Under the Boardwalk

"Under the Boardwalk" is a pop song written by Kenny Young and Arthur Resnick and recorded by The Drifters in 1964. It charted at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on August 22, 1964. The song has since been covered by many other artists, with versions by Billy Joel, Bette Midler, Sam & Dave, the Tom Tom Club, The Rolling Stones, Billy Joe Royal, Bruce Willis, Bad Boys Blue, John Mellencamp and Lynn Anderson all charting in the United States or overseas. The song ranked #489 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

For the 1989 film, see Under the Boardwalk (film).
"Under the Boardwalk"
Single by The Drifters
B-side"I Don't Want to Go On Without You"
ReleasedJune 1964
Recorded1964
StudioAtlantic Studios, New York City
GenrePop, soul
Length2:45
LabelAtlantic
8099
Songwriter(s)Kenny Young, Arthur Resnick
Producer(s)Bert Berns
The Drifters singles chronology
"One Way Love"
(1964)		 "Under the Boardwalk"
(1964)		 "I've Got Sand in My Shoes"
(1964)

Premise

The lyric describes a tryst between a man and his beloved in a seaside town, who plan to privately meet "out of the sun" and out of sight from everyone else under a boardwalk. The instrumentation includes güiro, triangle and violins. The song's chorus switches from a major to minor key.[1] The opening line of the song references the Drifters' prior hit "Up on the Roof", showing the occasional thermal weakness of the rooftop getaway and setting the stage for an alternate meeting location, under the boardwalk. Also, the violins are heard playing the riff of "Up on the Roof", before the chorus.

History

The song was set to be recorded on May 21, 1964, but the band's lead singer, Rudy Lewis, died of a suspected heroin overdose the night before. Lewis had sung lead on most of their hits since the 1960 departure of Ben E. King, including "Up on the Roof". Rather than reschedule the studio session the lead on "Under the Boardwalk" was given to the group's other lead vocalist Johnny Moore who had returned to the group in April 1963. The personnel on that recording included Ernie Hayes on piano, Everett Barksdale, Bill Suyker and Bob Bushnell on guitar, Milt Hinton on bass, Gary Chester on drums and George Devens on percussion.[2] The last-minute move was a success, as the single, released on Atlantic Records, went to number four on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and number one for three non consecutive weeks on Cashbox magazine's R&B chart.[3]

There are two versions of the song. The mono 45 USA released version contains the line "We'll be falling in love". However, on the stereo album version, the line "We'll be making love" is sung. These are two entirely different recordings, not edits of one another, as the line "on a blanket with my baby is where I'll be" is sung differently in each version. The version appearing on the Drifters' Golden Hits compilation is a composite of the two, using "making love" in the first two choruses and "falling in love" in the third. Because of the line "making love" several radio stations banned the song, or altered it with the line "we'll be falling in love" instead.

Covers
"Under the Boardwalk"
Single by The Rolling Stones
from the album 12 X 5
B-side"Walking the Dog"
ReleasedJanuary 1965 (AUS)
Recorded1964
GenreRock and roll, Rhythm and blues
Length2:48
LabelDecca
Songwriter(s)Kenny Young, Arthur Resnick
Producer(s)Andrew Loog Oldham
The Rolling Stones singles chronology
"Route 66"
(1965)		 "Under the Boardwalk"
(1965)		 "The Last Time"
(1965)
"Under the Boardwalk"
Single by Bruce Willis
from the album The Return of Bruno
ReleasedMay 1987
Recorded1987
GenrePop, R&B
Length3:03
LabelMotown
Songwriter(s)Kenny Young, Arthur Resnick
Bruce Willis singles chronology
"Respect Yourself"
(1987)		 "Under the Boardwalk"
(1987)		 "Secret Agent Man"
(1987)
"Under the Boardwalk"
Single by Lynn Anderson
from the album What She Does Best
B-side"Turn the Page"
ReleasedJuly 1988 (1988-07)
Genre
Length4:19
LabelMercury Records
Songwriter(s)
  • Kenny Young
  • Arthur Resnick
Producer(s)
Lynn Anderson singles chronology
"Read Between the Lines"
(1987)		 "Under the Boardwalk"
(1988)		 "What He Does Best"
(1988)

A cover of this song by the Rolling Stones was released the same year as the original version. Their version was released as a single only in Australia, South Africa and Rhodesia, and peaked at no. 1 in the first two (the song was the band's first no. 1 hit in Australia) and at no. 2 in Rhodesia. It appeared on their albums 12 X 5 and The Rolling Stones No. 2. In 2007, it was included on the album Rhythms del Mundo Classics.

"Under the Boardwalk" has since been covered by many artists, including Bette Midler, and the Tom Tom Club (whose version reached #22 in the UK Top 40 in 1982, becoming the first version of the song to chart in Britain). Versions by Billy Joe Royal, Bruce Willis (a #2 success in the UK), and Lynn Anderson (#24 on the Country singles) all reached the Billboard charts.

John Mellencamp released the track as the B-side of his single "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.". In Australia, the single effectively became a double-A side when the B-side "Under the Boardwalk" received significant airplay and both tracks were listed together on the singles chart, reaching #18.[5] The track also reached #19 on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart.

Chart history

Rolling Stones cover

Chart (1965) Peak
position
Australia 1
South Africa 1
Rhodesia 2

Billy Joe Royal cover

Chart (1978) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 82

Alternate versions

A cajun-tinged swamp pop parody of the song, "(Holly Beach) Under the Boardwalk" by Kenny Tibbs (Kenny Thibodeaux) and the Jokers was released in 1991 and was a perennial Louisiana jukebox favorite until Hurricane Rita virtually wiped out the small seaside resort of Holly Beach, Louisiana, in 2005.

Another parody cover version came from Germany by Lothar & die Trabanten in 1991. The song "Unter dem Wartburg" ("Under the Wartburg") describes the technical problems a family father has with his Wartburg car, a car made in the German Democratic Republic, while travelling from Dresden to Rimini.[15]

After Hurricane Sandy hit the Jersey Shore in New Jersey, causing widespread damage to the New York and New Jersey area, Jimmy Fallon, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, and Steven Tyler performed the song during the November 2012 Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together telethon, referencing the many shoreline boardwalks that were damaged and destroyed in the storm.

See also

References
  1. Allmusic entry by Richie Unterberger
  2. Gammond, Peter (1991). The Oxford Companion to Popular Music. Oxford University Press, New York. p. 165.
  3. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 173.
  4. "What She Does Best: Lynn Anderson: Songs, Reviews, Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. 15 August 1964
  7. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1964-08-11. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  8. Flavour of New Zealand, 15 October 1964
  9. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  10. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, September 5, 1964
  11. Musicoutfitters.com
  12. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 26, 1964". Archived from the original on June 1, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  13. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Under the Boardwalk". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  14. "Australian-charts.com – Bette Midler – Under the Boardwalk". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  15. MusikSammler entry about the album "Unter dem Wartburg" of "Lothar und die Trabanten"
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