Jump on in, ma’am! The water’s so blue!
If you believe they put a man on the moon, then maybe you’d believe The Nest has some more Monday muzak for your ears that’s as classy as Mr. Fred Blassie. Yep, it’s time to get our shovel and dig up another moon rock that’s no longer visible to the naked eye straight out of that lunar module of green cheese we like to call the Dusty Vinyl Archive! DJ Scratchy’s got her moon boots on for the occasion…. no wait, she wears them all the time anyway. She’s special. While the Sponkies look up our past fascination with space travel online to see what all the fuss was about. Here’s a truck stop instead of St. Peter…
The Beach Boys need no introduction. You know who they are, you know the sound, and you know all their hits. They might be the quintessential American band…
That still doesn’t excuse them for this horrific earworm….
Well, at least you remember the Beach Boys in their heyday… when they were fighting the Fab Four for radio airplay in the 1960’s. Other than… the aforementioned atrocity, there wasn’t much these California boys did that stuck around for the long haul once the swinging 70’s rolled around. But Brian Wilson and Co. were still making music… and in 1973 they recorded a song that despite failing to make the Top 40, has hung around the very periphery of known rock music for over four decades now. And if you didn’t know it was them, you’d never guess it was a Beach Boys song…
“Sail On, Sailor” was a late addition, and the only semi-hit to come from the 1973 album Holland… so named because the group didn’t record it in some hut off the coast of California, but in that surfing mecca of The Netherlands.
Time to hang ten, dudes!
While “Sailor” barely receives any radio airplay these days, it is apparently much beloved by those satellite muzak stations that provide the ambiance to your shopping and dining experience. In America at least, I’d say there’s a good chance you’ve probably heard this song at some point in your lives while you’ve been out and about… you just probably never paid much attention to it.
What kind of weirdo pays any attention to muzak anyway… oh, that’s right… YOU DO!!!
While their rivals The Beatles may have had much more famous acrimony and drama, make no mistake that the Beach Boys were a hot mess of a group as well. Fronted by the eccentric and troubled musical genius Brian Wilson and the cocky, egotistical Mike Love… there was plenty of popcorn worthy moments in this band’s history. Just check out the article on “Sail On, Sailor” to see how many members and pseudo-members of the band claimed credit for creating it, and how Brian Wilson gifted and then suddenly took back the song from the then-more popular Three Dog Night.
Oh, and while either Mike Love or Brian sang lead on almost every well known Beach Boys song… “Sail On, Sailor” was vocalized by that legendary Beach Boy Blondie Chaplin. Wait… who!?!?!?
Either that’s one shitty nickname, or the carpet doesn’t match the drapes…
Yeah, who knew? And thus why “Sail On, Sailor” is probably the least Beach Boys sounding Beach Boys hit… but one that somehow endears itself to me as a favorite of the band’s.
I’ll surf your way next week with another lost hit that promises to be fun, fun, fun…
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
There was always something about this song that I liked…..the chorus maybe? Just an easy sound overall. This is a good remix………as for recording it in the Netherlands – well – that was a smart move – they do know how to groove there. Yep, sure do. Thanks for the pleasant earworm.
Pam
They DO know how to groove there, as I’ve had songs from Dutch bands on the DVA three times now! We could use some of their dike building expertise today, as this song wound up being a real appropriate selection for me this morning since I almost literally had to sail home due to flash flooding!
Saw that river by your house…..you really DID get a lot of rain. Bet you’re glad you don’t have a basement!
Pam
I like this song… it is perfect for sitting in the sun after a bad day with a cold drink while thinking oh f… you all (the intro is identic with an electric shaver my grampy once had lol)
LOL! I love how music can somehow remind us of weird things.
I do like this song. It leaves me with nothing snarky, weird, or unusual to say. I don’t even have any Dutch jokes. It is a nice way to start the week.
That’s good. I would hate to offend any Dutch readers I might have. Who knows, I might be big over there…
I forgot about his song, and tried to forget Kokomo because as you mentioned, it’s an atrocity to the ear and it was over played when it came out, ugh the songmanity. Anyway, thanks once again to the Nest/DJ Scratchy for this long lost treasure or at least for me anyway. 😉
I love how almost everyone I know agrees that Kokomo is a piece of shit song! And it came out around the same time as “Don’t Worry Be Happy” which was also overplayed to death and I hate almost as much…
And both “Don’y Worry Be Happy” and “Kokomo” came from the soundtrack of the movie “Cocktail”…just one more reason to hate Tom Cruise.
I’ll have to listen after my cleaner goes home. I don’t need her calling those men in white coats when she hears me singing…
And it’s only fun, fun, fun til someone’s T-bird gets taken away…. 😉
Useless little trivia factoid: The Beach Boys came to Utah and recorded a song about our one and only ‘theme’ park – Lagoon. Here’s the link if you want to hear that song. I don’t think ear worms are involved, but I could be wrong.
I would have never guessed that the Beach Boys did a song about Salt Lake City! Just like I’d have never guessed they spent time writing songs in Holland. But as soon as I hit play on the video, I knew it was a Beach Boys song. They sure made a wide variety of music that all has that same sound to it…
You’re right – I’m sure I have heard that many times while out and about and I never would have guessed it was The Beach Boys. But did you have to go and mention Kokomo? Just seeing the word made the chorus start spinning around in my head!
Think of pleasant things to get that dreadful song out of your mind! Squirrels. Cool weather. Uncle Snuggie….
Agreed with everything here. Kokomo does not, and never did, thrill me to put it mildly, and it is unfortunate that it was one of their biggest hits considering all of the great records they made. Then again, think of the songs that Chuck Berry wrote that helped build the very foundation of rock ‘n roll, then sadly consider that his biggest hit was “My Ding-a-Ling”. That scenario is unfortunately not an isolated one. Also agree that Sail on Sailor is a great song and one of the few really good ones they recorded post 60’s. I would add to the list the songs This Whole World, Forever (featuring a rare Dennis Wilson lead vocal), Good Timin’, their reunion single from a few years ago, That’s Why God Made The Radio, and especially this one from 1971. The lyrics, like Kansas’ Dust in the Wind, are enough to sink you into a three-day depression, but the harmonies are beautiful beyond compare. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46IQu0yuJzU
Geez, I got depressed just from looking at the album art. That song wasn’t my cup of tea, but you’re right that the harmonies are pretty good…
Well, this is one of their songs I don’t ever remember hearing. It was just meh for me. Now Kokomo I always did like. Oh well. 🙂
HA! Different strokes and all of that! As the great defender of disco, I know what it’s like to love songs that everyone else seem to revile…
I remember that song! I never knew that was The Beach Boys. That’s the only song of theirs I ever liked then.
There you go! It’s weird how that song’s just kinda been out there, and you’d really never guess it was the Beach Boys. The first time I looked it up online, I was sure all the references to teh Beach Boys had to simply be for a cover…
We saw the Beach Boys in concert after a Reds baseball game. It was one of the best concerts I’ve seen, not because I’m a big fan of the BB but because the whole concert was so well done. That was decades ago, but their fun sound still makes me smile.
I sure hope it wasn’t hot that day, because I know Cincinnati’s stadium at the time had artificial turf, and that stuff makes the whole stadium feel like an oven in the summer. I think even the Beach Boys would find the Midwestern humid heat oppressive….
Wasn’t never of a BB fan but this is a good song. Thank you ever so much that it wasn’t Kokomo…one of the worst tunes ever that always makes me want to wretch my guts out. 🤮
Quite a pleasant song, but completely not Beach Boys-sounding. That’s what you get for recording it in Holland.