Doo Ron Ron-He Couldn't Get His Poor Old Body To Move
Being With The One You Love-Doing Time On Planet Earth

from what I've heard, this is the exact same song with different lyrics

[Andrew G. Doe]

Da Doo Ron Ron-He Couldn't Get His Poor Old Body To Move
Being With The One You Love-Doing Time On Planet Earth

from what I've heard, this is the exact same song with different lyrics

You hear correctly, sir.

[GLarson432]

"Car Crazy Cutie" is also just a rewrite of "Pamela Jean" as "Our Car Club" is "Rabbit's Foot" recycled.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Land Ahoy - Cherry, Cherry Coupe
Pamela Jean - Car Crazy Cutie
Thinkin' 'Bout You, Baby - Darlin'
tag of At My Window - tag of A Day in the Life Of A Tree
Fire Music - Fall Breaks...
Do You Like Worms - Whistle In
Hawaiian Song - Little Pad
That's Not Me - Good Vibrations
Loop De Loop - Daddie's Little Girl
That Same Song - Rio Grande
Spark In The Dark - Chain Reaction Of Love
Barbara - Cuddle Up [I know, not BW - so hate me]
Little Girl I Once Knew - Trombone Dixie (I think)
Child Is Father To The Man - Little Bird
Good Vibrations - Look (again, I think)
Child Of Winter - Mike, Come Back To LA - Some Of Your Love
Marilyn Rovell - Do Ya - How's About A Little Bit

[hypehat]

I don't hear some of those, AGD - That's Not Me and GV? Same Song and Rio Grande?
I also don't hear the purported similarities between Trombone Dixie and Had To Phone Ya, unless they're compositional....

An example of BW possibly not being the one doing the reusing of his musical motifs - Heroes And Villains chorus = Piano on Don't Go Near The Water. Even in the same key!

[runnersdialzero]

Heroes And Villains chorus = Piano on Don't Go Near The Water. Even in the same key!

Hrrm - they have a similar feel and tempo but otherwise I don't hear it.

"Good Vibrations" and "That's Not Me" has been talked about before. Listen to the instrumental of "That's Not Me", imagine it sped up a bit and it's a little bit similar to the organ opening of "Good Vibrations".

[smile-holland]

Heroes And Villains chorus = Piano on Don't Go Near The Water. Even in the same key!

Hrrm - they have a similar feel and tempo but otherwise I don't hear it.

"Good Vibrations" and "That's Not Me" has been talked about before. Listen to the instrumental of "That's Not Me", imagine it sped up a bit and it's a little bit similar to the organ opening of "Good Vibrations".

What about Here Today and Good Vibes? (bass lines)?

[Andrew G. Doe]

I don't hear some of those, AGD - That's Not Me and GV? Same Song and Rio Grande?

Try singing "Rio Grande, Rio Grande/I'd swim you but I can't" over the intro to "TSS".   Or "doobie dod, doobie do" over the intro to "RG".

Also, organ riff in the middle of "TNM" ended up in "GV".

[The Shift]

Fire Music - Fall Breaks...

Who Ran The Iron Horse...

[willy]

'Frere Jacques, dormez vous?' = 'Are you sleeping, brother John?'

[runnersdialzero]

What about Here Today and Good Vibes? (bass lines)?

f***, that's what I meant - not "That's Not Me" and "Good Vibrations", but "Here Today" and "Good Vibrations".

Fire Music - Fall Breaks...

Who Ran The Iron Horse...

Don't hear that one.

[hypehat]

Heroes And Villains chorus = Piano on Don't Go Near The Water. Even in the same key!

Hrrm - they have a similar feel and tempo but otherwise I don't hear it.

"Good Vibrations" and "That's Not Me" has been talked about before. Listen to the instrumental of "That's Not Me", imagine it sped up a bit and it's a little bit similar to the organ opening of "Good Vibrations".

It's there, i swear - not the 'heroes and villains, see what you've done' riff, but the arpeggiated (?) chord is the same. Same as Bicycle Rider, but that's Gm and not Ebm like H&V.

I got you instantly when you realised you meant 'Here Today', though.

Andrew - i don't hear it. It sounds more like California Girls or Sloop John B than anything...

[Don't Back Down]

On the Good Vibrations topic:
Organ on GV - Organ on He Came Down

Heroes and Villains - I Can Hear Music
Bass lines are fairly similar

[punkinhead]

does the end of the extended version of Concert Tonight (from Sweet Insanity) contain a recycled part from Walkin' the Line's chorus?

[Sam_BFC]

What does the verse melody of Christmasey recycle?

[Jason]

A couple others.

Clang (1975-76) and Walkin' (1968-70) were reused in Morning Beat on TLOS.
Wondering What You're Up To Now (1985) was reused in California Role on TLOS.
Sweetie (1981) was reused in Love Ya on Sweet Insanity, and then reused again as Sweetie in 1996 during sessions for The Wilsons.
Black Widow (1983) was redone in 1986 with Gary Usher under the same title and then rewritten with Landy as Let's Do It Again in 1987 during the sessions for the '88 album.
In The Night Time (1983) was rewritten slightly as The First Time on Live at the Roxy.
"Take Me Home"/"Yeahhh" (1982) was reused (loosely) in Rio Grande in the section after the "Indian chant".
"I Said A Prayer" (1982) was reused for This Isn't Love in 1997 as an instrumental, and then again on Live at the Roxy with Tony Asher lyrics.
Up In The Sky (1983) became There's So Many with a lyrical revision.
They're Marching Along (1976) became Little Children in 1983, which was slightly revised for the '88 album.