PET SQUARES #18: Party Side 2 + The Little Girl I Once Knew

[adamghost]

Hi everyone, pleased to share Episode 18 of PET SQUARES: A GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE BEACH BOYS.  I think this is one of the best shows so far, covering side two of BEACH BOYS PARTY and a *very* deep dive into both "Barbara Ann" and the concurrent single "The Little Girl I Once Knew," including a breakdown of song vocal areas and the intro. Enjoy and share!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wht3WCMypoE

[Rocker]

Very interesting. Thanks for this! Will start with the TLGIOK part soon.

Re: Ruby Baby, yes, Dion & The Belmonts cut it and probably were the inspiration for the Beach Boys. But the original was by The Drifters:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2hVa8KHFFU

Written by Leiber & Stoller. Brian cut a version of this song around 15 Big Ones. Speaking of Leiber & Stoller it's interesting to note how much of the material had a connection to them. "One Kiss led to another", "Ruby Baby", "Riot in cell block no. 9", "Smokey Joe's Cafe" all written by them, "The Boy from New York City" produced by them. Maybe just coincidence, though. In the end none of them were used anyway.




EDIT:

Couldn't agree more with you on TLGIOK. Everything you mentioned about it is how I feel as well.



BTW this was once featured on Brian's website, don't know if it still is. Lennon's reaton to TLGIOK reminded me of this.


Brian Wilson And John Lennon On The Phone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VgutMOXygg

[Rocker]

This was just posted by Brian's Facebook account. I thought it would fit pretty nicely.






1965: Brian outside the recording studio with a local Girl Scout troop, promoting the new Beach Boys single, “The Little Girl I Once Knew.”


I have to say though that having the Girl Scouts pose with the single makes the lyrics a little creepy.
A + for Brian's clothes.

[Don Malcolm]

Superb stuff, even more than usual, Adam--we are getting a deeply considered, exhaustively researched, and wonderfully constructed history of the band as you move closer and closer to the apex of the golden age. No question but that you're rising to the occasion and adding significant new insight as you go along, including this forceful revaluation of "The Little Girl I Once Knew," providing its musical/historical context and (1000% rightfully) championing it as the pinnacle of the "innocent phase" of Brian's engagement with the evolving sixties sounds around him. From here on, he moves into a world totally his own, and I hope you'll find a way to show how that's the case when moving into the discussion of PET SOUNDS.

And that point about "The Little Girl Once Knew" being a conscious statement by Brian and Darian etal during the early live touring efforts is spot on. Having been at several of those shows, and having loved the track for more than two decades after discovering it (languishing on a Pickwick compilation LP), I was thrilled beyond measure when they opened with it and sent into a special realm of rapture when they totally nailed it. Thanks for doing it justice!