Girl Don't Tell Me
Encyclopedia
"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!!)
. Featuring Carl Wilson on Lead. In December 1965, it was chosen to be the B-side to The Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann
" single, which would chart at #2 in the U.S.
and #3 in the UK.
"Girl Don't Tell Me" was structured very much like The Beatles' Ticket To Ride
, from the guitar breaks to the drum rolls. Brian Wilson claimed in his autobiography Wouldn't It Be Nice that he wrote this song for The Beatles
to record, though there's no evidence he ever actually submitted the song to them.
. Chuck Britz
was the engineer. It is one of the first songs to feature Carl Wilson
as the lead vocalist (his first unshared lead was on "Pom Pom Play Girl"), and is one of the few Beach Boys songs from the era to feature no backing vocals. It is also the first recording session that Bruce Johnston
participated in as a member of The Beach Boys.
released a cover version on their album, "Twilight Curtains
."
The song appears on Al Jardine's
album, Live in Las Vegas, with Al's son Adam Jardine handling the lead vocals.
The song was covered with backing vocals on a 1966 Immediate
single by the UK group Tony Rivers and the Castaways (not to be confused with the US band The Castaways
who had the 1965 hit "Liar, Liar").
Fuzzy, a Boston Indie rock band, recorded "Girl Don't Tell Me" as part of their "Electric Juices" album for TAG/Atlantic, released in March 1996.
Indie-rock band The Shins
covered the song and was part of their setlist for their 2009 tour.
Brooklyn Alt-country band My Cousin, The Emperor released a cover version in July 2011 as part off their "Don't Steal The Covers!" project
Brooklyn lo-fi
all-girl group Vivian Girls
also covered the song on their "Surf's Up" 7".
A version of this song with French words was recorded by Souvenir, under the title "Ne de pas".
Christian music pioneer Keith Green
recorded a version of the song in 1965 with the b-side How to be your guy, this was one of Keith's first releases in his career. As well as being one of his few Decca Records
releases.
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
for the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
. It was released on their 1965 album Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!)
Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
- Singles :* "Help Me, Rhonda" b/w "Kiss Me Baby" , 5 April 1965 US #1; UK #27* "California Girls" b/w "Let Him Run Wild" , 12 July 1965 US #3; UK #26- References :...
. Featuring Carl Wilson on Lead. In December 1965, it was chosen to be the B-side to The Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann
Barbara Ann
"Barbara Ann" is a song written by Fred Fassert and performed by The Regents in 1961. The recording reached a peak position of #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 record chart....
" single, which would chart at #2 in the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and #3 in the UK.
"Girl Don't Tell Me" was structured very much like The Beatles' Ticket To Ride
Ticket to Ride
"Ticket to Ride" is a song by The Beatles from their 1965 album, Help!. It was recorded 15 February 1965 and released two months later. -Composition:...
, from the guitar breaks to the drum rolls. Brian Wilson claimed in his autobiography Wouldn't It Be Nice that he wrote this song for The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
to record, though there's no evidence he ever actually submitted the song to them.
Recording
The song was recorded on April 30, 1965 at Western StudiosUnited Western Recorders
United Western Recorders, often abbreviated to UWR, was a renowned recording studio complex in Hollywood, California, which became one of the most successful independent recording studios in the world in the late 1950s and 1960s....
. Chuck Britz
Chuck Britz
Charles "Chuck" Dean Britz was a recording engineer who most famously worked with Jan and Dean, Brian Wilson, and The Beach Boys on numerous albums between 1962 and 1967....
was the engineer. It is one of the first songs to feature Carl Wilson
Carl Wilson
Carl Dean Wilson was an American rock and roll singer and guitarist, best known as a founding member, lead guitarist and sometime lead vocalist of The Beach Boys...
as the lead vocalist (his first unshared lead was on "Pom Pom Play Girl"), and is one of the few Beach Boys songs from the era to feature no backing vocals. It is also the first recording session that Bruce Johnston
Bruce Johnston
Bruce Arthur Johnston is a member of The Beach Boys and a songwriter, remembered especially for composing "I Write the Songs". Johnston was not one of the original members of the band...
participated in as a member of The Beach Boys.
Personnel
- Brian WilsonBrian WilsonBrian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
- bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, celestaCelestaThe celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators... - Carl WilsonCarl WilsonCarl Dean Wilson was an American rock and roll singer and guitarist, best known as a founding member, lead guitarist and sometime lead vocalist of The Beach Boys...
- electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, lead vocals - Dennis WilsonDennis WilsonDennis Carl Wilson was an American rock and roll musician best known as a founding member and the drummer of The Beach Boys. He was a member of the group from its formation until his death in 1983...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Ron Swallow - tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
Alternative versions
Seattle grunge rock band TrulyTruly
Truly is an American rock band formed in the wake of the grunge era. It featured former Soundgarden bassist Hiro Yamamoto, one-time Screaming Trees drummer Mark Pickerel, and singer Robert Roth...
released a cover version on their album, "Twilight Curtains
Twilight Curtains
Twilight Curtains is a rarities compilation album by Truly released only in the UK on May 22, 2000.-Track listing:# "Twilight Curtains" - 4:41# "Leatherette Tears II" - 3:31# "Aliens on Alcohol" - 4:51# "Wait Til' the Night" - 4:52...
."
The song appears on Al Jardine's
Al Jardine
Alan Charles "Al" Jardine is a founding member of top-selling American music group The Beach Boys, a guitarist and occasional lead vocalist. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.-Early life:...
album, Live in Las Vegas, with Al's son Adam Jardine handling the lead vocals.
The song was covered with backing vocals on a 1966 Immediate
Immediate
Immediate may refer to:* Immediacy * Immediate Records, a British record label* The Immediate, an Irish rock group* Immediate Music, a music composition company...
single by the UK group Tony Rivers and the Castaways (not to be confused with the US band The Castaways
The Castaways
The Castaways are an American garage rock band from the Twin Cities in Minnesota.Their first and only hit single was "Liar, Liar". Written by band leader James Donna and Denny Craswell, produced by Timothy D. Kehr and released by Soma Records, it reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in...
who had the 1965 hit "Liar, Liar").
Fuzzy, a Boston Indie rock band, recorded "Girl Don't Tell Me" as part of their "Electric Juices" album for TAG/Atlantic, released in March 1996.
Indie-rock band The Shins
The Shins
The Shins are an American indie rock band comprising singer, songwriter, and guitarist James Mercer, guitarist/bassist Dave Hernandez, Eric Johnson of Fruit Bats, drummer Joe Plummer and bassist Ron Lewis. Their sound draws on several musical genres, including pop, alternative rock, indie rock,...
covered the song and was part of their setlist for their 2009 tour.
Brooklyn Alt-country band My Cousin, The Emperor released a cover version in July 2011 as part off their "Don't Steal The Covers!" project
Brooklyn lo-fi
Lo-fi music
Lo-fi is lower quality of sound recordings than the usual standard for music. The qualities of lo-fi are usually achieved by either degrading the quality of the recorded audio, or using certain equipment. Recent uses of the phrase have led to it becoming a genre, although it still remains as an...
all-girl group Vivian Girls
Vivian Girls
Vivian Girls are an American band from Brooklyn, New York.- History :Vivian Girls, named after the magnum opus of outsider author Henry Darger, started in Brooklyn, NY in March 2007 as the trio of Cassie Ramone ; Katy "Kickball Katy" Goodman; and Frankie Rose...
also covered the song on their "Surf's Up" 7".
A version of this song with French words was recorded by Souvenir, under the title "Ne de pas".
Christian music pioneer Keith Green
Keith Green
Keith Gordon Green was an American gospel singer, songwriter, musician, and Contemporary Christian Music artist originally from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. Beyond his music, Green is best known for his strong devotion to Christian evangelism and challenging others to the same...
recorded a version of the song in 1965 with the b-side How to be your guy, this was one of Keith's first releases in his career. As well as being one of his few Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
releases.