Those Were the Summer Days and Summer Nights by Peter Reum

Those Were the Summer Days and Summer Nights by Peter Reum

In 1965, the Los Angeles music scene was evolving at a pace unprecedented in West Coast history. Thanks to the studio musicians now known as the Wrecking Crew, hit after hit from the many studios in the LA area made it the recording capitol of the world. In addition to the numerous groups from LA who recorded in there, acts such as The Rolling Stones, The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, and many more did their recording in Gold Star, RCA, Columbia, Western, and other Southern California area studios. Brian Wilson's producing was known as the pioneering prototype for a new and independent group of musicians who wrote and recorded their own music as they wanted it to sound, without record company influence or control.

USA California Girls Single Picture Sleeve

As with The Beach Boys Today!, Summer Days (and Summer Nights) has a high number of tunes that were placed on singles as either 'A' or 'B' sides. Six of the tracks from the album found a home on USA Capitol 45s in 1965 and 1966. Unlike Today! and other previous Beach Boys' albums, Summer Days had no spoken word segments on it, and even humorous tracks had meanings that remained secrets known only to Brian and a few friends and family members until very recently. The group had dismissed Murry Wilson as their manager early in the Summer Days sessions, and feeling rejected, he had taken to trying to find an act he could write for and manage that would compete with The Beach Boys style and lyrical subject matter. Hence, The Sunrays were born.

Help Me Rhonda was the lead off single from the album, and went to Number 1 on national singles charts, showcasing Alan Jardine doing his first lead vocal on a Beach Boys single. The vocal sessions for the single were painful, and many listeners have heard the session tape, a classic, yet jarring reminder of Murry's jealousy of Brian's talent and production ability. Despite the drama, the single itself is one of The Beach Boys' finest, with Kiss Me Baby from the Today! album as the flip side. Help Me Rhonda/Kiss Me Baby was released nearly three months before the Summer Days (and Summer Nights) album debut on June 28, 1965, and served as somewhat of a final highlight of Today, and early preview of Summer Days.

What on the surface appeared to be another "Sun and Fun" themed album also held a number of strong feelings for Brian about his family that he cloaked in either humor or girl/guy lyrical content so as not to have his true feelings be known to his listeners. Brian had a great deal of love for his mother and conflicted feelings for his father, who he loved but also feared. His father seemed to be someone who was very capable of fighting for Brian, Carl, and Dennis when dealing with people business wise, yet was not very capable of encouraging them together or individually with respect to their music. Further complicating the sessions was the recent dismissal, and Murry's having had an affair outside of marriage resulting in acrimonious feelings with his wife and sons.

The Iconic Summer Days and Summer Nights Album Cover

There were a few indications of Brian's contemporary production and musical style influences in 1965 on Summer Days, with Brian again nodding to the Phil Spector production style through his recording of Then I Kissed Her. His admiration of The Beatles surfaced on Girl Don't Tell Me, and Let Him Run Wild showed affection for Burt Bacharach. The Four Freshman were referenced on two Summer Days sessions recordings, And Your Dream Comes True, and the unreleased studio version of Graduation Day. Many listeners also heard a Four Seasons influence on You're So Good to Me.

The first side of Summer Days rocked like no Beach Boys album since the early albums, with The Girl From New York City kicking off the first side. The song has a fine Mike Love lead vocal, with Bruce doing an excellent falsetto vocal above the group. The song is written about the late Lesley Gore, and offers a hint about the rest of the album's sounds. Amusement Parks USA is an early prototype of a Heroes and Villains type of production sound, and although somewhat silly lyrically, shows powerfully Brian's growth as a producer. The song paints a picture in sound, using sound effects creatively throughout the song, which was released in Japan as a single and went to number 3 on their charts.

Then I Kissed Her was released as a single everywhere but the USA while EMI/Capitol was awaiting the much publicized Heroes and Villains single in 1967, breaking a silence of six months on radio with no new Beach Boys single.  The song is a reminder of Brian's love of Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, and features an exceptionally wonderful Alan Jardine lead vocal. The Beach Boys played on this version. Salt Lake City was released as a single in 1965 to promote an event sponsored  by the Salt Lake City Downtown Merchants Association. Pressed with a special yellow label and given out in a special envelope, today it is one of the most collectible Beach Boys records in the world. Only 1000 were made.  The musical context of the tune is made more memorable by use of an organ as a percussion instrument. Mike Love's lead here is very well done.

Summer Days Photo Session Outtake

Girl Don't Tell Me has a strong John Lennon influence, and again shows how Brian had listened to and assimilated many of The Beatles' chord patterns and vocal inflections. This tune shows off Carl Wilson's love for The Beatles, and he carries off the lead vocal marvelously. Carl was probably The Beach Boys' most ardent Beatle fan, and had posters of their group on his bedroom wall during the initial British Invasion. Help Me Rhonda concludes side one of Summer Days, and is easily the equal of side one of The Beach Boys Today!, with new production techniques throughout, mainly due to Brian not having to tour.

The introduction to California Girls is iconic, and has been used by the group as an opening concert trademark for years due to the immediate recognition those heavenly chords generate. The track itself has some interesting jazzy discordant moments, and may be heard as a bonus selection on the two-for cd reissue that Capitol released that included Stack O Tracks. Let Him Run Wild is a letter-in-sound from Brian to Audree, his mother, upon learning that his father had had an affair. The lyrics reflected Brian's feelings at the time, and his commitment to his mom as oldest son was that he would look after her because his father wouldn't. The song swings in a jazzlike manner, and has an emotional lead vocal from Brian that would touch a listener even if he hummed it. Despite Brian's known dislike of his own lead vocal, Dennis Wilson believed this song to be emblematic of Brian's growth in the studio as a producer.

You're So Good To Me served as the 'B' side to the USA Sloop John B single in March 1966, and the bassline's chord structure holds some  minor similarities to Salt Lake City in places. Mike's bass backing vocal on this tune is one of his finest, along with Brian's use of organ again as a rhythm instrument. The song is a regular on setlists of Brian's concerts throughout the last 15 years.
Summer Means New Love is a lovely but short instrumental that foreshadows Brian's work on Pet Sounds quite strongly. Strings add warmth to the lead guitar, which is tasteful and understated. The song is a nice tune in the genre that was probably begun by Theme From a Summer Place.

I'm Bugged At My Old Man is a Beach Boys Blues number, and while sung tongue-in-cheek, is Brian's way of telling his father that dad is out of control. There is a quality here that somewhat imparts a feeling of Brian saying "if you only knew what I am really doing...."  Brian had begun a friendship with  Lorren Daro, who was introducing him to recreational marijuana and LSD. Murry, who was somewhat inept regarding family relationships and their subtleties, probably never realized he was being mocked. And Your Dream Comes True is the perfect ending to a near perfect 1965 rock album, alluding to the idea of becoming an adult, being free, and having the chance to chase your dreams without interference from meddling elders.

Summer Days Cover Session Outtake

Like The Beach Boys Today!, and several other Brian Wilson produced albums from the Sixties, Summer Days (and Summer Nights) earned an RIAA Gold Record Award in 1965, and cemented The Beach Boys as the most consistent best selling American album group of that decade. As the second of a trio of very strong albums, omitting Beach Boys Party, the growth of the group as a musical juggernaut was very impressive.

The outtakes from the first half of 1965 are a mixed bag. EMI/Capitol have released an alternate version of Help Me Rhonda, as well as the lovely studio version of Graduation Day, along with a track with backing vocals done for Sandy/Sheri She Needs Me. A lead vocal was done by Brian in the 1976-77 period, with the vocal being somewhat raspy and out of place. The tune was recut in 1998 with new lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager. That version turned up by Brian on his Imagination solo album.  Finally, an alternative version of Let Him Run Wild was also recorded, which, while quite engaging, was not as charming as the released version on Summer Days. All of these recordings are insightful for the listener, in that many of the versions are more busy and ornate than the versions on Summer Days.


Brian's internal intuition seems to have guided him throughout the time he produced The Beach Boys to keep things simple sounding, even if they are really quite involved and complex. It is those very instincts that bring new listeners into his orbit, generation by generation.

Text copyright 2015 by Peter Reum-All Rights Reserved