The Beach Boys - Kiss Me, Baby (1965)

By late 1964, Brian Wilson was getting a bit bored with the “sun, cars, and surfing” themes which made up the majority of his group’s songs. Inspired by pop contemporaries like The Beatles and Bob Dylan who were exploring more sophisticated and mature themes of their own, Wilson decided to write something that wasn’t entirely based on “fun in the sun.”

What resulted was the poignant song below, highlighting Wilson’s range as a lyricist, as well as his rapidly developing talents in multi-layering and creating Phil Spector-like sounds. This was an early glimpse into the style and mood which would go on to dominated Pet Sounds roughly one year later.

Released in April 1965, the song’s instrumental backing was recorded in December 1964; and its vocals were recorded the following month in January 1965. Primarily composed and written by Brian Wilson, the song also had some contributions from Mike Love, who wrote the repeated backing vocals (“Kiss a little bit / Fight a little bit…”). The song was released as the B-Side to the group’s “Help Me, Rhonda.”



The Beach Boys - Kiss Me, Baby (1965)

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Lyrics:

Please don’t let me argue anymore
I won’t make you worry like before
Can’t remember what we fought about
Late, late last night we said it was over
But I remember when we thought it out
We both had a broken heart

(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Love to hold you
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Woah, baby)
Love to hold you

As I drove away I felt a tear
It hit me I was losing someone dear
Told my folks I would be alright
Tossed and I turned, my head was so heavy
Then I wondered as it got light
Were you still awake like me?

(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Love to hold you
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Woah, baby)
Love to hold you tight

(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Love to hold you
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Love to hold you
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
(Woah, baby)
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Love to hold you
(Kiss a little bit, fight a little bit)
Kiss me, baby…

The Beefeaters - Please Let Me Love You (1964)

As mentioned in yesterday's post, the roots of the iconic folk rock band, The Byrds, can be traced back to the solo folk days of its original members playing around coffeehouses in Los Angeles, California during the early '60s. When they first came together, Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark, and David Crosby chose the name The Jet Set. It was mentioned that David Crosby brought The Jet Set in to record at World Pacific Studios in Los Angeles, California. As mentioned, the band recorded a lot of demo material, but only one single, released under the name The Beefeaters. That single, “Please Let Me Love You” / “Don’t Be Long” was put out under the name “The Beefeaters” because the group wanted to cash in on the British Invasion and use a name that “sounded British.” The single, which was released on Elektra Records in October 1964, featured session musicians Ray Pohlman and Earl Palmer, members of the “Wrecking Crew” session musicians.

The song was released in October 1964, but failed to chart. It was written by Gene Clark, Jim McGuinn, and Harvey Gerst (a friend of McGuinn's from his early solo folk years). The song’s flip-side, “Don’t Be Long,” was later rewritten, rerecorded, and renamed “It Won’t Be Wrong” by the band (then going by the moniker The Byrds) for their Turn! Turn! Turn! album in 1965.



The Beefeaters - Please Let Me Love You (1964)

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Lyrics:

Please let me love you a while
Let me live in the warmth of your smile
Let them see you with me
Let them wish they could be
As lucky as me
To have you here
To hold you oh-so near
Oh yeah, oh yeah

Please let me love you today
Let me give you my heart right away
And we’ll walk in the sun
And we’ll tell everyone
Our new love has begun
Just you and me
Always
Oh yeah, oh yeah

And when I hold you, I feel- feel so high
And when I kiss you I could fly

Please let me love you a while
Let me live in the warmth of your smile
Let them see you with me
Let them wish they could be
As lucky as me
To have you here
To hold you oh-so near
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah