The Smiley Smile Message Board

Summer 1963...Brian is tasked by Capitol Records with coming up with his fourth LP in less than 18 months. They want a car-themed record...Brian manages to create enough material for another hit album, but a couple of old tracks are poached from earlier singles to complete the record. Meanwhile, 15 year old David Marks submits this song to Brian, and asks if maybe he could arrange some Brian-style harmonies to add to the admittedly primitive composition and put it on the LP. Brian says no way. Dave sees the writing on the wall and expedites his departure from the group. So...not exactly a classic...but was this good enough to be on the Little Deuce Coupe LP??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wypmkqU9fYQ

it reminds me of Shut Down Part II instrumentally. but yeah, it would have fitted in nicely.

I think its too rough in quality for a BBs album.

I think the song is decent, not super...  but I can see how it would bug a band member to have their song(s) rejected, particularly while a re-release of a song that already came out makes the cut.

Silly question, but do you know why David Marks spelled the song's title with "K"s instead of "C"s? (I like it better as "KKS" myself, for no particular reason).

Pretty good song, but Brian already had "Custom Machine". Couldn't see him wanting another song for the album with Custom (or Kustom) in the title.

Ordinarily with most bands that would make sense, but keep in mind how many songs with "Surf" in the title there were on the early albums!  ;D

The spelling Kustom Kar is kind of a slang or jargon associated with the early hot-rod culture, it was a hip way to spell it...

My opinion...I think the song lacks musicality, but Brian could have easily added some by adding a mid-song key change and by putting harmonies on it. The other side is that the lyric is really fun and in some ways inventive...maybe a more punk attitude than some BB's material, but with Mike singing lead, group harmonies on there, it certainly rocks, David's guitar solo is perfectly Beach Boys...I think it's good enough to be an album cut with some minor tweaks.

I think Murry might've had a finger in this song's rejection althougn we should not dismiss the possibility that Brian's ego would allow other songwriters in the group disrupt his visions for where the band should go.

Quality wise this songs beats several LDC cuts.

Pretty much any basic rock n' roll song with lyrics related to cars would work on the album. The song wouldn't improve the album but it wouldn't hurt it either.

It definetely should have been on that album!
If it was, it would have easily been one of the better tracks

So cutting to the chase, you're saying Dave's leaving had nothing to do with touring/Murry but instead was on account of Brian not wanting to use ONE song by Dave? 
That's some historic re-writing!! 

I'd say Brian was too pumped with his own music, and he didnt see spending time on Daves' song as a good investment.
The song seems fairly basic/repetitive comparatively, but how many songs measure up to Brian?  ( See Gary Usher; look how many songs he tried...) 

I didn't say it had nothing to do with Murry etc... of course not, you know better than that. However, Dave has said many many many times, in his book and elsewhere, that ONE of the reasons he left is that he wanted to write, and record his own music and he knew that would likely never happen in the Beach Boys, and the above is one example of why he felt that way. So, dude...there's no re-writing at all. But I agree that Brian probably dismissed the song as sub-standard compared to what he was doing...and it is on the surface...but it could have been pretty cool with a little BW polish.

I can understand Brian, Murry, the label and the band not wanting to put a non-Brian Wilson-penned tune that wasn't a cover or an instrumental on the album. I'm sure there was plenty of ego involved for Brian, but it was his band. If an original was going to be on an album, I'm sure he wanted it to be written by him.

There's got to be a good reason a non-Brian-penned original didn't make it onto an album until December 1967.

Decent song and would have fit in great (and even stood out as a high point) on either of the first two albums.  I guess Brian felt they were beyond that by the time of Little Deuce Coupe but I agree that Brian could have brought it up to snuff if he'd been inclined.

Now a couple of questions:  I'm not familiar with the Marksmen (beyond their origins and Dave's involvement).  When was this released?  Is that him on the lead vocal?  What about lead guitar?  Or was he still just playing rhythm at that point?

He could write something better than that song, even in 1963, in ten minutes. Not saying it's bad but it is certainly no "Be True To Your School." It would probably be more work to put life into that  basic rocker than to compose something completely new.

With a lyrical polish from either Roger Christian or Mike it would have been a fine addition to LDC over the four old tracks used. And it goes without saying that Mike would have sang it rather than Dave.

I'm not sure it would have fit in well on the album, but it would have made a perfect b-side for a single.

And there's probably always been more than a little Murry in Brian.

I think it was a poor decision by Brian, I don't think this song is any worse than, say, This Car Of Mine or Pom Pom Playgirl from SD2, so it would have been an improvement of the album in the sense that they could have left off one of the previously released stuff. It's not strong enough to be a BB single either of course.


I think you're reading to much into his words...



Yeah, unfortunately Brian always had a problem with including the other guys' songwriting efforts. :(

This is a pretty decent number and with the BW polish, or an added riff/extra texture (percussive structure) would have worked beautifully on LDC or SD2.

It's better than Cherry, Cherry Coupe - we know that was an old number prior to it's LDC detailing;Brian may have musically/stylistically moved on, but CCC demonstrates he could resurrect older stuff and reimagine it for the brave new world of 1964.

No, it's not better than Cherry Cherry Coupe. Cherry Cherry Coupe has an infectious melody and a more interesting chord structure than this rather nondescript song. It's dumb as nails, of course, but it certainly beats it musically.

I have to disagree with this opinion.  The difference between Dave's song and Cherry is what makes the Beach Boys different from most other bands at the time.  They were using way more than a basic chord progression.  The melodies were more melodic and better than others could do. Yet the songs themselves sound simple, including the lyrics.  Very deceptive but that is what makes Brian a genius.  As someone once said "genius is the ability to make something complex sound simple".

As for Kustom Kar, great song for a 15 year old to write but not up to par with Brian's stuff.  As someone above alluded to it wouldn't be economical for Brian to spend time rewriting or tweaking someone else's song when he could do something better in 10 mins.  That's not a slight on David, more more about praising Brian.

It would have needed to be rerecorded with decent vocals. It's a very average song and Brian wasn't wrong to reject it.

I think the guitar work is very good on this song, but overall it is not better than anything on LDC.  It sounds like an attempt to be Beach Boys like.. but it is missing that little piece of BW magic.

Songs like Cherry cherry coupe and Custom machine seem simple on the surface but have that special something..

Recorded late '63, released as a b-side in March '64. Dave sings lead, plays lead guitar, he wrote and produced all the Marksmen stuff.

Thanks, Jon!  Now I'm fairly certain Dave sings the main vocal on the Boys' version of "Summertime Blues".  I figured it was but could never seem to get a straight answer as to whether it was him or Carl who took the first few passes by himself, before the other one was brought in to thicken the sound or whatever.  I knew the Marksmen "became" his band but never knew his role.  Now that I do (and know and respect Dave's contributions to the band, thanks to you and many other factors) I'll definitely be checking out their stuff. 

Thanks again for your knowledge on Dave and the early days (as well as your accessibility and willingness to continue sharing said knowledge) and for helping to restore him in his proper place inside the group (and rock and roll)'s history!

Hey Mike - Great points and respect to your opinion, but I can't see that Land ahoy/CCC had a a more melodic or complex chord progression than KK.  The chords and structure of CCC as a song were not new and have been used on many a rock song.  Similar chords were used on Marie's the name (of his latest flame) as recorded by Del Shannon in '61 (later famously covered by the King).

I feel that Brian's magic on CCC was in terms of production - and stellar it was on LDC - vs song-writing.  Had Brian taken some time with KK, I think the "magic" would have applied equally.  But he didn't; so we can only speculate and opine in kind.

Re Brian's time and economy re rewrites - well, we're talking an album that includes 2 previously released songs, a revised BW tune (CCC) and a tweak of someone else's song (Young Man).  This (and history) tells me Brian was under the pump, and it's a shame he didn't take advantage of David's song.

Can't warm to Kustom Kar Show; nice ditty but not approaching BW's in mid-flow. I don't think the fact that there were (relatively) weak BBs tracks on the albums is any reason to substitute one weak track with another, even with BW's fairy dust sprinkled on it.  I think we should stick with the way things happened.

Why not, I'd say? I'd rather prefer seeing 1 new song on LDC rather than what was before. F.ex., include it in place of Little Deuce Coupe (forget the banal "title track" rule, why not go just a bit off the mark?). I don't think Kustom Kar Show would've done any harm to the Brian-written songs, let alone overshadow them. It would only benefit if people knew how talented they all are, not just Brian & Mike. Just my 50c. (Btw, I like the song - aside from standard melodic structure, it has killer guitar solo & cool garage vocs by David (he's only 14-15!). And cool spelling via "K".)

I certainly sounds more like the first two albums than like the material on LDC. Brian could write a better song in his sleep.

That said, having a slot in the albums for minor members can be good. See how it payed off with George Harrison, who went from Don't Bother me to his Rubber Soul tracks in two years. On the other hand those with talent will eventually rise to the occasion anyway, like Dennis.

Like many here, I have enjoyed this thread and the speculation about whether KUSTOM KAR SHOW could have been included on the LITTLE DEUCE COUPE album.

First, let's set the scene in which Brian would have considered KUSTOM KAR SHOW for possible inclusion on LITTLE DEUCE COUPE.

In mid June 1963, while the Beach Boys were touring Hawaii, Capitol released SHUT DOWN, the various artists compilation album Nick Venet cobbled together with four originals by Roger Christian and Gary Usher, recording with his usual group of musician friends, but this time as the Super Stocks, six masters Capitol owned dating back to the early 1950s, and to sell the album, SHUT DOWN and 409, in the lead off positions on side one and two, respectively.  It charted less than a month later and had a meteoric rise on the charts, enjoying a forty-six week run and peaking at #7 in Billboard on newsstands August 17, while the guys were playing the Wayne County Fair in Honesdale, PA.  The album cost very little to produce and was a big seller from coast-to-coast. A huge money maker for the Tower. Needless to say, Capitol was pleasantly surprised.  But at 3701 W. 119th Street in Hawthorne, the album only deepened Murry's distrust and dislike for Usher and Nick Venet.  The album traded on the success of two Beach Boys' songs and usurped any opportunity for the Boys to use SHUT DOWN as a potential title for their own automotive-themed album. But the Capitol machinery had a major hit and wanted more of the same.

It seems likely Capitol directly or indirectly leaned on Brian to quickly come up with a Beach Boys' car album based around LITTLE DEUCE COUPE, the B side to SURFER GIRL released  July 22, just days after the group began their tour of the Midwest and the East. Brian spent a good deal of time that August in Los Angeles, while Al filled in for him on the road, working with Christian on songs for the what became the LITTLE DEUCE COUPE album. They already knew they had three songs for the album -- LITTLE DEUCE COUPE, SHUT DOWN, and 409.  They needed nine more. Brian recycled the melodies of three songs (LAND AHOY became CHERRY CHERRY COUPE; PAMELA JEAN, which Brian had recently written for the Survivors, but had not been released yet, became CAR CRAZY CUTIE; and Bobby Troup's THEIR HEARTS WERE FULL OF SPRING was later transformed by Mike into A YOUNG MAN IS GONE. Brian dusted off BALLAD OF OL' BETSY, recorded back in February and fortuitously left off the SURFIN' USA album, and with Christian wrote two originals (NO-GO SHOWBOAT and SPIRIT of AMERICA, inspired by Craig Breedlove's record-setting run of 407.45 mph on August 5). There is a Popular Songwriter's Contract for CUSTOM MACHINE between Brian and Sea of Tunes dated November 1, 1962.  If the date on that document is correct, then CUSTOM MACHINE, perhaps in some embryonic form, was already available for Brian to finish. Rich Peterson (real name Rich Alarian) of the Survivors maintained he wrote the lyrics for CUSTOM MACHINE and NO-GO SHOWBOAT, but went uncredited in exchange for Brian's work and financial assistance with the Survivors. Brian had a song, at least tentatively, called RABBIT'S FOOT that was slated for the Honeys. He pulled it back and, with lyrics by Mike, transformed it into OUR CAR CLUB.  They finished BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL, their upcoming new single and the only non-automotive song on the album. 

The guys returned from the road August 31 and Dave had just had his altercation with Murry. September was spent finishing the SURFER GIRL album and a fair amount of personal appearances. Dave's last show with the group was October 5 at "Surfin' at the Bowl" at the Balboa Park Bowl in San Diego. Early October was spent finishing the LITTLE DEUCE COUPE album. While I cannot be certain, and I would be interested in Jon's and Dave's thoughts on this, it seems likely Dave ran KUSTOM KAR SHOW by Brian sometime between August 31 and October 5. It also seems likely that with Brian and Christian working on the album since August, a good portion of the LITTLE DEUCE COUPE album was already taking shape. Perhaps, nine out of twelve spots were already taken (Little Deuce Coupe, Shut Down, 409, Ballad of Ol' Betsy, Cherry Cherry Coupe, Car Crazy Cutie, Spirit of America, No-Go Showboat, and Custom Machine). Mike wrote new lyrics for A YOUNG MAN IS GONE and helped transform RABBIT'S FOOT into OUR CAR CLUB, leaving a twelfth spot for the new single, Be True to Your School.

While it is certainly possible Murry did not want a Dave-penned song on the group's next album, with songwriting royalties going to Dave in perpetuity, and exercised his considerable weight on Brian, we also have to consider what shape KUSTOM KAR SHOW was in at the time and how it sounded when Dave played it for Brian. I think it's fair to say it was probably a rough demo or sketch, and did not sound like the finished version we now enjoy. Personally, I like the song and I think Brian could have worked on it with Dave and it would have made a solid addition to the new album.  But consider the pressure Brian must have been under at the time and a few scenarios emerge. He either did not need another song, was leaned on by Murry not to even consider it (especially in light of Dave's impending departure), did not have the time to invest in it, or did not hear something in it that he deemed worth his time. Interestingly, if Dave had not left the group, and given they had more time to work on the next album, KUSTOM KAR SHOW would have also fit on SHUT DOWN VOL 2, especially in place of such filler as Cassius Love vs. Sonny Wilson.

Well, like so many issues with the Beach Boys, we may never know the complete or true story of Brian's response to KUSTOM KAR SHOW. Thankfully, Dave had the perseverance and creativity to finish writing, arranging, performing, and producing it the way he heard it.  And that is good thing.  Now . . . what really would have been cool, would have been to hear Dave perform KUSTOM KAR SHOW on the recent tour, with Dave trading solos with Jeff Beck.   

Great post, Jim! One small correction: Our Car Club was already finished as well as it was on the Surfer Girl album. However, that doesn't make your points any less valid, rather the other way round.

+1

Thanks, Fall Breaks!  Aaarrgh, how could I miss that?!  And the current music publisher for OUR CAR CLUB is Screen Gems-EMI, which purchased Aldon Music (Al Nevins and Don Kirshner's music publishing company) in March 1963, indicating OUR CAR CLUB was probably published with Aldon, had been available since spring 1963, scrapped for the Honeys, and polished off for the LITTLE DEUCE COUPE album. Another way Brian could meet the insane demand of releasing a new album just three weeks after the SURFER GIRL album.  I remember my brother, Rich, and I buying those albums and thinking, "Gee, these albums have a lot of overlap.  Why is that?" and feeling slightly cheated.  Well, now we know why!  And . . . Back to Winter.