The Smiley Smile Message Board

I remember about 15 years ago Time life was advertising one their cds on tv and they had a version of Locomotion by the Beach boys,it sounded like their version of "crocodile rock" and the SIP cd so I'm going to assume it was  recorded in the 90's,it's not the same version that Mike Love did solo because I remember Carl singing on it somewhere..after the comnmercial went off the air the song had vanished and I haven't heard it on any boots it's like it vanished..anyone know anyhting about this?

I think that's actually a released song by some big band, Grand Funk Railroad or something, Carl just sang backup vocals on it, so it's not really a Beach Boys song.  It actually sounds like Brian singing crazy in the backing vocals, honestly.  Someone who knows more than me will chime in about it, I'm sure.  they play it on the radio all the time if you listen to oldies or classic rock stations. 

I`ve been hearing the Grand Funk cover on the radio since I was a kid...didn`t realize Carl sang on it.

We need somebody who knows for sure to chime in, but I thought I've heard that before.  Could be wrong! 

 "The idea of Locomotion came when we were working on the Shinin' On album in the studio with Todd (Rundgren). We had basically finished the album - 'Shinin' On' was going to be the first single, and we were thinking about what we were going to do for another song. Mark (Farner) came in one day and off the top of his head was singing, 'Everybody's doing a brand new dance now,' just for fun, and we all went, 'Yeah, Grand Funk doing the Locomotion.' It was a tongue-in-cheek kind of thing, and we said, 'Let's try it, let's do it,' so we sent off to New York, got the lyrics, and Todd had the idea of doing the song kind of like The Beach Boys' 'Barbara Ann' where it sounded like a big party was going on, except Todd could really crank up every thing with the hand claps and all of that stuff. It just had this huge sound to it - it sounded like a big party."

-Grand Funk drummer and vocalist Don Brewer

That's because he didn't.  ;D

A guy that I used to work with had the BB Locomotion on his PC, they definately recorded a version of it.

Nope. But Mike did for the 1983 Radio Shack only release Rock & Roll City.

The version I heard had Mike, Bruce, Al and mostly Carl on the choruses.

Are you positive it wasn't the Grand Funk one? I mean it sounds exactly like the Beach Boys.

Carl was definately on it.

yes I remember the Time Life ad actually said the beach boys as the singers and it didn't sound like it was from the 70's or anything like that it sounded like the stuff they were recording in the 90's,the production was like "crocodile Rock" or the songs from SIP and Carl was either singing lead or was in the background (can't rememeber which) but I remember hearing him on it and I was thinking at the time "cool the beach boys have a new songs out".

Anyone can provide hard evidence that this is so, I'll gladly revise my list of BB as guests.  :)

This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxyU4W8iyeI) is the GFR version. I hear no BBs. More to the point, the Time Life releases are hardly low profile - I think the word would be out by now.

GFR version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxyU4W8iyeI

Sure is one hell of an echo in here.  :)

I did a google search for The Locomotion, Beach Boys, and one of the links listed took me here. 
http://aimini.net/view/?fid=AZLnFsEU9n5cQuJFtmFk
It says it's The Beach Boys, but it's the Grand Funk version.  No Beach Boys to be heard.  I'd chalk this one up as another The Lion Sleeps Tonight or Beach Baby.  Lots of people thought those songs were by The Beach Boys, too (although I can't quite understand why...neither sounds anything like the BBs).

the problem I'm having is the commercial actually said the beach boys when they had the list of songs scrolling on the page and it sounded like carl was on it,so I guess it could be GFR but they mistaked it for the BB but that wouldn't explain Carl being on it or the 90's production that it had,unless it was a 90's remix or something.. it definanlty sounded like it was from the SIP time frame  and not the 70's..heavy snths and drum machine type sound like the other songs they were doing during the 90's. so it's kind of strange.

More information on The Mike Love version can be found here:

http://thejananddeanblog.blogspot.com/2007/08/jan-dean-collector-serie-vol-15.html

... except that Carl isn't on it. As I said below, the Time Life series are not low profile and it would have entered the collectors arena by now. I've asked around, and no-one's heard word one about it. I googled it using the relevant words - nothing, except two YouTube links that are the GFR recording. There's no report of the band recording the title in question during the 90s. If some convincing hard evidence turns up - the song itself, the advert, an album credit -  I'll change my mind, but as it stands right now, I'm thinking a case of mistaken identity. Happens - first time I heard it I swore up and down that "Almost Summer" was the BB.  ;D