The Smiley Smile Message Board

Sorry in advance if this has been talked about in detail before, but after a search i can't seem to find a thread on it.

Anyway i have been wondering a lot about why dennis never got a lead on Pet Sounds, I read that Beach boys fans back in the day loved his voice, and it was a real treat when they heard him sing.

Has Brian ever given a reason, if here was one, and what did Dennis think, because he loved Pet Sounds, so it must of hurt

Although many people love the song (I don't), I've heard that Brian wasn't satisfied with Dennis's vocal on "In The Back of My Mind" and that due to that, Dennis was never even considered for a vocal on PS (and may be the truth behind him not singing on Summer Days, as opposed to the story about him being asleep or whatever).

I read somewhere, can't remember where - that he was supposed to sing "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times", but didn't for some reason. I think it's the one you can imagine him singing the most. Also, wasn't it Denny and Carl who were slated for "Sloop John B." at first?

Oh, I can NOT imagine him singing IJWMFTT..too high for his range. I can picture him on Sloop John B though.

This isn't Pet Sounds, but Dennis was also supposed to sing lead on Good Vibrations.

Where did you read that from? I'd love to hear an outtake of Denny giving it a try...

Your question implies that the Beach Boys was a democracy in 1966. Brian ran the show and up to 1967 sang a good 40-50% of the leads. Carl had only sang lead on a few tunes before Smiley Smile (though they were important ones), as had Al (he had to be coached thru Help Me Rhonda -he was so nervous) and Dennis too.  His absence from the Surfs Up album is a bigger surprise than the fact that he didn't get a lead in 1966.  as for IJWMFTT- that song is so personal and so Brian -and so perfectly sung by BW that I am thankful that Dennis didn't sing it-he could not have matched Brian. 

I don't remember where I read it. I don't think it got as far as him recording it, though.

Badman, I believe.

Can't be true because Dennis was featured on Party singing Hide Your Love Away. Brian also used him on Smile so I don't think he had anything against Dennis' voice. One last thing Dennis did try Sloop John B at one point but didn't make the cut.

I could imagine Dennis singing GV!! It may not be as melodically beautiful as Carl, but I think it would've had a bit more edge and soul.

But Brian was striving for perfection at that time more then emotive soul. I think that he wanted the soul and emotion to be in the production and arrangements.

With the exception of a few lines (some even buried), Dennis isn't on SMiLE either.

Well, only about half of the songs had vox recorded in 66/67, as far as we know.....so we don't know for sure the extent to which Denny's vocals would've been employed....maybe he would have sang lead on Surf's Up.... ::)

Dennis voice is definitely on many of the Smile tracks, way more than Pet Sounds where it only shows up on three, maybe four tracks. On Smile his voice is on the majority, not as a lead voice, but he's singing on most of the tracks that have group vocals.

Sorry, I should've clarified my post. I was referring to LEAD vocals. I thought it was understood that we were talking about lead vocals. I'm aware Dennis sang some background vocals on SMiLE.

During a conversation, Mark Linett asked Al (Jardine, of course) if he knew anything about Dennis being slated to sing IJWMFTT.  Because there is documentation to suggest that he was considered, plus if you listen to the vocal overdub tracks on the appropriate UM SOT, it sounds as though Dennis may have even given it a go and then been recorded over.

Anyway, Al said that he didn't know anything about it, but he thought it was perfect for Dennis.  And then he genuinely looked sad, like he missed Dennis.  He then expressed some regret that Dennis didn't get to sing it.

That's odd, because Boyd told Jeff Mason and myself that Al was absolutely certain that Dennis was supposed to sing IJWMFTT....

Or at least that's how I recalled it.

That's what happens after 40 or so years. Memories change.

I don't remember where I read this...maybe a Brian interview somewhere...but someone suggested to him that Denny singing IJWMFTT would have been cool, and apparently Brian lit up and whole-heartedly agreed.  Other than that I haven't heard anything about Denny singing it but I think it would have sounded fantastic.  Too bad there is no recording of him even attempting it like there is of him trying "Sloop John B".

What about "You Are My Sunshine"?  Unless those are the few lines you're referring to...

I was refering to Cabinessence and Sunshine. They weren't major parts but it's more then Pet Sounds.

In the liner notes to "Pet Sounds" it is mentioned that Dennis was supposed to sing "Here today", iirc

I also remember reading somewhere that Dennis was supposed to sing Sail On Sailor.

Now THAT I've read. That would've been...different, but could've been cool.

Yeah i figured that's what you meant...but I wanted to point out that Dennis really was left out of the Pet Sounds sound, other than Sloop John B and Wouldn't It Be Nice, where his voice stands out pretty clearly...the rest of the LP seems to be nearly Dennis-less. On the other hand Smile is the opposite...Dennis is heard on most of the tracks. He seemed to be either in or out with Brian when it came to vocals, early on he sang a lot, more leads than Carl and Al, most backgrounds on the first three LP's he's there...not quite as much on the LDC new tracks and Shut Down...then on the All Summer Long LP his voice is everywhere, same with Today...those two are really filled with Dennis singing , but Summer Days and Pet Sounds he's hardly there...then Smile he's back, then Wild Honey he's gone again, Friends forward he's pretty regular till Surfs Up, Holland only a couple...15 BO he's all over it...Love you the same...MIU he's gone...Anybody see a pattern?

To the best of my knowledge, Dennis was supposed to sing:

Car Crazy Cutie; which is why a) it sounds Dion-esque and b) why Brian can also be heard in the backgrounds, which was rare, but not unheard of. In a Record Collector UK interview in the 90s, Brian actually thought that Denny HAD sung it.

You're So Good To Me; this is the song where he fell asleep, right?

Sloop John B. (with Carl) and IJWMFTT. I think IJWMFTT suits Denny, to be honest.

Good Vibes and  Sail On, Sailor.

There might be others.

Yes!  I was there when that question was asked, too.  That's exactly what Al's reaction was.

I can hear Dennis in the background too...

Damn sleepy Dennis, You're So Good to Me with a Dennis lead would've been so cool

That's why I qualified it, with "not unheard of". For example, Brian is back-ups on Don't Worry Baby too. Denny may have been at the session but unable to nail the lead, or may have left early. The lead may have been done another day. Car Crazy Cutie you can tell, I think, was intended as a Denny song, if only because it has the Dionesque vocals and because otherwise it's a normal register uptempo Brian lead, also pretty rare in those days.

Brian singing backgrounds wasn't rare at all...not really sure what you're getting at.

Dennis was supposed to sing Cabinessence lead (not just the Truck Drivin' Man part) according to Mike Vosse.

He may have sung lead on the missing vocals to I'm in Great Shape! ;)

For what it's worth, I asked Brian if he ever had any intention of Dennis singing lead on IJWMFTT -- he said. "No." I asked again, "You always intended to sing the lead on 'I Just Wasn't Made For These Times?" -- he answered, "Yes."

Or Al... Brian's lead vocals in this track kind of suck.

D.B., I'm usually right with you on your posts, but I gotta go the other way on this one. I think Brian's lead vocal on "You're So Good To Me" is one of his best. I can almost see the (happy) emotion on his face, and when he sings, "You're kinda small and you're such a doll", I can almost see Marilyn standing right next to him. To me, this song is a perfect example how a great BB/BW vocal could make a good song great, or take it to the next level, something that is desperately missing in Brian's solo recordings.

BTW, regarding "I Just Wasn't made For These Times"....I can see nobody but Brian singing that. It is the one song (although there are a few others) from Pet Sounds that is usually singled out as being the most "biographical" to Brian Wilson, and, of course, was chosen as a title for a Brian Wilson documentary.

The one song from Pet Sounds that, lyrically, would fit Dennis, would be "Sloop John B". Think about it...

I love the song. Relistening to the track, Brian delivers it quite well, but some lines with high notes have some whine in his voice... And I don't like the "And I love it, love it" part at all. All in my opinion, of course.

Dennis wouldn't've been able to sing lead on I'm in Great Shape, unless it was the way they did it in BWPS, with three different vocalists, which, by the way, is why I hate the BWPS version of I'm in Great Shape.

Brian's lead on You're So Good to Me is probably my least favorite Brian lead, except the "And I love it, love it". But I think he would've sung that part even if Dennis had sung the rest of the words.

Man, Dennis singing "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" would've been great.  It's actually pretty perplexing how absent Dennis is on Pet Sounds, even in the background vocals, where you can usually pick him out.  I wonder how many sessions he actually showed up for during this period?

And without the session tapes it's hard to know this for sure, but I'm pretty positive Brian isn't singing anything but the lead vocal tracks for Car Crazy Cutie, as in 1963 they were still doing vocals in just two separate overdubs, no more than that.  The first time Brian would sing both lead and on background vocals would be on tracks like "The Warmth Of The Sun", "Don't Worry Baby" and "Keep An Eye On Summer", where even without session tapes it's pretty clear that some bouncing was done and that Brian is audible everywhere.

"Fresh clean air around my head" could have been Brian

"Morning tumble out of bed" could have been Dennis

"Eggs and grits...etc" could have easily been Al or Mike.

I can't hear Brian either on the backgrounds to "Car Crazy Cutie": It seems to be Mike, Dennis and Carl only.

But perhaps Brian did sometimes join the backing vocals when he sang early leads: on "Lonely Sea" aren't Mike, Carl, Dennis and Brian on backing vocals, as Adamghost worked out on the "Definitive vocal credits" thread?

...as well as singing the lead (although he might not have been singing bvs after all, judging by the rest of this thread.), that's why I said "also".

Yeah, he sang lead and background vocals on plenty of songs...Don't Worry Baby, Wouldn't It Be Nice, Warmth of the Sun, She Knows Me Too Well, You're So Good to Me, Sloop John B (last verse), I'm Waiting For the Day, Til' I Die.  I'm sure there are more that I can't think of now.  The only times he wasn't in the background while doing a lead was when everything came together, and the vocals were just the group all together (with a few exceptions, like Surfer Girl).