Darlin' (The Beach Boys song)

Did You Know?

• French rock trio Darlin' took their name from the song; two members later formed Daft Punk, and the third joined Phoenix.
• The song appears in the 2015 The Big Bang Theory episode "The Earworm Reverberation", where it becomes an earworm for Sheldon.

Background and recording

The song incorporates the verse melody and chords of "Thinkin' 'Bout You Baby", an earlier Wilson-Love composition first recorded in April 1964 and released as a single two months later by Sharon Marie, a teenager Love met at a June 1963 Beach Boys concert in Sonoma County. Brian Wilson produced that track and included it on the 2004 compilation Pet Projects: The Brian Wilson Productions. In 1967, Wilson added a "radically different" hook and chorus, describing the song as being "in a soul/R&B bag" with horns conceived as a Phil Spector-style arrangement. Singer Danny Hutton inspired the title, as the word "darlin'" was frequent in his vocabulary. Wilson produced the instrumental track on October 11, 1967, initially planning to give the song and "Time to Get Alone" to Hutton's group Redwood (later Three Dog Night). Redwood recorded only a guide vocal before Carl Wilson and Mike Love insisted Brian focus on Beach Boys work. Wilson later said, "Darlin' was for Three Dog Night. They recorded it and said, 'No, you can have it' so I gave it to Carl to sing." Further recording occurred on October 27 and November 3. Carl Wilson sang lead, and Brian Wilson later singled out the track as one that worked best for Carl's voice.

Release

"Darlin'" was released as a single on December 18, 1967, backed with "Here Today", the same date as the Wild Honey album. It was the second single from the album, following "Wild Honey". Cash Box described the song as a shift toward a "less elaborate but extra-commercial teen beat" with a hard-throb rhythm. In England and several foreign markets, the B-side was "Country Air". The single peaked at number 19 on the US Billboard Chart and number 11 on the UK Singles Chart, and has since appeared on live and compilation albums.

Reception and legacy

Upon release, Rolling Stone wrote that "Darlin'" is the song where the Beach Boys "really take R&B styling and make it work in an original way." Jazz & Pop's Gene Sculatti commented that "a whole lot of soul is used up" on the song. Retrospectively, biographer Mark Dillon called it "ahead of its time, anticipating the blue-eyed soul of such '70s acts as Todd Rundgren and Chicago." AllMusic's Matthew Greenwald described it as "a luscious piece of late-'60s pop." Rolling Stone readers ranked it seventh among the top ten best Beach Boys deep cuts, while writers for The Guardian and uDiscoverMusic placed it 24th and 13th respectively on their lists of the best Beach Boys songs. It has been regarded as one of the band's finest songs and a live staple. Asked in 2015 for his favorite song he had written, Brian Wilson cited "Darlin'" because he liked the melody.