Girl Don't Tell Me

"Girl Don't Tell Me" is a song written by Brian Wilson for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1965 album Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!). In December 1965, it was chosen to be the B-side to The Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann" single.

"Girl Don't Tell Me"
Song by The Beach Boys
from the album Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
ReleasedJuly 5, 1965 (1965-07-05)
GenreRock
Length2:19
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)Brian Wilson
Producer(s)Brian Wilson
Endless Summer track listing
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"The Little Girl I Once Knew"
(1965)
"Barbara Ann"
(1965)
"Sloop John B"
(1966)

Origins

Brian Wilson wrote the song in early 1965 while on honeymoon with Marilyn. He recalled that "a whole song came to me. It was 'Girl Don't Tell Me.' I didn't have any way to get it down. But I just heard the whole thing up there, from start to finish, and I remembered it well enough to go later and write down the lyrics on a piece of paper."[1]

Recording

The Beach Boys recorded "Girl Don't Tell Me" on April 30, 1965 at United Western Recorders. Chuck Britz was the engineer.[2] It was one of the first songs to feature Carl Wilson as lead vocalist[3] (his first unshared lead was on "Pom Pom Play Girl"),, and is one of the few Beach Boys tracks from the era to feature no backing vocals. It was also the first recording session that Bruce Johnston participated in as a member of The Beach Boys.

Beach Boys biographer David Leaf has likened "Girl Don't Tell Me" to the Beatles' 1965 single "Ticket to Ride", in terms of its guitar breaks, drum fills and vocal delivery.[3] Brian Wilson cited this as an example of how each new Beatles release over this period inspired him as a songwriter, and how, with "Girl Don't Tell Me", "I even tried writing a Beatles song."[4] He said that Carl's drawn-out phrasing over the words "you'll write" was taken from "Ticket to Ride".[4] It has been claimed that Brian intended to submit "Girl Don't Tell Me" to the Beatles.[5]

Personnel

Sourced from Musician's Union AFM contract sheets and surviving session audio, documented by Craig Slowinski.[2]

The Beach Boys
Additional musicians
  • Ron Swallow – tambourine

Covers

References

  1. Wilson, Brian; Greenman, Ben (2016). I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-82307-7.
  2. Slowinski, Craig (2009). "The Beach Boys - The Beach Boys Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)" (PDF). Retrieved October 27, 2012.
  3. Leaf, David (1990). Today/Summer Days (CD Liner). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records.
  4. Mojo Special Limited Edition: 1000 Days That Shook the World (The Psychedelic Beatles – April 1, 1965 to December 26, 1967). London: Emap. 2002. p. 4.
  5. Wilson, Brian; Gold, Todd (1991). Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story. New York: HarperCollins. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-06018-313-4.
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