Gettin' Hungry

"Gettin' Hungry"
Single by Brian Wilson & Mike Love
from the album Smiley Smile
B-side	"Devoted to You"
Released	August 28, 1967
Recorded	July 14, 1967
Studio	Beach Boys
Genre	R&B[1] soul[2]
Length	2:25
Label	Brother/Capitol
Songwriter(s)	Brian Wilson, Mike Love
Producer(s)	The Beach Boys
Brian Wilson singles chronology
"Caroline, No" (1966) "Gettin' Hungry" (1967) "Let's Go to Heaven in My Car" (1987)
Mike Love singles chronology
"Gettin' Hungry" (1967) "Lookin' Back with Love" (1981)
Licensed audio
"Gettin' Hungry" on YouTube

"Gettin' Hungry" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Smiley Smile. Credited on the label to Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was released as a single on August 28, 1967, the second and last released on the original iteration of Brother Records.[3]

Background

Asked for comment, Wilson said that he "just thought it would be a good single".[4] It is one of the few songs on Smiley Smile that lack a definite connection to the aborted Smile project.[5]

Recording

"Gettin' Hungry" was recorded at Brian Wilson's Bellagio home studio on July 14, 1967.[6]

Reception

Billboard reviewed "Gettin' Hungry" as an "unusual piece of material — as off-beat as their current 'Heroes and Villains' smash. Should prove to be an important chart item."[7] Cash Box said that the "use of abrupt changes of speed, overwhelming organ atmosphere and the sort of 'soul' sound that is Beach Boys" make the song "distinctive."[2]

Among biographers, Byron Preiss characterized it as "an odd combination of energetic chorus, electric bass, and bluesy meandering".[4] Mark Dillon noted the song as a "flop single".[1]

Cover versions

See also: List of cover versions of Beach Boys songs

• 1979 – Celebration, Celebration
• 1974 – The Faces
• 2012 – Keith Haman - from the album Total Electric
• 2013 – Seth Mankowski, Portland Sings The Beach Boys "Smiley Smile"

References

1. Dillon, Mark (June 1, 2012). Fifty Sides of the Beach Boys: The Songs That Tell Their Story. ECW Press. pp. 305–. ISBN 978-1-77090-198-8.
2. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. September 2, 1967. p. 32. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
3. Leaf, David (1990). Smiley Smile/Wild Honey (CD Liner). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records.
4. Preiss, Byron (1979). The Beach Boys. Ballantine Books. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-345-27398-7.
5. Lambert, Philip (2007). Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: the Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius. Continuum. p. 197. ISBN 978-0-8264-1876-0.
6. Doe, Andrew G. "Sessions 1967". Bellagio 10452. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
7. Reviews. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. September 2, 1967. p. 18. ISSN 0006-2510. {{cite book}}: |magazine= ignored (help)

External links

• Getting Hungry (Track & Background Vocals) on YouTube