Deirdre (song)
"Deirdre" is a song written by Bruce Johnston and Brian Wilson for the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on their 1970 album Sunflower and subsequently as the B-side of the "Long Promised Road" single. The single never charted in the US or the UK. When asked about the song in 2013, Johnston explained:
I wrote all the music for the song and started writing the lyrics with Brian although that’s not his strong point, even though we must remember that Brian wrote all the lyrics for songs like "Surfer Girl" and "'Til I Die". So "Deirdre" was kind of my song and I split it 50/50 with him. It’s really about 99% my baby.[1]
"Deirdre" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by The Beach Boys | ||||
from the album Sunflower | ||||
A-side | "Long Promised Road" | |||
Released | May 24, 1971 | |||
Recorded | February 21 – March 21, 1969 | |||
Studio | Gold Star Studios, Hollywood | |||
Length | 3:27 | |||
Label | Brother | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | The Beach Boys | |||
The Beach Boys singles chronology | ||||
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In 1977, Johnston rerecorded the song for his solo album Going Public.
Recording
"Deirdre" was recorded on February 21 and March 21, 1969, at Gold Star Studios.[2]
Critical reception
Rolling Stone said that song "could be Beach Boys-influenced anybody".[3]
Sample
In 1994, "Deirdre" was sampled for the video game EarthBound. A sample of the a capella intro of the song is arranged into the music for the Cave of the Past area near the end of the game.[4] This sample was in turn used in the 2015 video game Undertale as an instrument in the "Amalgam" battle music.
Personnel
Sourced from Craig Slowinski[5] and Timothy White.[6]
- The Beach Boys
- Bruce Johnston – lead vocals, opening multi-tracked harmonies, harmony and backing vocals
- Brian Wilson – harmony and backing vocals
- Carl Wilson – harmony and backing vocals
- Mike Love – harmony and backing vocals
- Al Jardine – harmony and backing vocals
- Additional personnel
- Ed Carter – guitar
- Al Casey – guitar
- Joe Osborn – electric bass
- Jimmy Bond – double bass
- Larry Knechtel – piano
- Daryl Dragon — vibraphone
- John Guerin – drums
- Frank Capp – tambourine
- Michel Colombier – string arrangement
- unknown – three flutes, one trumpet, three French horns, three trombones
- Production staff
- Stephen Desper – engineer
- Doc Siegel – engineer
References
- Sharp, Ken (September 4, 2013). "Bruce Johnston On the Beach Boys' Enduring Legacy (Interview)". Rock Cellar Magazine. Archived from the original on October 30, 2014. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
- Doe, Andrew Grayham. "GIGS69". Endless Summer Quarterly.
- DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (1992). The Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely New Reviews: Every Essential Album, Every Essential Artist. Random House. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-679-73729-2.
- "The Beatles, Beach Boys and Monty Python really were in Earthbound". Destructoid. June 28, 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- Slowinski, Craig (Summer 2020). "Sunflower: 50 Year Anniversary Special Edition (Issue 130, Volume 33, No. 3)". Endless Summer Quarterly Magazine (Magazine). Charlotte, North Carolina, USA: David Beard.
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(help) - ref name="White2000">White, Timothy (2000). Sunflower/Surf's Up (CD Liner). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records.