The Little Girl I Once Knew

"The Little Girl I Once Knew"
"The Little Girl I Once Knew"
Single by the Beach Boys
B-side	"There's No Other (Like My Baby)"
Released	November 22, 1965
Recorded	October 13–24, 1965
Studio	Western, Hollywood
Genre	Avant-pop
Length	2:35
Label	Capitol
Songwriter(s)	Brian Wilson
Producer(s)	Brian Wilson
The Beach Boys singles chronology
Music video
	"The Little Girl I Once Knew" on YouTube
Audio sample
	Menu 0:00 file; help;

"The Little Girl I Once Knew" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was recorded during the early sessions for their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Written by Brian Wilson, it was released as a non-album single in November 1965.^[2]

Background and lyrics[]

Lyrically, "The Little Girl I Once Knew" follows familiar territory as the Beach Boys' 1964 outtake "All Dressed Up for School", telling the story of a guy who reacquaints with a girl from his past who has now grown up and catches his eye.^[3] According to Mark Dillon, some speculate that the song was written about Brian's then-wife Marilyn Wilson.^[3] Mike Love reportedly had a hand in the lyrics, although his 1992 lawsuit for officially recognized writing contributions failed to include "The Little Girl I Once Knew".^[3]

Recording and composition[]

"The Little Girl I Once Knew" was recorded shortly after Brian Wilson completed Beach Boys' Party! in between sessions for the Pet Sounds tracks "Sloop John B" and "You Still Believe in Me".^[4] It was initially labelled "Carol K" on its session tape box, a reference to the song's bassist, Carol Kaye.^[3] The track has drawn comparisons with the work of contemporary Burt Bacharach, whom Wilson admired.^[5]

The song is unusual in that it uses stop–start melody sections and a few dramatic periods of silence lasting several seconds each.^[6] Dillon writes that the verses are "low-key" and hard-shift into a "blaring chorus" that "foreshadows the Smile track 'Cabin Essence'".^[3] In a 2007 interview, Wilson stated,

That is my very favorite introduction in a song in my whole life. It kills me every time. It might have been the first time the music stopped and started again on a record. I wrote the intro at the studio before we cut the thing. And, [session musician] Larry Knechtel, it was his idea to keep the music rolling. We tried one, and then I put a second guitar overdub on top of the other guitar. And the rest of it was history. We were doing stereo but I could only hear the mono and I always put the vocals up front in the mix. Mixing in mono is good for my left ear. My right ear is broke, done and over with.^[7]

Wilson was dissatisfied with his vocal performance, calling it "too effeminate".^[7] In 1995, Wilson expressed, "It was a fine song, except the intro is the only good part of it, and the rest didn't sound so good. I thought the song in itself sucked. I didn't like the harmonies, I thought they were sour and off-key."^[8] In 2014, he said that the song "should've" gotten more attention than it did.^[9]

Release and reception[]

It was released in November 1965 as a single 45 rpm, backed by "There's No Other (Like My Baby)", and reached #15 on the Cash Box chart and #20 on Billboard.^{[citation needed]} Since radio stations preferred to avoid dead air time, the song was poorly received by them.^[6]^[5] Just after its release, John Lennon gave it a favorable review:

This is the greatest! Turn it up, turn it right up. It's GOT to be a hit. It's the greatest record I've heard for weeks. It's fantastic. I hope it will be a hit. It's all Brian Wilson. He just uses the voices as instruments. He never tours or anything. He just sits at home thinking up fantastic arrangements out of his head. Doesn't even read music. You keep waiting for the fabulous breaks. Great arrangement. It goes on and on with all different things. I hope it's a hit so I can hear it all the time.^[3]^[10]

Retrospectively, AllMusic reviewer Matthew Greenwald called the song "a virtual link between the slightly progressive work on songs such as 'California Girls' and the then-quantum leap taken by Wilson on Pet Sounds and 'Good Vibrations'".^[6]

Personnel[]

According to Mark Dillon,^[3] except where noted:

The Beach Boys

Mike Love – backing vocals
Brian Wilson – lead vocals^[5]
Carl Wilson – lead vocals
Al Jardine – lead vocals^{[citation needed]}
Bruce Johnston – backing vocals^{[citation needed]}

Session musicians

Frank Capp – percussion
Carol Kaye – bass
Don Randi – organ

Charts[]

Weekly charts[]

Chart (1965–1966)	Peak position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[11]	10
US Billboard Hot 100^[12]	20

References[]

^ Carlin, Peter Ames (2006). Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Rodale. p. 296. ISBN 978-1-59486-320-2.
^ Badman, Keith. The Beach Boys. The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band: On Stage and in the Studio Backbeat Books, San Francisco, California, 2004. ISBN 0-87930-818-4 p. 104
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Dillon, Mark (2012). Fifty Sides of the Beach Boys: The Songs That Tell Their Story. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-77090-198-8.
^ Doe, Andrew G. "GIGS65". Retrieved 19 June 2014.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Leaf, David (1990). Today/Summer Days (CD Liner). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Greenwalkd, Matthew. "Song review". Allmusic. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Kubernick, Harvey (July 3, 2021). "Brian Wilson Remembers: An In-Depth Interview with the Beach Boys' Resident Genius". Best Classic Bands.
^ Benci, Jacopo (January 1995). "Brian Wilson interview". Record Collector. UK (185).
^ "Brian Answer's Fans' Questions In Live Q&A". January 29, 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
^ Lambert, Philip. Inside the Music of Brian Wilson. p. 218.
^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5688." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
^ "The Beach Boys Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 April 2021.

External links[]

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

[1] Carlin, Peter Ames (2006). Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Rodale. p. 296. ISBN 978-1-59486-320-2.

[2] Badman, Keith. The Beach Boys. The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band: On Stage and in the Studio Backbeat Books, San Francisco, California, 2004. ISBN 0-87930-818-4 p. 104

[Dillon-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Dillon, Mark (2012). Fifty Sides of the Beach Boys: The Songs That Tell Their Story. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-77090-198-8.

[4] Doe, Andrew G. "GIGS65". Retrieved 19 June 2014.

[Leaf1990-5] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Leaf, David (1990). Today/Summer Days (CD Liner). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records.

[Greenwald-6] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Greenwalkd, Matthew. "Song review". Allmusic. Retrieved 19 June 2014.

[harvey-7] Jump up to: ^a ^b Kubernick, Harvey (July 3, 2021). "Brian Wilson Remembers: An In-Depth Interview with the Beach Boys' Resident Genius". Best Classic Bands.

[8] Benci, Jacopo (January 1995). "Brian Wilson interview". Record Collector. UK (185).

[9] "Brian Answer's Fans' Questions In Live Q&A". January 29, 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.

[Inside_the_Music-10] Lambert, Philip. Inside the Music of Brian Wilson. p. 218.

[sc_Canadatopsingles_-11] "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5688." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 12 April 2021.

[sc_Billboardhot100_The_Beach_Boys-12] "The Beach Boys Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 April 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]