"Add Some Music to Your Day"
Single by the Beach Boys
from the album Sunflower
B-side"Susie Cincinnati"
ReleasedFebruary 23, 1970 (1970-02-23)
RecordedOctober 28, 1969 – January 1970
StudioBeach Boys Studio, Bel Air
GenreFolk pop
Length3:34
LabelBrother/Reprise
Songwriter(s)Brian Wilson, Joe Knott, Mike Love
Producer(s)The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"Break Away"
(1969) 		"Add Some Music to Your Day"
(1970) 		"Cottonfields"
(1970)

"Add Some Music to Your Day" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys that was released in the US on February 23, 1970[1] as the lead single from their album Sunflower. It was written by Brian Wilson, Joe Knott, and Mike Love. Wilson later said that Knott "was a friend of mine who wasn't a songwriter but he contributed a couple of lines. But I can't remember which ones!"[2]

The song features lyrics that are a celebration of music and its ubiquitous presence in daily life.[3] In April, the single peaked at number 64 in the US[4] during a five-week stay.[2] Disc jockeys generally refused to play the song on the radio, with one DJ reportedly stating that the Beach Boys "aren't hip anymore".[5][6][4] According to band promoter Fred Vail, WFIL program director Jay Cook refused to play the song even after "telling me how great the Beach Boys are and how great Brian is."[4]

Cash Box said "the Beach Boys strike up a whole new brand of teen excitement tinged with a trace of their old 'Good Vibrations' work sparked with vitality."[7] Record World said it has "the same magic sounds that made them famous."[8] Billboard called it an "original, easy-beat rhythm number."[9]

In 2021, a new recording of the song (credited as a new iteration of California Music, which had been the name of a previous project featuring Bruce Johnston, Brian Wilson, Terry Melcher, Curt Boettcher, and others) was organized and produced by David Beard, the editor and publisher of the Beach Boys fanzine Endless Summer Quarterly. The new re-recording reunited Love, Al Jardine, and Johnston from the original recording, alongside fellow Beach Boy David Marks (who was not a member when the original version was recorded). It also featured several of the band members' children: Carnie and Wendy Wilson (daughters of Brian); Justyn Wilson (son of Carl); Christian, Hayleigh, and Ambha Love; and Matt Jardine. The single was released on April 23, 2021; it and an associated album) were both released by Omnivore Recordings as a benefit project for Feeding America during the COVID-19 pandemic. This re-recording of “Add Some Music To Your Day” was the first studio recording (and only to date) to feature Mike Love, Al Jardine, Johnston, and Marks together since the end of the 2011-2012 50th anniversary reunion.[10]

Personnel

Sourced from Craig Slowinski.[11]

The Beach Boys
Production staff

Charts

Chart (1970) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[4] 64

References

  1. ^ Badman 2004, pp. 264, 381.
  2. ^ a b White, Timothy (2000). Sunflower/Surf's Up (CD Liner). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records.
  3. ^ Carlin 2006, p. 151.
  4. ^ a b c d Badman 2004, p. 264.
  5. ^ Carlin 2006, p. 153.
  6. ^ Leaf 1978, p. 133.
  7. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. February 28, 1970. p. 28. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  8. ^ "Single Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. February 28, 1970. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  9. ^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. February 28, 1970. p. 72. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  10. ^ Greene, Andy (2021-02-26). "Hear the Beach Boys Reunite on Charity Re-Recording of 'Add Some Music to Your Day'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  11. ^ Slowinski, Craig (Summer 2020). "Sunflower: 50 Year Anniversary Special Edition (Issue 130, Volume 33, No. 3)". Endless Summer Quarterly Magazine (Magazine). Charlotte, North Carolina, USA: David Beard.

Sources

Categories