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I can identify only 9 songs from 1962-1985 that have the following characteristics:

 - One Lead Singer
 - No Harmony vocals by others (double or multi tracking the lead vocal is allowed)
 - No background harmonies, counter melodies, oohhs, ahhs, etc. (not even the slightest additional vocals other than the lead singer are allowed)
 
Oddly, all of the songs I can identify are from the 1960's and only the Wilson brothers get the spotlight.  Please correct me if I have forgotten anything or made a mistake:

Your Summer Dream, 1963, Brian
In the Back of My Mind, 1965, Dennis
Girl Don't Tell Me, 1965, Carl
Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder), 1966, Brian
Caroline, No, 1966, Brian
I'd Love Just Once to See You, 1967, Brian
How She Boogalooed It, 1967, Carl
Be Still, 1968, Dennis
Busy Doin' Nothing, 1968, Brian

Blue Christmas, 1964, Brian

Thank You!

Does the unreleased "4th of July" count?

Sorry, I removed as I didn't see Busy Doin Nothing on your list. 

Oh man, if I started counting unreleased stuff this list would be a heckuva lot longer!

I thought I read on here that Marilyn sang on "Busy Doin' Nothin'".

Indeed you did.

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,5525.msg69787.html#msg69787

How do background vocals by the lead singer count?

Thank you so much.  So, I will cross off Busy Doin' Nothin' and Add Blue Christmas.

I wouldn't count them, but then there's the situation of Surfer Moon, which is Brian harmonizing with himself... a grey area!

winter symphony? guess it don't count, it wasn't released til after.

"I'd Love Just Once to See You" has a "bah bah bah" harmony part and then counterpoint/doo doo's at the fade.

Isn't Al singing along with Brian? It sure sounds like him.

What about the middle section of "In the Back of My Mind"? That has Brian and Carl singing in harmonies together.

just checked the liner notes. It says:
produced by Brian Wilson & Al Jardine.
Lead vocal: Brian (no mention of Al in credits)
Al recalls it being done a year or two before 1977. Notes say basic
track recorded 1975 or 76.
Vocals and sweeting done in 1977.  

liner notes by Brad Elliot.

Just going by my ears, is all.

Bass vocal is Mike.

The rarest Beach Boys song is a good SiP song.  :-D

So Lahaina Aloha then?

Haha. Or... a song with a spoken section. There can't be too many of those. That's excluding studio instructions, informal chat and "talk tracks" (and that awful business at the start of "TM Song")...

Songs on which a Boy or Boys speak as well as sing:**    
- Lonely Sea (Brian)
- Finders Keepers (Mike)
- Drive-In (Mike)
- The Little Girl I Once Knew (Mike)
- She's Goin' Bald (Brian and Mike)
- Busy Doin' Nothin' (Brian)
- At My Window (Brian)
- Games Two Can Play (Brian)
- Santa Ana Winds (Alan)*
- The Beaks Of Eagles (Alan and Mike)*
- Summertime Blues (Mike)*
- Amusement Parks USA (who?)*
- Please Let Me Wonder (Carl----or does someone else say "I love you"?)*  
- H.E.L.P. Is On The Way
- Child Of Winter*
- Good Time (Brian----"Hey!")*
- Beach Boys Stomp (mob-handed----"Karate!")*
- Custom Machine (Mike----"Step on the gas she goes...")
- Do You Remember (Brian----"Goodness gracious great balls of fire!"
- TM Song (a mob-handed mess)*

Songs on which only others speak:
- County Fair*
- The Trader*

Debated:
- Wonderful (SS version) [not sure if any of the Boys speak during the "hash den" section]  

* Contributions by other posters
** Instrumentals where the title is shouted/spoken don't count. "Beach Boys Stomp" is an exception because they shout "Karate!"

All corrections and additions most welcome

"Santa Ana Winds".

Yes indeed, with Alan speaking, I assume. Thanks, Andrew.

The "Not my boys" in Don't Back Down is similar enough to the "Split man" in LGIOK that if you count one I think you have to count the other.

Does "The Beaks of Eagles" count as a talk track?

I'd say that "Don't Back Down" is better qualified! Thanks.


Nope. Good call, SF.

Oh! I'm so sorry - I missed Don't Back Down in your original list.  :-[

No you didn't. I took your advice and added it (see last line). Sorry if *I* wasn't clear enough. :=)   

Summertime Blues

Of course! Thanks, Cbm.

john, will you exclude "Don't Back Down" because "not my boys" is sung, it isn't spoken.

You're quite right, RR. Mike sings D flat, E flat and then low A flat (unless it was originally in G and speeded up). My apologies. I should have checked first... 

Thank you. Should we count "Good Time"? Iir there is tiny bit of speech near the end.

I still think that I'd Love Just Once To See You needs to be taken off the original list, as someone else here noted.

Please Let Me Wonder?

"I love you."

"Beach Boys Stomp"

I'm sorry to differ. Speech is always on a note and if you listen to most of these songs the speech is in an intentional pitch and melody. I don't think Don't Back Down differs in that way.

In the Back of my Mind is over dubbed. As for talking tracks, how about County Fair and Amusement Parks USA?

I mentally played every song from the list and Don't Back Down was immediately ruled out. "Not my boys" is clearly sung. "Look out babe/Split man" is spoken. They do have the same ad-lib effect but that's about it. If you can't tell speech from singing, end of discussion. The song has no place in john's list.

Child Of Winter

All Alone

"I'd Love Just Once..." has a twiddly vocal thing on the fade.

"H.E.L.P. Is On The Way"----the spoken "Radiant Radish" bit at the end...

This is REALLY buried in the right channel but it's there: https://soundcloud.com/smileyhoneyfriends-1/bdn-overdub-oops

Um... the spoken "I think I'll make a call" is hardly buried.

Also, "Had To Phone Ya".

Talking about the droning backing vocals audible in that clip.

I listened all the way through but couldn't hear it?

Celebrate the News ("Hello!")

Yes! Thanks. :=)

I still disagree. There is no hard difference between singing and talking. If you consider the "talking" in Summertime Blues, Drive In, and LGIOK, they all are following a melody and are on specific pitches to be in key with the music, as with Don't Back Down. In LGIOK and Don't Back Down, to me, Mike is using the same vocal tone and style, which sounds like speech, but hitting specific keyed notes.
However, John K. is the list owner, so it's his call for the thread. "End of discussion".

john left it off the list. There's no need for deep analysis as the difference is drastic.

I left it off the list because it's a bone of contention. Give me the easy way out every time. ;D

Actually, I came here to ask if anyone has any idea who's conducting the mini-dialogue in "Amusement Parks USA" (a joyous song if ever there was one). 

I don't think so. You left it off because you agreed with me & because it's clearly difference between the 2. You asked for speech bits. There you have anything BUT Don't Back Down. Seriously, I never thought or heard or suspected or realized that "Not my boys" is talking. It is sung, once again. So it's out.

One long - the talking (arguing?) on "TM Song", and one short - Carl's son saying "Hi" on "The Trader". I know I'm in the minority here, but I think both songs would've benefited WITHOUT the spoken word(s).

I'm cool with that.

"Not my boys" is clearly sung (I believe someone named the notes earlier).  There's no other way to look at it really.

A few more that actually belong on the list:

Custom Machine--"Step on the gas she goes...."
Do You Remember--"Goodness gracious great balls of fire!"

good gracious, thank you! I'm not alone. I nearly began feeling like an idiot convincing of same.

Oddly, to my mind it has always had the "feel" of speech. It's the "lie" of the words that does it. The first two fit a spoken version perfectly but the third is too high. 

Maybe we just perceive it differently, but in my mind "not my boys" is part of the melody.  Imagine the song without that phrase.  It would be pretty awkward.  The "don't back down, don't back down" counter melody would carry the song a little bit, but that main vocal would be left hanging.

In comparison, "split man" doesn't really follow a melody.  It could've been spoken in any tone, key, or pitch.  The same could not be said for "not my boys".

Just my 5 cents (adjusted for inflation, of course!  ;) )

This makes sense. The line between speech and singing is gray. But I think you could say the same for others on the list - I mean, take the speech out of summertime blues and drive in and where are you?

True. Where does singing stop and speech begin? What to make of, say, The Sex Pistols' "God Save The Queen"? ;D 

Don't forget 'With Me Tonight'.

"GOOD."