Each day, Rich Terfry and Radio 2 Drive wraps up your day with music and stories about the interesting things going on in the world.
REAR VIEW MIRROR:
Every week, Rich Terfry looks back in our Rear-view Mirror at a great song from the good ol’ days. This week, the story behind The Beach Boys "Sloop John B"
As musically adventurous as Brian Wilson has been in his career, he was never terribly interested in folk music. So when the Beach Boys covered an old sea shanty from the Bahamas in 1965, Brain Wilson had to be tricked into doing it.
Listen to Rich tell you the story behind "Sloop John B"
Renowned ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax made a field recording of a song called "The John B. Sails" while on a trip to the Bahamas in 1935.
By the end of the '50s, versions of the song had been recorded by The Weavers,
and The Kingston Trio.
Al Jardine of the Beach Boys loved the song and brought it to Brian Wilson, suggesting the band record a version of their own while they were in the studio recording their now-legendary Pet Sounds album. When Jardine played it, Wilson reacted dismissively saying, "I don't like The Kingston Trio."
Jardine didn't give up on the idea. He figured the tune was too simple for Wilson's tastes, so he played it again, but in a signature Beach Boys style. He made it more complex, modifying the chord changes and adding some musical intrigue. When he finished playing, he got up from the piano and walked away. Not a word was said.
The next morning, Jardine received a phone call and was asked to return to the studio. When he arrived, Wilson played a song for him. It was a finished version of the song we now know as "Sloop John B."
Brian Wilson built the entire track from the ground up, by himself, in less than 24 hours. He made a few changes to the lyrics and incorporated Jardine's chord arrangement and ended up with a masterpiece. The song was released the following spring and was a big hit. It was the Beach Boys' fastest seller to date, moving half a million copies in less than two weeks and reached number two on the charts.
Jardine was never credited for his contribution, but described the experience of bringing this song to the band as "very rewarding" nonetheless.
Listen to the many versions of "Sloop John B" and the entire story behind the song by hitting the play button below.
Here are some other great editions of Rear-view Mirror:
Glen Campbell, 'Wichita Lineman'
Bob Dylan & Jimi Hendrix/All Along The Watchtower
Phil Spector and the Ronnettes/Be My Baby
Os Mutantes/Ando Meio Desligado
Captain Beefheart/Yellow Brick Road
Elton John/Bennie and the Jets
Hank Williams/Long Gone Lonesome Blues
R.E.M./What's the Frequency, Kenneth?
Tom Waits/Jockey Full of Bourbon
Buffalo Springfield/For What It's Worth
Five Man Electrical Band/Signs
Band Aid/Do They Know It's Christmas
The Pursuit of Happiness/I'm An Adult Now
Big Joe Turner/Shake Rattle and Roll
Martha and the Muffins/Echo Beach
Wilson Pickett/In The Midnight Hour
The Band/The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
The Animals/House of the Rising Sun
Ian and Sylvia/Four Strong Winds
James Brown/Please Please Please
John Cougar Mellencamp, 'Pink Houses'
The Ramones/I Wanna Be Sedated
U2/I Still Have't Found What I'm Looking For
Janis Joplin/Me and Bobby McGee
Gordon Lightfoot "If You Could Read My Mind"
Simon and Garfunkel "The Sound of Silence"
Bill Haley and his Comets "Rock Around The Clock"
The Velvet Underground "I'm Waiting For The Man"
Johnny Cash "Folsom Prison Blues"
Bobby Fuller "I Fought The Law"
Joy Division "Love Will Tear Us Apart"
Booker T and the MGs "Green Onions"
Neil Young "Rockin' in the Free World"
The Left Banke "Walk Away Renee"
Lou Reed "Walk On The Wild Side"
The Clash "Should I Stay or Should I Go"
The Animals "We Gotta Get Out of this Place"
Dusty Springfield "Son of a Preacher Man"
Screamin' Jay Hawkins "I Put A Spell On You"
Mott The Hoople "All the Young Dudes"
New York Dolls "Personality Crisis"
George Jones "He Stopped Loving Her Today"
Bruce Springsteen "Born in the USA"
The Beatles "With A Little Help From My Friends"
James Brown, 'Hot (I Need to be loved loved loved)'
Ray Charles, 'I Don't Need No Doctor'
Curtis Mayfield, 'Freddy's Dead'
Gang Starr, 'Beyond Comprehension'
CCR, 'Have You Ever Seen the Rain'
Howlin' Wolf, 'Smokestack Lightning'
Bobby Womack, 'Across 110th Street'
Foggy Hogtown Boys, 'Man of Constant Sorrow'
Pink Floyd, 'Wish You Were Here'
Neil Young, 'Cortez The Killer'
Bob Dylan, 'Subterranean Homesick Blues'
Elvis Costello, 'Watching the Detectives'
Jimmy Cliff, 'The Harder They Come'
The Verve, 'Bittersweet Symphony'
Roberta Flack, 'Killing Me Softly with his Song'
Rolling Stones, 'Beast of Burden'
JUNK IN THE TRUNK:
Unique hobbies of 48 successful people:
A snoring hedgehog:
Man plays soccer with lions:
RICH'S PICK: "Ruckzuck" by Kraftwerk:
MARK'S PICK: Joel Plaskett "Harbour Boys"