🎵 The Beach Boys - Sloop John B REACTION

[@randytorres8211]

"Sloop John B" is a traditional West Indies tune about a sunken boat. It was adapted in 1951 by Lee Hays of the Weavers (as "The John B Sails") and revived in 1960 by Lonnie Donegan. The Beach Boys' folk music buff, Al Jardine, turned Brian Wilson onto the Kingston Trio's recording of the song. For their updated version, Wilson added elaborate vocals and a 12-string guitar part. He also changed some of the lyrics, including "This is the worst trip since I've been born" to "...I've ever been on" as a wink to acid culture. The song was popularized by The Kingston Trio, who adapted it from a version in poet Carl Sandburg's 1927 songbook The American Songbag. The Kingston Trio's version stays true to the song's Calypso roots, and was released on their first album in 1958. Eight years later, The Beach Boys changed the title to "Sloop John B," and came away with a hit. Their debt to The Kingston Trio goes far beyond this song: The Beach Boys adopted the group's striped, short-sleeved shirts and wholesome persona as well. >> This was the biggest hit from The Beach Boys landmark album Pet Sounds. (Songfacts.com)

[@TheBooey1650]

When I first heard this, I figured that line was alluding to acid, but then I said, nah...not the clean cut Beach Boys. lol.

[@strategicplanetxmuzik4384]

......there's also a Johnny Cash version of this song !!! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnOTapahrpp2m80

[@RhettAnderson]

@@TheBooey1650 Yeah, clean cut was their image, wasn't it? At least at the beginning. Brian Wilson first experimented with acid in 1965. I can't think of anyone who comes to mind more quickly when I think about musicians and acid (sadly).

[@Blend42]

There is Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd, also the Beatles took acid.@@RhettAnderson

[@lindseyholl8821]

It does not get any more beachy than getting in a drunken fight with your grandpa while on his yacht. Something I have personal experience in lol. Love my grandpop, but yes....this actually happened to me. We were boating off the coast of Maryland. We got in a fight....he out drank me. It was not fun, but we calmed down and went back to port the next day, both of us sick, sober and sorry

[@827dusty]

One of the most iconic Beach Boys songs. Best harmonies ever, and they were real, not electronically enhanced.

[@petestaint8312]

Agreed! 👍

[@richardmartin9565]

It was a "sloop" as in "Sloop John B" a small ship but I think the "Sloop John B" was either bigger than a regular sloop, or a sea-shanty in need of title.

[@Tom_McMurtry]

I love this song.

[@allensaunders449]

You really think studio recordings did not enhance people's voices and instruments they always dud of course

[@Tom_McMurtry]

@@allensaunders449 I think they mean autotune

[@epicycles700]

That was Brian's genius, as a vocal arranger. I mean, he was equally adept at instrumental arrangements but when you think of the Beach Boys, you think of all those harmonies ringing out.

[@dankelly5150]

Yup, Brian is a musical genius that is for sure!! 🎶

[@MsCavsfanatic]

Three words for the instrumentals: The. Wrecking. Crew.

[@theccpisaparasite8813]

​@@MsCavsfanatictwo words: Brian Wilson. He told them what to play, how he wanted it played and when. Carol Kaye and Hal Blaine give wonderful interviews on this point. Ordinarily, the "Crew" was called upon to improvise or fill in parts. Not with Brian. He told them what to play and when to play. They were awe of Brian. It sounded good because of the Wilson's, Jardine, and Love. But make no mistake, it's those vocal that made this go.

[@brobinson7978]

You are right Lex. They have their beach music and then this genre. This genre really brought out their harmonies. Pre-auto tune was so amazing!

[@elizabethfranco1284]

Brian Wilson one of the GOATS ! Tops as producer singer songwriter musician. Genius!

[@surlechapeau]

Brad & Lex, you’ll love their “Help Me Rhonda”, “Barbara Ann” and “Little Deuce Coupe”!!!

[@mrcurtis73]

Yep! Barbara Ann is a fun song.

[@raymondmanderville505]

I’ll forever see ( in my minds eye ) John Travolta in “ Welcome back Kotter “ singing & dancing to his rewriting of the lyrics of Barbara Ann . To his version of Bah Bah Bha , Bha Bha Barrino !

[@KMK7355]

Barbara Ann falsetto is sung by Dean of Jan & Dean. They should do Surf City by Jan & Dean. Surf City was mostly written by Brian Wilson but Jan Berry was heavy in the production phase and lead vocals. The Wrecking Crew provided the instrumentation. IMO the penultimate Surf Song.

[@bwilliams463]

One of my favorite Beach Boys songs. Makes great use of their harmonic singing abilities, and I love the bass sax accent.

[@kurtsaxton823]

The whole Pet Sounds album is amazing.

[@manna6618]

Groundbreaking...I am as metal as you can get, Slayer Pantera Jinjer etc...but this is iconic. A special album, truly.

[@RickZackExploreOffroad]

As a young sailer, on a 8-10 month cruise, this tune was very popular onboard.

[@victorcowboywest]

The Sloop John B is a Bahamian folk song about a published in 1616 foot vessel that carries a crew of five wrecked near Nassau. Beach Boys in 1966 a folk rock adaptation.

[@Chris.Davis.2]

Lex is absolutely right. Music has become a lost art pretty much. No one did better than Beach Boys.

[@MySherry10]

I can tell you I was told by Vietnam Vet they sang this song, Let Me go HOme, I wanna Go home , this is the worst trip Ive ever been on. When you imagine these men singing this it takes on a whole new meaning and you feel it . They loved it , But besides that it is a great song, great harmonies and it does have a vibe that you feel the emotion in the song

[@jacknone1564]

Harmony Lex. The Beach Boys are second to none in that regard.

[@strass06]

Wow. Lex seems to love almost every song, You can tell tell when she wasnt crazy about this one.. lol.. thanks guys. Love watching.

[@kennethtingleyjr1452]

This is one of my favorite songs. I’m a metal head but I love The Beach Boys. One of my oldest memories is my father putting me on his shoulders to watch them a local country fair. I don’t have many good memories from my childhood but The Beach Boys are one of them.

[@Tom_McMurtry]

It seems many metal heads share a love of The Beach Boys and ABBA

[@R._Thornhill]

“I doubt that there were cruse ships in the 60’s.” Classic!

[@photoisca7386]

I seem to remember there were galleys, the passengers rowed them to the beat of a drummer. It was all so different then.

[@R._Thornhill]

@@photoisca7386 I was there in the 60’s and I don’t recall seeing any passengers rowing a cruise ship.

[@debjorgo]

A quick check on Wiki, the Francesco I sailed on cruises from Naples in 1833.

[@Trifler500]

Titanic sank in 1912

[@liketheroman]

This song has been bringing me tears and joy since I was a kid. I wanna go home.

[@debramartin1583]

One of my favorite Beach Boy songs. Thanks for your reaction.

[@Kari_B61ex]

Love this. A song from my childhood. I was born in 1961 and my mum and dad loved music of every genre. I also remember and listen to this day 'God Only Knows' and 'Good Vibrations' x

[@thepunadude]

THEIR HARMONIES ARE THE BEST,

[@Peter-oh3hc]

Love the beach boys. This is my favorite. Feel happier now

[@jamesdamiano8894]

"Don't Worry Baby" is one of my favorites by them.

[@thomast8539]

Still one of their best.

[@steveskouson9620]

Billy Joel's daughter agrees with you. steve

[@andyforbes5553]

1 of the greatest campfire songs ever, sitting with a roaring fire a few friends and liquor and even more liquor. Loved singing this with my buds, good times.

[@cheryla7480]

Brad’s right, back in the day we would all sing along, such a great song, lots of memories. Thanks guys.

[@blackenreed1425]

You want to hear a pub full of people with Lancashire (NW England) accents singing along with this. I played it at our local folk club once in the late '60s early '70s and everybody joined in - with improvised drunken harmonies it was quite a cacophony, but fun.

[@robinreiley1828]

Brad nailed it! This song became a popular Song Along. I can remember singing it on a canoe trip around the campfire. Oh,, a Sloop was a small commercial sailing ship, that transported goods for money. They were fast and maneuverable.

[@jaybaker149]

One of my favorite Beach Boys songs.

[@RhettAnderson]

"I doubt there was cruise ships in the 60s." LOL.That's exactly when they became popular, but the history goes back to 1820s. I mean we had The Love Boat TV show in the 70s, right?

[@stevetemple8826]

Cruise ships have been around many years, remember Titanic sank 110 years ago in 1912. But this was about a leisure sailboat called a Sloop.

[@lantose]

What a great song, as born in ‘55, pretty much knew every Beach Boys song, and by around 10 got my first transistor radio for am top 40 songs! The beginning lyrics specifically describe a sailboat (sloop), and not any kind of cruiser!

[@ronnie237]

Yes there were cruise ships in the 60’s. We also had hot water and bathrooms in our houses in the 60’s.

[@leehanson1416]

Back when I was in college, I was taking a Music Therapy class, because my best friend was a Music Therapy major and talked the department head into letting me into the class. My final was that I was given an hour to analyse this song and apply it to a music therapy setting. It didn't go well. This song, as recorded by the Beach Boys, is a master class in song development, every verse and every chorus adds complexity to the recording. My brain was so bent that I never really figured out how to use the song in a therapy environment - to be fair, they told me what the population of the classroom was when I entered the classroom itself, and the population was gifted children, simulated by several professors.

[@goatslunch6991]

Both the vocal and musical arrangments in this can stand alone as pure art. There are versions of this out there of just the music and just the vocals. Genius.

[@fredkrissman6527]

This is my fav Beach Boys song, and I grew up in helLA, where we'd sing along with the AM radio to Surfin' Safari on the school bus! Of course, the Beatles eventually became my fav in '64 after watching them on Ed Sullivan... But still, loved the Boys too!!!

[@jsmilers]

"I doubt there were cruise ships in the 60's" lol.

[@TomGorham]

When I was a teenager, I hired an older teenager to teach me guitar. He did but we also spent hours learning how to harmonize using this very song, He had what we called a "sound on sound" tape recorder where we could do one track over another. Eventually we had 6 voices on the tape between the two of us. It was a wonder experience that I used in my singing career.

[@eileenbaran7040]

Summer is nothing without them ❤️

[@kentclark6420]

There were cruise ships in the 60s, and even started in the year 1900. But this song was about a traditional sailing vessel.

[@CharlieDontSurf1006]

You guys are funny. There were cruise ships in the 1800s. Wyatt Earp and his wife took a cruise ship to Alaska. It wasn't Carnival Cruise but it was a cruise ship. The Titanic was a cruise ship. Kids.

[@sveinstmobekken2175]

They sure had cruise ships in the 60's, but this is a sloop, as they say in the title. The Sloop John B. A sloop is a sailboat with one mast. A headsail up front, and a mainsail aft of the mast.

[@jimoneill7657]

One of my favorite by the Beach Boys the song "Sail on sailor" sloop John B takes me back to my childhood standing in the front seat of the car between my mom and dad. No child car seats in those days

[@shelby477]

You are so right about the sing along vibe. On high school camping trips in the early 70's, this was ALWAYS and around the campfire. At the top of our lungs. So much fun. I think it was originally from the Bahamas. And it's really old.

[@StonefieldJim4]

Those harmonies! It's divine intervention!

[@MrsAShoe]

The Beach Boys sound is Like No other!...Their harmonizing is unmatched!!...Outstanding!!

[@AOD-tr7nd]

Brian’s high pitch falsetto makes this song

[@melaniesweeten5401]

One of my favorite songs ever. If I'm feeling down, this is number one on my playlist.

[@kylebeckley194]

The song is based on an old sea chanty in structure but not in the story itself. The made up the story and then put it into a sea chanty style. Sea chanteys were the heave - ho chants used to get all the men on the ship to pull on the lines. They were heavy and needed everyone working in time to do the job quickly.

[@xrentonx]

Yes. They had cruise ships in the 60s. This one is not about a cruise ship but a smaller sail boat (a sloop). This is also my favorite Beach Boys song and no...they don't have to be songs about the beach just because they are called the Beach Boys.

[@jimbcanine]

Some may consider the Titanic to be a cruise ship back in the early 1900's but I think it was technically an Ocean Liner.

[@peccatumDei]

This song was included on the Pet Sounds album, and there's a story there. The Beatles had released the Sgt. Pepper album that wowed everyone, and Brian Wilson decided that the Beach Boys needed to up their game. Pet Sounds was the result. The cool part is that many years later during an interview, Sir Paul McCartney was asked what his favorite albums were, what he listed to. His answer was Pet Sounds.

got it backwards

[@catchawave21]

Pet Sounds came before Sgt Pepper. It was Rubber Soul that inspired Brian to write his masterpiece . Smile would have been his answer to SP.

[@richardcramer1604]

Wow this song brings back pleasant memories, we sang it for our 6th grade Spring Concert when I was growing up in 1960s/70s Milwaukee, WI.

[@johnmavroudis2054]

The musical arrangement (courtesy of the great Brian Wilson) is off the charts AMAAAAAAAAZING. This is one of my favorite musical feasts... THANKS BRIAN and the WRECKING CREW!!!!!

[@seth4599]

Aw man. One of their best and catchiest songs. Those harmonies are immaculate and theirs also some comedic value.

[@christopherspitaleri5625]

I love how all the instruments stopped playing from 2:29 to 2:37 and all you can hear is their voices. That part is awesome!!

[@ricardoaracri6416]

Wooow back in time this song from The Beach Boys is still brings back memories 😢

[@ddwchamp]

Brad & Lex, the 2 of you have come a long way in reacting and critiquing music & lyrics. Outstanding job!

[@Charlie-wt6hv]

I am told that it is a tradition in the U.S. Navy Submarine force to play this song at the start of a patrol or deployment.

[@unclebobunclebob]

Like all great bands, the Beach Boys cannot be pigeonholed.

[@joedonlewis9820]

It's just a weird sea shanty. Love the Beach Boys.

[@827dusty]

The great Brian Wilson.

[@SK-lk3iu]

Brad & Lex, in the olden days, sailing was (& still is, in many places) a profession where sailors would literally live and work on sailboats for most of their days, often under very harsh conditions. So yeah, not a cruise ship. LOL

[@brushstroke3733]

I think the Beach Boys' interpretation of this song was a metaphor for Vietnam. I wanna go home. This is the worst trip I've ever been on. Or maybe a metaphor for a bad trip on drugs, echoing an internal struggle with life. In any case, I love the song and arrangement of vocals and instruments. Brian Wilson is a brilliant musician and singer.

[@johncagnettajr344]

A sloop is a big sailboat. And yes cruise ship have been around for over 100 years. Lex, Remember the Titanic? What year was that?

[@chrisparker8557]

Check out the Kinston Trio version. Also numerous other Kingston Trio songs..Tom Dooley. etc. excellent folk music.

[@jasondilworth2767]

Can't believe you guys ( mainly lex) lol never got excited about this song , right up there as one of the most catchy tunes ever

[@kentclark6420]

They got the idea for this song from listening to the Kingston Trio version. Al Jardine is a folk song buff.

[@AOD-tr7nd]

This song is what the Wilson brothers Brian, Carl, and Dennis were forced to sing as children by their dad to learn harmonies. . Part of the reason most beach boys songs mainly from the 60’s have perfect harmonies

[@b.rocket]

Nobody sounds like The Beach Boys and never will.

[@t0dd000]

This is one of those songs that gets stuck in your head for days.

[@codyjackschwartz1712]

you guys are really open-minded, i appreciate watching your open curiosity

[@ed.z.]

The Titanic was in the 1920’s. So, yea we had cruise ships in the 1960’s.

[@buzz71544]

An old shanty song. Brilliant arrangement. It's on their #1 ranked album Pet Sounds. You're exactly right... it's an old sailor song that they sang on their voyages.

[@nibunion]

My dad used to sing this to me when I was a child.

[@petestaint8312]

Awesome!!! Ur dad rocked. 😎

[@skinmeister1]

Yep, “Barbara Ann” is a fun next tune from The Beach Boys for you two to check out!

[@biggmaqq]

My favorite Beach Boys song. Thanks for sharing.

[@cindyphifer970]

One of my favorites by them

[@charleslesky2932]

Pets Sounds is one of if not the great album ever recorded. Brian Wilson is a genius!

[@matthewashman1406]

the amazing thing about the beachboys is they only had 4 number 1 records, and it took 27 years to get that many. Even wings have more No1s .

[@BobbyRagnar]

Showing Brian Wilson’s genius for vocal arrangements, in the day before electronic enchancement.

[@lawrencecooper2361]

The Beach Boys personified the California mystique of sun, fun, surfing, babes, endless summer, etc. The early "beachy" stuff was their vehicle but Brian Wilson was a pop music innovator, always pushing the envelope, so why not a West Indies folk tune? Their harmonies on this song are gorgeous. Wilson later got pulled into some very dark stuff but that's another story. Incidentally if you want great harmonies you might want to check out the Cowsills from the late 60's. They were a squeaky clean and wholesome family band, and they were the template for the before-your-time sitcom The Partridge Family. They even had their mom in the band. For a rock group that takes chutzpah. Back in the day I and my peers dismissed them as 'bubblegum" but I recently re-discovered them and I was shocked at their level of talent. Shocked I tell you, and this is from a jaded ex-hippie. So be the first and only reactors to investigate the 'Sills. I suggest their Cowsills Medley form the Ed Sullivan show in '67 or their Big Hit "Hair", a mild parody of the hippie culture. You weren't supposed to do that, we took ourselves very seriously. There is so much timeless music from that period that you haven't checked out because you don't know about it. Alas, we don't know what we don't know

[@ameperdue6953]

The Wall of Sound !

[@Eyyoh755]

This was a huge No. 1 hit in Germany 1966.

[@cjdesign5700]

harmony circles...Brad nailed Sailors and is a sing along folk song

[@elizabethfranco1284]

Loved all The Beach Boys songs but loved the tunes from Pet Sounds. God Only Knows is from the same album.

[@grantcarpenter6685]

Counterpoint harmonies are always beautiful to hear! They're sadly missing from modern music.

[@annother3350]

Glad you're better Lex

[@mikefleischauer498]

It's originally an old-time "sea shanty" about being a crew member on a 19th-century sloop, a sailing ship. The one phrase Brian Wilson has wrong is "... he ate up all of my corn." That doesn’t make any sense. It was " ... he drank up all of my corn", meaning he drank all my corn liquor (whisky). Still ... a great song with incredible vocal harmonies.

[@michaelreeder9931]

The only Beach Boys song I really like. I just don't get into them. Love watching you guys. You're really fun.

[@Salvation4DJews]

45 years ago I went on a fishing trip in a big bus with a bunch of friends. It took us all night to get to Morehead city to the Carolina Princess. The guys behind me and my dad were playing the guitar all night singing THIS VERY SONG so we got no sleep. On the trip home, I pulled out my guitar and sang hill billy songs all night long until the morning broke. The moral of the story is don't keep the fishermen up all night singing Sloop John B.

[@berniemargolis4288]

A sloop is a one-masted sailboat, so clearly he's a sailor, like Brad said. He went down to Nassau, which is in the Bahamas, and he ran afoul of all kinds of mischief: he got drunk, got in a fight, got interrogated by the sherriff, got sick, had his grits tossed out and his corn stolen by the cook. Now he's ready for the voyage to be done with, and he just wants to go home.

[@danw4490]

I quote this song all the time and I didn't even realize it until now. I haven't heard it in at least 10 years. I guess it somehow got ingrained in my brain!

[@stevemd6488]

Another variant of Homer's tale, but with a reference to being off drugs as going home. IMHO.

[@biff9999]

At the time, many people interpreted the song that way - "This is the worst trip I've ever been on". When you're taking LSD (and other things), you reach a point where you don't want to be high any more, you just want to come down. And go home.

[@AdaedA1]

Their “Sail On Sailor” is a freakin awesome tune . They have many great non beach tunes in their vast catalog

[@kurtsaxton823]

But all of their music related to the early California vibe, Jimmy Buffett and Ray Charles both do great versions of Sail on Sailor. It is an amazing song.

[@darthtwelve4398]

This song has always reminded me of a bad acid trip. Like Brian at a piano just singing “I feel so broke up I wanna go home” while he is hitting one key waiting for the party to end. I don’t know could all be in my head.

[@USCTROJANFAN1000]

It was a cover song original song was published in 1916

[@karitane]

Thankyou Randy. I interpreted it as a Sloop being a sail boat. John B is the name and the lyrics being from a sailor wanting to return home for some unmentioned reason.

[@j.w.matney8390]

Yes, you do get sick of being out at sea. Worst for me was sailing from Singapore to the coast of Kenya and patrolling the Indian Ocean for 2 months-no breaks.

[@jeffreekoch9298]

No cruise ships back in the '60s? what?? 😆. The '60s werent exactly the Stone Ages. lol. Cruises 🛳 been around forever, like 1800s.

[@davidgoldsmith6438]

lost art...it really is. Thanks for the props !

[@andyjacobs28]

Those are some mighty fine harmonies.

[@lyngusrobb5323]

Mike Love's line : " This is the worst trip, I've ever been on."