Barbara Ann

"Barbara Ann" is a song written by Fred Fassert that was first recorded by the Regents as "Barbara-Ann". Their version was released in 1961 and reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The most famous cover version was recorded in 1965 by the Beach Boys, issued as a single from their album Beach Boys' Party! with the B-side "Girl Don't Tell Me".

"Barbara-Ann"
Single by The Regents
from the album Barbara-Ann
B-side"I'm So Lonely"
Released1961 (1961)
Format7" vinyl
Recorded1958 (1958)
Genre
Length2:15
LabelGee 1065
Songwriter(s)Fred Fassert
Producer(s)Louis Cicchetti
The Regents singles chronology
"Barbara-Ann"
(1961)		 "Runaround"
(1961)

The Beach Boys version
"Barbara Ann"
Single by The Beach Boys
from the album Beach Boys' Party!
B-side"Girl Don't Tell Me"
ReleasedDecember 20, 1965 (1965-12-20)
Format7" vinyl
RecordedSeptember 23, 1965 (1965-09-23)
United Western Recorders, Hollywood, California
GenreRock and roll, doo-wop
Length
  • 2:05
  • 3:23 (album version)
LabelCapitol 5561
Songwriter(s)Fred Fassert
Producer(s)Brian Wilson
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"The Little Girl I Once Knew"
(1965)		 "Barbara Ann"
(1965)		 "Sloop John B"
(1966)

The Beach Boys recorded their version on September 23, 1965. Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean is featured on lead vocals along with Brian Wilson. Torrence is not credited on the album, but Carl Wilson is heard saying "Thanks, Dean" at the song's conclusion.[1] Capitol rush-released "Barbara Ann" as a single after the relatively poor performance of the group's previous disc, "The Little Girl I Once Knew".

The song entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart the week ending January 1, 1966. The week ending January 29, the song leaped from No. 15 to No. 2 and was in position to replace "We Can Work It Out" by The Beatles as the next No. 1 song. However, "My Love" by Petula Clark unexpectedly vaulted into the No. 1 position the week ending February 5, 1966. Consequently, "Barbara Ann" peaked at No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 (No. 1 in Cash Box and Record World) and at No. 3 in the UK in January 1966.[2] It also topped the charts in Germany, Switzerland and Norway. It was The Beach Boys' biggest hit in Italy, reaching No. 4.

Variations of the Beach Boys' recording have seen release. A version without the party sound effects can be found on the Hawthorne, CA album. The group sang the song as an encore on their Live in London album. As a solo artist, Brian has a rendition on his live album Live at the Roxy Theatre, and in 2001, performed it himself, with the ensemble, on An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson.

In 1987, the group re-recorded the song as "Here Come the Cubs" with re-written lyrics about the Chicago Cubs.[3] It became the team's official theme that year, replacing "Go, Cubs, Go".[4]

The Who perform "Barbara Ann" in the film The Kids Are Alright with Keith Moon on vocals. Moon, a massive Beach Boys fan but a notoriously limited singer, plays and sings much to the delight of his fellow band members. An earlier version by them was released on the Ready Steady Who EP in 1966.[5]

Personnel
The Beach Boys
Additional musicians and production staff
  • Dean Torrence – lead vocals
  • Hal Blaine – ashtrays

Charts

Other versions

"Bomb Iran"
Main article: Bomb Iran

The song was parodied as "Bomb Iran" by various musicians, including Vince Vance and the Valiants, during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis.[18]

On April 17, 2007, at an appearance in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina during the 2008 presidential election campaign, U.S. Senator John McCain responded to a question from an audience member about military action against Iran by referring to "That old, eh, that old Beach Boys song, 'Bomb Iran'," and then singing the parody chorus, "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, anyway, ah ..."[19]

In 2012, Illumination released an online advertisement for its film Despicable Me 2 that featured its Minions characters singing a parody of the song in Minionese.[20]

References
  1. "Show 20 - Forty Miles of Bad Road: Some of the best from rock 'n' roll's dark ages. [Part 1]". Archived from the original on August 1, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via UNT Digital Library.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  2. "The Beach Boys - Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  3. Beach Boys - Here Come The Cubs (1987 Cubs Radio Theme Song) on YouTube
  4. Zarefsky, Marc (October 5, 2007). "'Go, Cubs, Go' a staple in Chicago". MLB.com. Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  5. "Ready Steady Who (EP)". The Who. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
  6. "austriancharts.at The Beach Boys – Barbara Ann". Hung Medien (in German). Archived from the original (ASP) on October 18, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  7. "ultratop.be The Beach Boys – Barbara Ann". Hung Medien. Ultratop. Archived from the original (ASP) on June 30, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  8. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1966-02-07. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  9. "dutchcharts.nl The Beach Boys – Barbara Ann". Hung Medien. MegaCharts. Archived from the original (ASP) on November 8, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  10. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Barbara Ann". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  11. Flavour of New Zealand, 20 May 1966
  12. "norwegiancharts.com The Beach Boys – Barbara Ann". Hung Medien. VG-lista. Archived from the original (ASP) on March 7, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  13. http://www.rock.co.za/files/sa_charts_1969_1989_songs_(A-B).html
  14. "Beach Boys". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  15. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, February 5, 1966". Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  16. Musicoutfitters.com
  17. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 24, 1966". Archived from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  18. Declain McCullagh (April 22, 2007). McCain's 'Bomb Iran' song was anti-Muslim? News.com. Accessed 2007-11-05.
  19. Sidoti, Liz (April 19, 2007). "McCain Jokes About Bombing Iran". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  20. moviemaniacsDE (2012-03-03), Despicable Me 2 | Minions Banana Song (2013) SNSD TTS, retrieved 2019-04-12
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