Don't Worry Baby

"Don’t Worry Baby" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys, written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian, from the band's March 1964 album Shut Down Volume 2. It is a tender ballad with falsetto lead vocal by Wilson, who also produced the recording. In May, the song was issued as the B-side of the Beach Boys' "I Get Around".

For the 2015 comedy film, see Don't Worry Baby (film). For the 1984 song recorded by Los Lobos, see How Will the Wolf Survive?
"Don't Worry Baby"
Single by The Beach Boys
from the album Shut Down Volume 2
A-side"I Get Around"
ReleasedMay 11, 1964
RecordedJanuary 7, 1964
StudioUnited Western Recorders, Los Angeles, CA
GenreCalifornia Sound[1]
Length2:47
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Brian Wilson
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"Fun, Fun, Fun"
(1964)		 "Don't Worry Baby"
(1964)		 "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)"
(1964)
Endless Summer track listing
20 tracks
Side one
  1. "Surfin' Safari"
  2. "Surfer Girl"
  3. "Catch a Wave"
  4. "The Warmth of the Sun"
  5. "Surfin' U.S.A."
Side two
  1. "Be True to Your School"
  2. "Little Deuce Coupe"
  3. "In My Room"
  4. "Shut Down"
  5. "Fun, Fun, Fun"
Side three
  1. "I Get Around"
  2. "Girls on the Beach"
  3. "Wendy"
  4. "Let Him Run Wild"
  5. "Don't Worry Baby"
Side four
  1. "California Girls"
  2. "Girl Don't Tell Me"
  3. "Help Me, Rhonda"
  4. "You're So Good to Me"
  5. "All Summer Long"
Audio sample
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The song "Don't Worry Baby" is part of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.[2] It is ranked as the 178th greatest song of all time in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and Pitchfork Media placed it at number 14 on its list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s".[3]

Composition

Starting as another car racing poem by Christian, who previously wrote "Shut Down" (with Wilson), it tells the story of a youth who gets himself into street racing trouble, but is unconditionally comforted by his understanding girlfriend: "She makes me come alive, and makes me want to drive, when she says Don't Worry Baby." Christian gave the lyrics to Brian Wilson in the Los Angeles parking lot of KFWB-AM, where he worked as a disc jockey. Wilson recalled that he went home and finished writing the song "in about an hour-and-a-half."[4]

David Howard wrote that "Don't Worry Baby" was a "subtle harbinger for the growing dichotomy within the California Sound. While 'I Get Around' symbolized the sunshine ideal in all its carefree splendor, 'Don't Worry Baby' suggested something entirely more pensive and even slightly dark underneath its pristine facade."[1]

Recording and production

The track was recorded in two eight hour sessions on January 7, 1964, at United Western Recorders, Studio 3, Los Angeles, California.[5][6] Vocals and guitars were overdubbed on January 8 or 9. Take 12 was used for the master.[5] Brian Wilson cited the song as his attempt to capture the essence of his all-time favorite record, "Be My Baby" by the Ronettes. Wilson estimates he has listened to the latter song "more than 1,000 times."[7]

Personnel

Track details courtesy of session archivist Craig Slowinski.[5]

The Beach Boys
Additional musician and Production staff

Variations

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. The original stereo mix of "Don't Worry Baby" had Brian's lead vocal hard-panned in the left channel, the instrumental track in the centre and backing vocals on the right, and had an uneven fade out with most of the instruments abruptly fading out before the vocals. Thanks to the discovery of the lost multi-track masters in 2009, an alternate stereo mix was created from the analog master with the instrumental track and Brian's lead vocal placed in the middle channel while the backing vocals were shared between the left and right channels with a more finished fade out at the end. This new stereo mix can be found on the 2009 compilation Summer Love Songs and the 2013 boxset Made in California.[12]

Lorrie Morgan sang lead vocals on the Beach Boys' 1996 Stars and Stripes Vol. 1 album and was their only venture into the genre of country music to date. This version peaked at number 73 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.[13]

The production of "Don't Worry Baby" formed the basis of the Byrds' recording of "Mr. Tambourine Man".[14] Garbage's 1998 single, "Push It", contains an interpolation of its chorus, and Wilson/Christian were given songwriting credits.[15] This was featured in Drew Barrymore’s movie Never Been Kissed, at the end when she finally does get kissed

Cover versions
See also: List of cover versions of Beach Boys songs

B.J. Thomas
"Don't Worry Baby"
Single by B.J. Thomas
from the album B.J. Thomas
B-side"My Love"
ReleasedJune 1977
LabelMCA
Songwriter(s)Brian Wilson, Roger Christian
Producer(s)Chris Christian
B.J. Thomas singles chronology
"Without a Doubt"
(1977)		 "Don't Worry Baby"
(1977)		 "Still the Lovin' Is Fun"
(1977)

A cover version of "Don't Worry Baby" was done by B.J. Thomas in 1977. His producer Chris Christian, who had recently produced BJ's gold Contemporary Christian album "Home Where I Belong" had met the MCA Records executives while working the Olivia Newton-Johns album "Don't Stop Believing" in Nashville. Chris presented the idea to the MCA executives to sign BJ to MCA, and record a cover of "Don't Worry Baby". MCA agreed and the following cover went on to become a moderate success, peaking at numbers #17 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (outcharting the Beach Boys' original) and #2 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart as well as reaching number 12 on the pop charts in Canada. This would go on to become Thomas's last major hit in the pop sphere for either nation to date.

Chart performance

References
  1. Howard 2004, p. 57.
  2. "500 Songs That Shaped Rock". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  3. "200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
  4. Rooksby, Rikky (2001). Inside Classic Rock Tracks: Songwriting and Recording Secrets. Backbeat. ISBN 9780879306540. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  5. Craig, Slowinski (2014). Keep an Eye On Summer 1964 (Digital Liner). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records. Mirror Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Doe, Andrew Grayham. "GIGS64". Endless Summer Quarterly. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  7. Spitz, Marc (2013-08-16). "Still Tingling Spines, 50 Years Later". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. p. AR8. Retrieved 2016-02-24. Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys estimates that he’s heard "Be My Baby," by the Ronettes, more than 1,000 times.
  8. http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,25791.msg631076.html#msg631076
  9. http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,17653.msg556025.html#msg556025
  10. http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,21376.msg519203.html#msg519203
  11. http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,17653.msg555859.html#msg555859
  12. Sharp, Ken. "Beach Boys Producers Alan Boyd, Dennis Wolfe, Mark Linett Discuss 'Made in California'". rockcellarmagazine.com. rockcellar magazine. Archived from the original on 2013-09-30. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  13. Whitburn 2013, p. 37.
  14. Howard 2004, pp. 61–62.
  15. Eden, Dawn (1998-05-01). Short Takes; Garbage Version 2.0. Record Collector. pp. 136, 137.
  16. "Don't Worry Baby Cover Versions". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  17. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 242.
  18. "Top 200 Singles of '77 – Volume 28, No. 11, December 31 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  19. "Top 100 Hits of 1977/Top 100 Songs of 1977". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  20. "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1977". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2016-07-26.

Sources
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