Wild Honey (Beach Boys song)

Infobox Single
Name = Wild Honey


Artist = The Beach Boys
from Album = Wild Honey
Released = October 23, 1967
Format = Vinyl
Recorded = Unknown
Genre = Psychedelic pop
Length = 2:37
Label = Capitol Records
Producer = The Beach Boys
Chart position = • #31 (US)• #29 (UK)
Last single = "Gettin' Hungry"/"Devoted To You"
(1967)
This single = "Wild Honey"/"Wind Chimes"
(1967)
Next single = "Darlin'"/"Here Today"
(1967)|

"Wild Honey" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American pop band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1967 album "Wild Honey". It was also released as a single, with the B-side of the single being "Wind Chimes". The single peaked at #31 in the U.S. and #29 in the U.K.

Composition

In a 1992 issue of Goldmine, Mike Love explained the idea for the lyrics of the song:

"Brian was doing this track with a theremin and we were doing the song. I went into the kitchen and we were in this health food thing and wild honey was all natural. So there's this can of wild honey and we're making some tea. So I said, I'll write the lyrics about this girl who was a wild little honey. And I wrote it from the perspective that that album was Brian's R&B-influenced album, in his mind. It may not sound like it to a Motown executive but that was where he was coming from on that record. In that particular instance I wrote it from the perspective of Stevie Wonder singing it."cite news |last = Sharp |first = Ken | title = Love Among The Ruins |page = 19 |language = English |publisher = Goldmine |date = 1992-09-18]

Recording

Recording for the song began on September 26, 1967 at Brian's home studio in Bel Air, California with Jim Lockert engineering the session. The song would be almost completely recorded in one day. The band would initially record organ and electric bass guitar courtesy of Bruce Johnston, percussion, tambourine and piano and following that Carl Wilson's lead vocal was overdubbed onto the basic track. The band then recorded instrumental inserts including bongos, percussion and drums, in which Dennis Wilson's bass drum was purportedly recorded in a hallway.cite book |first=Tobler, John |last=Doe, Andrew G |title=Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys: the Complete Guide to their Music |year=2004 |page=p. 63] The session then concluded with the band doing further vocal and organ overdubs.cite book |first=Keith |last=Badman |title=The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band on Stage and in the Studio |year=2004 |pages=200-01]

Work was resumed on the track the following day with Paul Tanner overdubbing his theremin - again at Brian's home studio - over the otherwise finished track. This was the third song in the Beach Boys catalogue - after "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" and "Good Vibrations" - to feature the theremin.

Album and alternate releases

The song was first released as the opening track on the album of the same name on December 18, 1967. The following year, the song's backing track was released on the "Stack-O-Tracks" album. The song has appeared on several of the groups Greatest Hits compilations including the 1999 compilation album '; the 2003 compilation ' as well as the 1993 box set "".

Charts

References

See also

*List of songs by The Beach Boys