"Sloop John B" | ||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Single by The Beach Boys | ||||||||||||||||||||||
from the album Pet Sounds | ||||||||||||||||||||||
B-side | "You're So Good to Me" | |||||||||||||||||||||
Released | March 21, 1966 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Format | 7-inch single | |||||||||||||||||||||
Recorded | July 12 | –December 29, 1965|||||||||||||||||||||
Studio | United Western Recorders, Hollywood | |||||||||||||||||||||
Genre | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Length | 2:59 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Label | Capitol 5602 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Writer(s) | Traditional, arranged by Brian Wilson | |||||||||||||||||||||
Producer(s) | Brian Wilson | |||||||||||||||||||||
The Beach Boys singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
"Sloop John B" is a traditional folk song from the Bahamas, also known as "The John B. Sails", which was included in Carl Sandburg's 1927 collection of folk songs The American Songbag. It is best known for its folk rock adaptation by the Beach Boys, which was produced and arranged by bandleader Brian Wilson. Released two months before their 11th studio album Pet Sounds (1966), it served as the lead single for the album, peaking at number 3 in the US and number 2 in the UK. In several other countries, the single was a number one hit.
Wilson based his version on the 1958 recording by the Kingston Trio, but took some liberties with the song's arrangement, changing a few lyrics, and at the suggestion of bandmate Al Jardine, modified one part of the song's chord progression to include a supertonic chord (ii). The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, his brother Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine all share lead vocal duties. The instrumentation was provided mostly by the session musician conglomerate nicknamed "the Wrecking Crew".
The song remains one of the group's best-remembered recordings of their mid 1960s period, containing an unusual and elaborate a cappella vocal section that was unlike anything in the pop music of its era. In 2011, the group's version of "Sloop John B" was ranked #276 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".