The Smiley Smile Message Board

I was randomly listening to "Baby What You Want Me to Do?", Brian's 1965 production for Bob (Norberg) & Bobby (?) today, and was struck by what a great recording this is. It's got that wailing Tommy Morgan harmonica, fine locked-in drumming from Hal Blaine, some really lush organ chords and that same cool "dead air" effect BW used so effectively on "The Little Girl I Once Knew".

Anyway, this does seem to be one Brian production that sort of "slipped through the cracks" as it were, where even many serious fans aren't really aware of it's existence; but I think it's right up there with his most creative productions from '65.

Can anyone share any stories about this fine single? I'm looking for any information or appreciation beyond what can be found on AGD's site. Thanks.

I can tell you this much. It is available from a tape rather than viynl source here (which sounds really good):

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61ORseX2n3L._SS400_.jpg)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510or4CJqzL._SS400_.jpg)


9/65     Bob & Bobby   Tower 154     Twelve-O-Four*/Baby What You Want Me To Do*

Bob is, again, Bob Norburg, the co-producer. The story goes that Brian had a chance meeting with him and
took over the project as a sort of favor. Brian's involvement in the B side is documented by an AFM sheet,
that of the A side being anecdotal: however, there are times when the male voice on both sides sounds awfully
like him... According to a reliable researcher, Bobby was Jane Canada, who later released a few solo singles.

That looks like a cool comp (Arthur Lee & the LAGs.. yes!). Too bad "Baby What You Want Me to Do" wasn't included as well. I don't believe Brian had anything to do with "Twelve-o-Four".

"City Surfer" by The Beach Balls was early pre-Byrds McGuinn with Bobby Darin!

Fairly certain you meant to say " Beach Ball"  by the City Surfers....

I have this record. Single came out on Tower in 1965.

It's also on a CD called "Still I Dream Of It - the Rare Works of Brian Wilson", a Japanese comp from 1993.

Hey buddy, I'm not as think as you drunk I am!  ;D

Somewhere in an alternate universe composed of anti-matter, there exists a song called "City Surfer" by The Beach Balls, I assure you.

Yep, that wonderful M&M "grey market" CD is my source. Sounds like a 64kbs mp3 file recorded to a type I Maxell cassette, but it's all I've got.

Would do terrible things to hear a decent sounding version. How is the quality of your 45 Mikie?

I have the 45 and Brian did produce it.

Interesting. The red label Tower promo displayed on the one YouTube clip I found of "Twelve-o-Four" clearly says Produced by Bob Norberg.

My ears tell me it's definitely Brian at the helm of "Baby What You Want Me to Do". But my ears have told me lots of things through the years.  :o

About VG+ condition, Jason.  A few clicks, no pops.  Haven't played it in more than 15 years when my turntable was last hooked up. The labels on both sides of the record say "Produced by Bob Norberg", but I think at least the B-side was co-produced by Brian (uncredited).

Norberg once told Brad Elliott that Bobby was a girl whose real name was Jane Canada, but he didn't remember much about her. She was a local L.A. singer that Bob met and asked her to sing on the one single, then they went their separate ways and he never heard from her again.

BTW, both songs can also be found on the 7-disc boot "Brian Wilson Sessions".

Thanks Mikie. Exactly the type of info I was looking for.

Are you in the Bay Area by chance? I have a local buddy with a new Rega turntable who's dying to do some needledrops. Just sayin'.

My 45 is in great shape Jason. If you send me a s.a.s.e. I will copy it off my record player onto CD. I have professinal equipment to do so.

It's really a great recording. But didn't Brian "only" co-produce ? I forgot who the other producer was (shame on me) but it was a name fairly known in Beach Boys-Land

Working title of the song "Baby What You Want Me To Do" seems to have been "Peep and Hide" (taken from the lyrics at the beginning of the third verse)
AFM contract # 106707
Date: Aug 17, 1964
Personnel: Tommy Morgan, Hal Blaine, Tommy Tedesco, Bill Pitman
Producers: Brian Wilson, Bob Norberg
Employer: Grand Prix Records
Session leader: Hal Blaine

At the bottom of the contract it reads "Originally was Sea Of Tunes, later changed to Grand Prix"

AFM reprint can be found in: Stephen McParland: Our Favourite Recording Sessions, CM Publishing 2000, p. 79f.

Backing Vocals on both sides of the 45, which was only released about a year later: The Honeys

1965 Jane Canada released two 45s on the Crusader Label
(118) Just before The Night/Just Imagination
(125) Am I Dreaming/Remind My Baby Of Me
and one on the Magic Lamp label
(616) Am I Dreaming/You eyes Will Tell On You
(no involvement from Norberg or Wilson)

Guess the engineer wasn't a Jimmy Reed fan.

Great info!

A few points - First, that surf comp from cassette looks like a damn fine collection, if anyone has it on a format which is not obsolete and can be transferred let me know. I have the BW collections already but have never seen that collection, and it looks really cool. Bobby 'Don't Call Me Boris' Pickett doing surf...that's boss!  :)

I was wondering on a larger scale who bankrolled or financed these sessions in general. They weren't Capitol, they used AFM musicians like Hal who would often ask double-scale rates just to be booked for the date, and the label affiliations if any were pretty shaky at best, so it would seem. If these were Brian's own side-projects, did Brian himself finance them? Meaning simply, if it were not Capitol like "Guess I'm Dumb", they wouldn't be footing the bill.

I was also wondering if there were any anecdotal evidence of Murry in any way trying to blacklist or even sabotage any of these records, especially if his Sea Of Tunes didn't stand to profit. All the tales of Murry hammering home the idea of loyalty and family and not giving away work to "outsiders", I wondered if any of that actually translated into Murry attempting to torpedo any of Brian's projects which didn't benefit him or The Boys.

Good stuff, Dogear.   Didn't realize that was in McParland's book.

Look here http://www.ebay.de/itm/Rare-Surf-Volume-5-Capitol-masters-Japan-CD-w-obi-wayne-newton-CTCD-255-/370637434045?pt=Music_CDs&hash=item564bb66cbd (http://www.ebay.de/itm/Rare-Surf-Volume-5-Capitol-masters-Japan-CD-w-obi-wayne-newton-CTCD-255-/370637434045?pt=Music_CDs&hash=item564bb66cbd)

Your listening pleasure may vary; here's my copy: 


    (http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww302/bgasnow/scan0005-15.jpg) 

http://www.sendspace.com/file/oy86t4 


     (http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww302/bgasnow/scan0006-15.jpg)

http://www.sendspace.com/file/rv2kqj 

Twelve-o-Four sure sounds like Brian

Thanks for the link, but at the risk of sounding like a cheapskate, it isn't worth 50 dollars. Unless I'm the seller making that kind of profit on the markup, I can't think of any single CD that would be worth 50 dollars in 2012 for listening rather than collector value... ;D

Wow, that's a dandy capsule summary of this single. Wish I could write like that.

Oh Great Sarcastic Lord and Leader of Robotic-likes,

Allow me to bring enlightenment to those who walk in darkness (and to spare your modesty):

http://esquarterly.com/bellagio/productions.html (http://esquarterly.com/bellagio/productions.html)

I have no modesty. It was surgically removed at birth, along with my scruples.

I have your scruples in a jar of formaldehyde, on a shelf above my desk. Should the need ever arise, your acolytes and I will extract your DNA from them to ensure you arise, phoenix-like… or cloned phoenix-like – or at least like a pair of cloned scruples – to keep people in their place.  In the meantime I'll continue to turn them over once a week and give 'em a scratch.

No. The mechanical royalties from the New Executive published song would have gone to Murry and whoever else owned that company.

This is not to say that Murry, as manager and publisher, would have made Brian's various outside the group productions and compositions a top priority.

 ;D

So Brian's "New Executive" was still connected to Sea Of Tunes and Murry? I know it's only a small blurb of an announcement but the Billboard column only refers to it as Brian's company, which I assumed (probably incorrectly) was a separate company from Murry and Sea Of Tunes.

I just have that feeling that Brian would regularly get raked over the coals by Murry about the "family loyalty" issue, and these outside productions would be a sore spot for Murry's issues with him over working with non-family.

I always thought Brian had only one "company" and that was Sea Of Tunes.

Check out Billboard magazine, May 9th 1964 page 33 for the news blurb about Brian's company "New Executive". I assumed Brian was exclusive to Sea Of Tunes in the 60's and that told otherwise, although it would seem even though the name is different Murry/SOT was still getting the checks from Brian's work, if they even made money at that time.

Ah, OK. So "New Executive" is Brian's publishing company.

If I'm not mistaken, I've seen the company referenced on his solo records.

I really think that the reason New Executive was created was due, in part, to the Surfin' USA fiasco. Sea of Tunes was lucky to get off with just splitting the  writers credit. What kind of hit would Sea Of Tunes taken if something like that had happened again? Yes, New Executive was for Brian's outside writing and production projects, but I also think the company served (as best it could) to protect and sheild Brian's profitable core catalog (Sea Of Tunes).

Interesting! I'm sure a little digging would answer this, but is there any evidence of Beach Boys or BB's-related songs from the 60's being published under the New Executive company instead of Sea Of Tunes? Or was it basically acting as both a catch-all and/or a safety net if anyone decided to go after Sea of Tunes in a legal matter?

Bob evidently SO adores you that he took your credit. ( he probably thought nobody would notice) 

But what of Jane Canada; is she still alive? have you interviewed her to see what she remembers? 

Sloop John B might be the only New Executive published Beach Boys song. I think that is an example of Murry (or whoever was calling the publishing shots) being cautious (meaning protecting Sea Of Tunes) with an adapted public domain song. Though it was PD, you never know who could come out of the woodwork with a claim of infringement. I poked around a little bit. I believe Brian,  Mike, and Al's  portion of Almost Summer is New Executive. Brian kept using it over the years, here and there.

I've always loved "12:04" and the spoken vocals sure sound like Brian (though I've been told they're Bob N.).

They weren't - pretty much all the royalties and publishing from the sales of "SUSA" went to Chuck for many, many years.

Interesting!

And if other cases involving Chuck's so-called "publishers" are any indication, I doubt Chuck himself saw much if anything at all from those checks. And it wasn't an issue an artist connected to certain publishers could easily negotiate... :)

Interesting that Sloop John B is one of the only prominent song titles listed from that time - it definitely suggests they were out to protect the much larger Sea Of Tunes financially and legally by having this other one available.