Sail On, Sailor

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"Sail On, Sailor"
Beach Boys - Sail On, Sailor.jpg
Single by the Beach Boys
from the album Holland
B-side"Only with You"
ReleasedJanuary 29, 1973
RecordedOctober – November 28, 1972
StudioVillage Recorders, Santa Monica, California
GenreRock
Length3:22
LabelBrother/Reprise
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"Marcella"
(1972) 		"Sail On, Sailor"
(1973) 		"California Saga: California"
(1973)
Official audio
"Sail On, Sailor (Remastered 2000)" on YouTube
Audio sample
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"Sail On, Sailor" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1973 album Holland. It was written primarily by Van Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson, with additional lyrics by Ray Kennedy, Tandyn Almer, and Jack Rieley. The song was released as a single in 1973, backed with "Only with You", and peaked at number 79 on the American singles charts.[1] A 1975 reissue (also backed with "Only with You") charted higher, at number 49.[2] According to Jon Stebbins, "It is perhaps the only perennial Beach Boys favorite to still thrive in the classic rock and album rock FM radio formats of the present."[3]

Background[]

Initial writing[]

Van Dyke Parks credited himself as the primary composer of the song. He said, "I went over to Brian's with my new [tape recorder] and told him the name of the tune and sang those intervals, and he pumped out the rest of that song."[4] There exists a fifteen-minute cassette recording of Parks and Wilson writing the song on Wilson's piano.[5] According to Parks, "it's clear from the contents [of the tape] that I authored the words and the musical intervals to 'Sail on Sailor.' It's also clear that I composed the bridge, played them, and taught them to Brian."[6] Biographer Timothy White quoted an anonymous source's description of the tape's contents:

Brian was playing that song on the piano. It was completely different words. He's singing different words; much better words. ... It begins with Van Dyke saying, 'Brian, there's something you gotta do for me, man. I want you to sit down at the piano, and I want you to write a song or me. Lyrics, melody, everything. I want you to do it right on the spot.' Brian says, 'I'd do anything for you, man, but would you do something for me?' Van Dyke says, 'I'd do anything for you, Brian.' So Brian says, 'Hey, you gotta convince me, Van Dyke, that I'm not insane.' He keeps repeating that over and over again. 'Hypnotize me into thinking that I'm not insane. Convince me that I'm not insane."[5]

As Parks remembered, "That was a tough moment for both Brian and me. I just went over to see how he was, and he wasn't good. Of course, you couldn't tell that from this song, because it represents such hope, but it came out of a very difficult time."[4] In 2002, Wilson said of the song: "Van Dyke really inspired this one. We worked on it originally; then, the other collaborators contributed some different lyrics. By the time the Beach Boys recorded it, the lyrics were all over the place. But I love how this song rocks."[7]

Kennedy and Almer's input[]

In the liner notes written for the 2000 reissue of Holland, Scott McCaughey said that the song was originally written by Wilson with his friends Tandyn Almer and Ray Kennedy, and that Parks "structur[ed] the song and add[ed] a middle-eight" before Rieley contributed a last minute lyric revision.[8] In 2015, Wilson remembered "writing 'Sail On, Sailor' with a guy named Ray Kennedy. I wrote the music and he wrote the lyrics."[9] He gave a more detailed account in 2007:

I was at Danny Hutton’s one time. Tandyn Almer and I wrote a song, “Sail On Sailor” [...] on a Wurlitzer electric piano and Ray Kennedy was there and started writing some lyrics. “Ray, I didn’t know you could write lyrics.” “Keep playing! Keep playing!” We wrote the thing in about an hour and a half or two hours. Later, Van Dyke Parks tweaked it a little bit.[10]

Wilson biographer Peter Ames Carlin stated that the song was essentially co-written by Wilson and Parks in 1971, with Kennedy and Almer's lyrical contributions dating from impromptu sessions at Hutton's house during the epoch.[11] Kennedy recalled that "Sail On, Sailor" had originally been intended by Wilson for the Hutton-led Three Dog Night, and that he had written the song with Wilson over the course of three days in 1970:

We went in and cut the basic tracks with Three Dog Night; we hadn't slept in about a week. Then Brian got up with a razor blade and cut the tapes and said, "Only Ray Kennedy or Van Dyke Parks can do this song." And he left. We all stood there looking at each other going, "What?" He called me every day after that, and I wouldn't talk to him. Three or four years later, I heard it on the radio and went, "Who's that?"[12][nb 1]

Rewriting[]

When the Beach Boys submitted the original version of Holland to Warner Brothers in October 1972, the album was rejected by the company for lacking a potential hit single. After discussion among Warner executives, Parks (who was then director of audio-visual services at the label) said that he had the aforementioned tape of "Sail On, Sailor", and suggested that the song could be recorded as the album's lead track.[4][15] The label then enjoined the Beach Boys to drop what the company perceived as the weakest track ("We Got Love")[nb 2] and replace it with the song.[17] By Rieley's account,

We delivered Holland to Warner Bros and I was still in Holland. Brian was in transit back to the States when David Berson from Warners said, “Jack, there’s some gorgeous music on this album but Van Dyke Parks is telling us that you’re holding back a song.” Van Dyke had heard an early skeletal version of what later became 'Sail On, Sailor' and raved about it to Warners. He told Mo Ostin and David Berson that I was holding back a great song. I didn't have a clue what he was talking about so I called Brian, and at first he didn’t have an idea either. ... this was a gorgeous song. I jumped on a jet to LA, I was so angry. I stayed at a Holiday Inn and thought I will carry out this sentence [laughs] in this solitary room in the middle of Hollywood. The lyrics I wrote reflected how I felt “lost like as a sewer rat alone but I sail…” about having to fly out to LA. Van Dyke contributed additional lyrics.[18]

Parks commented: "I'm glad that every one came out of their little rooms to claim co-writing credit on that song. But I never questioned it, just as I never questioned the various claims on the residuals."[6]

Recording[]

Vocals for "Sail On, Sailor" were recorded in late October 1972, some time after the Beach Boys had left Holland. According to Steven Gaines, Wilson initially "tinker[ed] with the song, trying to make it perfect as he had with 'Good Vibrations' and Smile"; following this bout of "procrastination," his bandmates "did not allow [him] to work on it at all."[19] This development left the basic track to be recorded by Brian's brother Carl and ex-Flame and then-Beach Boys members Ricky Fataar and Blondie Chaplin. The lead vocal was first attempted by Dennis Wilson, who sang the vocal once before leaving to go surfing. Carl was the next to attempt a vocal, but he then suggested that Chaplin make an attempt. After two takes, Carl decided that Chaplin's vocal would feature as the lead. [20] Brian acknowledged himself being "grossly incompetent" with the song, failing to show up at its backing vocals session, but giving some instructions by phone.[8]

Personnel[]

Sourced from Scott McCaughey[8] and Craig Slowinski.[21][22]

The Beach Boys
Additional musicians

Charts[]

Chart (1973) Peak
position
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[23] 52
Netherlands 73
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[24] 79
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[25] 96
Chart (1975) Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles[26] 73
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[24] 49
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[27] 62

Cover versions[]

See also: List of cover versions of Beach Boys songs

Notes[]

  1. ^ On the 1973 (REP 1138) and 1975 (RPS 1325) United States 7" single releases, Kennedy and Rieley are credited as the song's lyricists, while the music is attributed to Almer, Parks, and Wilson.[13][better source needed][14][better source needed]
  2. ^ A live performance of the song was released on 1973's The Beach Boys in Concert.[16]

References[]

  1. ^ Badman 2004, p. 326.
  2. ^ "Sail On Sailor awards". Allmusic.
  3. ^ Stebbins, Jon (2011). The Beach Boys FAQ: All That's Left to Know About America's Band. Backbeat Books. p. 132. ISBN 9781458429148.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Priore, Dominic (2005). Smile: The Story of Brian Wilson's Masterpiece. Sanctuary Publishing Ltd. p. 142. ISBN 1-86074-627-6.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b White, Timothy (1996). The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys, and the Southern Californian Experience. Macmillan. p. 302. ISBN 0333649370.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Badman, Keith (2004). The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band, on Stage and in the Studio. Backbeat Books. p. 322. ISBN 978-0-87930-818-6.
  7. ^ Wilson, Brian (2002). Classics Selected by Brian Wilson (CD Liner). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c McCaughey, Scott (2000). Carl and the Passions – "So Tough" / Holland (CD Liner). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records.
  9. ^ Slate, Jeff (March 24, 2015). "Brian Wilson's 10 Favorite Beach Boys and Solo Songs". Esquire.
  10. ^ (July 2, 2021). "Kubernick: Beach Boys "Feel Flows" Box Set". Music Connection.
  11. ^ Carlin, Peter Ames (2006). Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Rodale. p. 184. ISBN 978-1-59486-320-2.
  12. ^ Locey, Bill (January 13, 2005). "Leader of the Jam". Archived from the original on August 10, 2007.
  13. ^ "The Beach Boys - Sail On Sailor / Only With You - Brother - USA - REP 1138". 45cat.com. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  14. ^ "The Beach Boys - Sail On Sailor / Only With You - Brother - USA - RPS 1325". 45cat.com. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  15. ^ Hoskyns, Barney (2007). Hotel California: The True-Life Adventures of Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Mitchell, Taylor, Browne, Ronstadt, Geffen, the Eagles, and Their Many Friends. John Wiley and Sons. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-470-12777-3.
  16. ^ Planer, Lindsay (1973-11-19). "In Concert - The Beach Boys | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  17. ^ Stebbins, Jon (2011). The Beach Boys FAQ: All That's Left to Know About America's Band. Backbeat Books. p. 128. ISBN 9781458429148.
  18. ^ "The Life of RIELEY". Record Collector Mag. September 6, 2013.
  19. ^ Gaines, Steven (1995). Heroes And Villains: The True Story Of The Beach Boys. Da Capo Press. p. 256. ISBN 0306806479.
  20. ^ Badman 2004, p. 323.
  21. ^ "SAIL ON SAILOR". smileysmile.net.
  22. ^ "Sail On Sailor". smileysmile.net.
  23. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1973-04-28. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
  24. ^ Jump up to: a b Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  25. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, , 1973
  26. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1975-06-28. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
  27. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, June 21, 1975

External links[]

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