This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: "Lady Lynda" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
"Lady Lynda"
Single by the Beach Boys
from the album L.A. (Light Album)
B-side"Full Sail"
ReleasedJune 1979
RecordedJuly–November 1978
Genre
Length3:58
LabelBrother/Caribou/CBS
Songwriter(s)Alan Jardine
Ron Altbach
Producer(s)Bruce Johnston
The Beach Boys
James William Guercio
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"Good Timin'"
(1979) 		"Lady Lynda"
(1979) 		"It's a Beautiful Day"
(1979)

"Lady Lynda" is a song written by vocalist/guitarist Al Jardine and touring keyboardist Ron Altbach for American rock band the Beach Boys. It was released on the band's 1979 album L.A. (Light Album). Its melody is based on "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by J. S. Bach.

The opening harpsichord is played by Sterling Smith. The lyrics to the song refer to Jardine's then-wife, Lynda Jardine. After the two divorced, the song was rewritten as "Lady Liberty", a tribute to the Statue of Liberty.

Record World said it has "a big production sound and liberal synthesizer/string textures."[2]

The song peaked at No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart.[3] It also reached No. 39 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart.[4] The song was edited for single release with the single version dropping the harpsichord introduction present on the album version.

Personnel

Credits from Craig Slowinski[5]

Lady Lynda

The Beach Boys

Additional musicians

Full Sail

The Beach Boys

Additional musicians

References

  1. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  2. ^ "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. August 25, 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  3. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 48. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 29.
  5. ^ Slowinski, Craig (Spring 2015). Beard, David (ed.). "THE BEACH BOYS' - L.A. (Light Album)". Endless Summer Quarterly Magazine. No. 109. Charlotte, North Carolina.
  6. ^ "Lady Lynda: A Masterpiece". smileysmile.net.
Categories