Barbara Ann
Barbara Ann is the title of a million seller made famous by the Beach Boys in 1966 , the original of which dates from 1958.
History of origin
Fred Fassert wrote the song in 1958 and named it after his younger sister's first name. Brother Charles "Chuck" Fassert (second tenor) was a member of the Doo Wop group The Regents , which consisted of Guy Villari (lead falsetto voice), Ernie Maresca (baritone), Sal Cuomo (first tenor), Tony Gravagna (saxophone and baritone voice) and Don Jacobucci (bass). She was still called Desires when she entered the newly founded Regent Sound Studios in New York (25 W 56th St) in 1958 . The studios had only opened in April 1958. Here they booked the studios for 1 hour for a rent of $ 15, of which they needed 50 minutes for 2 songs. Barbara-Ann (the original title) recorded them in 3 takes in the remaining studio time of 10 minutes and named themselves after the studio. The saxophone solo comes from Gravagna. They offered the demo recording to more than 50 record labels. When none of the labels showed interest, the group broke up in late 1958, discouraged.
A member of the Doo Wop group Consorts was Eddie Jacobucci, the brother of Don Jacobucci, who sang with the former regents. The Consorts wanted to convince label owner and music producer Lou Cicchetti of Cousins Records in early 1961 to record a version of Barbara-Ann 's own , which Eddie Jacobucci knew from his brother Don. When composer Fred Fassert heard about this, he went to Cicchetti with the original demo recording, who was immediately convinced of the recording and only had a bass added by way of overdubbing . Only two problems remained to be solved, namely a missing B-side and the regents' re-formation. A replacement was found in place of Guy Villari and Don Jacobucci, and in early 1961 I'm So Lonely was accepted as the B-side.
Publication and Success
After publication in March 1961, the single reached Barbara-Ann / I'm so Lonely (Cousins 1002) Rank 13 of the Billboard Hot 100 and rank 7 of the rhythm and blues - hit parade . National distribution was left in April 1961 to George Goldner's Gee Records , who also marketed the record on their own label (Gee 1065). On May 8, 1961, the new Regents presented their hit in American Bandstand . The national airplay made the song a favorite of radio stations.
Version of the Beach Boys
The Beach Boys planned Beach Boys' Party for their LP made up of cover versions ! also a live recording by Barbara-Ann . On September 23, 1965, they gathered in recording studio 3 of the Western Recorders in Hollywood . A party-like mood spread with quite drunk participants.
The live effect, which is worth investigating, is - in contrast to the other LP tracks - real, because the recording was made spontaneously at a nightly party. The lead singer is Dean Torrence (from the duo Jan & Dean ), whose voice was superimposed on the voice of Brian Wilson . The song was sung without prior rehearsals, which can be seen from the lack of textual certainty of those involved. During the first stanza, the memory of the text is briefly lost. The recording is characterized by an exuberant mood; someone shouts “Hey, play those ashtrays” and ashtrays clink. That was the helping out studio drummer Hal Blaine from The Wrecking Crew , because a voice calls out in confirmation: "Hal and his famous ashtrays".
The record company Capitol Records decided after the release of the LP Beach Boys' Party! On November 8, 1965, the single Barbara Ann / Girl Don't Tell Me (Capitol 5561) was released and released on December 20, 1965. It reached number 2 in the US charts, number 3 in Great Britain and reached number 2 on the charts in Germany with more than 200,000 units sold. In total, it sold over a million copies worldwide. The Beach Boys version became a number one hit in many countries.
More cover versions
Barbara Ann has been covered by various artists. A German language version was created in February 1966 in the Hamburg Teldec Studios and was published by the cover band Die Tories under Decca 19786. The Who recorded the song in 1966 with Keith Moon as the lead singer for their EP Ready Steady Who .
The piece was also heard in television series and movies . In the series Welcome Back, Kotter , which premiered in September 1975, John Travolta sang a parody . The US series Hör mal, who hammers there , which started in September 1991, presents the Beach Boys with the song in the garden of Wilson, one of the characters on the show. Another cover version comes from Blind Guardian from the album Follow the Blind from October 1989.
Trivia
The company Bel uses a product-related cover version of the song for their product Babybel .
Individual evidence
- ^ Billboard Magazine, April 7, 1958, New York , p. 16.
- ^ Jay Warner, American Singing Groups , 2006, p. 434.
- ^ Jay Warner, American Singing Groups , 2006, p. 435.
- ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 202.
- ↑ The Beach Boys - Barbara Ann. Retrieved May 4, 2013 .
- ^ John Atkins, The Who on Record: A Critical History 1963-1998 , 2000, p. 75.