Don't Worry Baby

"Don't Worry Baby"
Single by The Beach Boys
from the album Shut Down Volume 2
Released	May 11, 1964
Format	Vinyl
Recorded	Unknown
Genre	Surf rock, pop rock
Length	2:47
Label	Capitol
Writer(s)	Brian Wilson, Roger Christian
Producer	Brian Wilson
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"Fun, Fun, Fun"/"Why Do Fools Fall In Love" (1964) "I Get Around"/"Don’t Worry Baby" (1964) "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)"/"She Knows Me Too Well" (1964)

"Don’t Worry Baby" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian, produced by Wilson and first recorded by the Beach Boys. The band's version, a tender ballad with falsetto lead vocal by Brian, was first released on their 1964 album Shut Down Volume 2. It was also released as the B-side of The Beach Boys' first U.S. number-one hit single, "I Get Around", managing to reach number 24 on the U.S. Hot 100 in its own right. The single was released in the United States in May 1964 through Capitol Records. It was released a month later, in June 1964, in the United Kingdom.

Brian Wilson cited the song as his attempt to capture the essence of his all-time favourite record, "Be My Baby" by the Ronettes, who would later cover his song. At one time, Wilson listened to his 45 record of the song he "could never do" up to 100 times a day.

John Lennon's 1980 hit, "(Just Like) Starting Over", is considered by some to somewhat borrow from the chorus melody of "Don't Worry Baby", while Garbage's 1998 hit, "Push It", contains an interpolation of its chorus.

The song is featured prominently during the climax of the 1999 Drew Barrymore movie, "Never Been Kissed," with a slightly different arrangement, notably a swelling string section.

The song "Don't Worry Baby" is part of the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.^[1], and ranked as the 176th greatest song of all time in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Pitchfork Media placed it at number 14 on its list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s".^[2]

Released versions

The stereo mix of the song had been used on "Shut Down Volume 2" when it was released in 1990 and 2001. A single mono mix appeared on the "20 More Good Vibrations" compilation. On the 2008 Singles box set, a mono album version was used instead of the single mix. A big problem with the stereo mix was that on the left channel you could only hear Brian's lead vocal and on the right was the background vocals. Thanks to the discovery of the lost multi-track masters in 2009, a new stereo mix was created from the analog master. The track and Brian's lead vocal were placed in the middle while on the left and right channels you have the background vocals. This version fixed the previous stereo mix. The fixed stereo mix can be found on the 2009 compilation "Summer Love Songs".

Cover versions

Keith Moon, drummer for The Who, covered this song on his only solo album, Two Sides of the Moon, with Dick Dale on solo guitar. Bryan Ferry, B.J. Thomas, the Everly Brothers, the Bay City Rollers, the Fun & Games, and singer-songwriter Andy Pratt have also offered cover versions of "Don't Worry Baby". New Zealand band Zed performed an uptempo rock-oriented cover version in 2003 on their album This Little Empire.

The song as originally performed by the Beach Boys, is possibly about a teenager who agrees to a challenge to race a rival in order to defend his honor after bragging about his car, and his girlfriend's plea to take her love with him when he races. The B.J. Thomas version has a more mature theme, as a man waking up to his partner every morning, thinking that her love for him is fading, but his spirits rise as she reminds him how much she believes in him and loves him.

Billy Joel performed the cover version of this song at "An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson (2001)". Before he sang, he mentioned that his daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, adored the song from Never Been Kissed and dedicated the song to her.

New York Rock and Soul Revue, with Donald Fagen and Walter Becker of Steely Dan, played this song live, with Boz Scaggs, Michael McDonald and Phoebe Snow featured on lead vocals.

Ronnie Spector covered the song on her She Talks to Rainbows EP.

Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo in 1992 recorded a cover of the song which appears on Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo.

Devonté Hynes of Lightspeed Champion covered the song in 2010 live on the BBC.

Lorrie Morgan sang lead vocals on the Beach Boys' "Stars and Stripes Vol. 1" album and was their only venture into the genre of country music to date.

See also

• List of songs by The Beach Boys

References

1. ^ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame "500 songs that shaped rock and roll" [1]
2. ^ http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/6405-the-200-greatest-songs-of-the-1960s/1/

External links

• Greg Panfile's Musical Analysis of "Don't Worry Baby"