Song of the Day 6/13: Brian Wilson, “Caroline, No”
Brian Wilson’s musical genius was not matched by a way with words – he almost always co-wrote with a lyricist. For “Pet Sounds” he wanted to move beyond the teen-oriented tunes he composed with Mike Love, so he chose a new writing partner, a 26-year-old ad-jingle writer named Tony Asher.
Stories of how they met differ, but they hadn’t know each other long when he and Asher spent about three weeks working together, discussing themes and moods while Wilson worked at the piano. Asher, credited on eight of the album’s 13 tracks, later said they discussed “how wonderful it is when you first meet a girl and she looks great, and how terrible it is when you know you’ll be breaking up at any moment.”
Wilson, writing in his 1991 autobiography, said it was inspired by an old girlfriend.
I’d reminisced to Tony about my high school crush on Carol Mountain and sighed, “If I saw her today, I’d probably think, God, she’s lost something, because growing up does that to people.” But the song was most influenced by the changes [my first wife] Marilyn and I had gone through.
The title came about through a mondegreen. Asher wrote it as “Carol, I Know.” Wilson misheard it as “Caroline, No,” which they both thought superior.
“Caroline, No,” was Wilson’s first song credited to him alone, released as a single in March 1966, two months before it appeared on “Pet Sounds.” There are various explanations for the decision, most centering on the fact that, uncharacteristically for a Beach Boys record, there are no harmony parts.
The instrumentation includes bass flute and harpsichord; the intro’s percussion includes Wrecking Crew drummer Hal Blaine banging the bottom of an empty water cooler jug. Once the song was recorded, on the advice of his father, Murry, Wilson sped it up by a half-step so he’d sound younger.
The single was a flop, spending only seven weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping out at No. 32. Brian Wilson considered it the best song he had ever written.
The Beach Boys re-recorded the song for their 1996 album “Stars and Stripes, Vol. 1” with one of rock’s great high falsettos, Timothy B. Schmit taking Brian’s place on lead vocal. Unlike the original, it includes harmonies.
