Sloop John B
Sloop John B is a million seller by the Beach Boys from 1966, which goes back to a Caribbean folk song of 1917.
Genesis
Both text and titles have changed several times over the years. John B. Sails is cited as a folk song in the 1917 published novel Pieces of Eight by Richard Le Gallienne. The quoted location leaves open, however, whether the song was created for the novel or existed already. The latter is to be assumed, as Le Gallienne the lyrics presented previously with another verse in the magazine Harper's. He was then taken into account in 1927 in the folk collection by Carl Sandburg.
The first recording comes as Exterior ( " Field recording" ) music researcher Alan Lomax, as this Cleveland Simmons Group recorded in July 1935 Histe Up The John B. Sails in Old Bight Cat Iceland (Bahamas ). After this recording of the folk song for a time forgotten. Another time is the song in Alan Lomax 's book Folk Songs of North America in 1944 recorded (page 530 # 280).
Sloop is in English usage an unclassified military sloop of no more than 16 feet long (4.88 m), known as merchant ship sloop version. In the Caribbean, this one-masted ships were used, usually with a crew of two for transporting goods between the islands. The ship's name " John B " stood for Captain John Bethel, one of the first settlers walisischstämmigen on Eleuthera / Bahamas. The original text of the tragic- comic songs is about a occupied with 2 passengers ship, the drunk got into a fight and a port longed for. The sung sloop sank in 1900 near Governor's Harbour, the administrative capital of Eleuthera. The wreck was discovered in 1926 in front of Nassau ( Bahamas) and Sandburg had probably made to capture the song in his collection.
Early cover versions
Title and text of a shanty to qualifying songs made by a number of morphologies after the folk group The Weavers the song under the title (The Wreck of the ) John B on November 3, 1950 had recorded ( Decca # 27332 ). Lee Hays of the Weavers had the copyright-free public domain song adapted so that henceforth Carl Sandburg and Lee Hays frequently appeared as a composer.
First cover version was seen the single from the Caribbean guitarist and calypso singer Alphonso "Blind Blake" with his Royal Victoria Hotel Calypso Orchestra, who as John B. Sail 1952 took up ( Art Records # 2 ) and only adapted the chorus, Stan Wilson took him by the August 10, 1955 for the LP Ballads and Calypso on ( Verve MGV # 2019), Terry Gilkyson & the Easy Riders followed under the title Send For de Captain (LP Marianne and Other songs, Columbia # C -990, March 1957).
The Kingston Trio considered him as Wreck of the John B on his debut LP The Kingston Trio (title taken on February 5, 1958, published on June 2, 1958, Capitol # 996 ) and remained with the calypso -like roots of the original. Johnny Cash changed the title to I Want to Go Home (recorded on March 12, 1959 published in September 1959 on the LP Songs of Our Soil, Columbia CS- 8148 ). Jimmie Rodgers again returned to an earlier Title Version The Wreck of the John B back (LP At Home With Jimmie Rodgers, June 1960; Roulette # 4260 ), Lonnie Donegan adapted it as I Wanna Go Home (recorded in February 1960, published In May 1960,, Pye 7N # 15267 ), the tokens brought him under the title Wreck of the John B out (LP the Lion Sleeps Tonight, December 1961, RCA Victor # 2514 ), the Brothers Four titled with John B Sails (LP the Big Folk Hits, Oct. 1963, Columbia # 2033 ), Jerry Butler shortened to John B (LP Folk Songs, March 1963; Vee Jay # 1057 ), the British alienated Them to Go On Home Baby ( LP the Angry Young Them June 1965; Decca LK # 4700) or Barry McGuire attacked again on Sloop John B back (LP Eve of Destruction; September 1965; Dunhill # 50003 ).
Version of the Beach Boys
During the July 12, 1965 commencing recording session for the album Pet Sounds Folk lovers Alan Jardine suggested his group The Beach Boys, also pick up the song; However, producer and group member Brian Wilson did not want to take the comprehensive 3 chords song of the Kingston Trio at first. Already on July 12, created in 1965 at Western Recorders Takes requiring the 14 music track, but it was not changed for some time. As a sideman playing with sound engineer Chuck Britz Jay Migliori (clarinet ), Steve Douglas and Jim Horn ( flute ), Frank Capp (bells), Carol Kaye ( Fender bass ), Lyle Ritz ( bass), Al Casey and Jerry Cole ( guitars), Al De Lory (organ), Jack Nimitz (baritone saxophone) and Hal Blaine (drums) with.
The actual work on the album began before 1 November 1965. In December 1965, Brian Wilson asked the session guitarist Billy Strange, the already recorded guitar part of the existing music track to Sloop John B to cover up what happened only on 22 and 29 December 1965. As Strange traveled all without guitar, Wilson bought him an electric red 12-string Fender Stratocaster guitar with amplifier, which he left Strange along with U.S. $ 500 for the session.
From album Sloop John B was released as a single and released on 21 March 1966. The single sold 500,000 copies within 2 weeks, came up to rank 3 of the U.S. pop charts before and was sold more than 1 million times. In nine other states, including Germany, Austria and Switzerland, he even reached the top position. Sloop John B was placed as seventh track on the album Pet Sounds, the first scored weak sales after publication on 16 May 1966; Columbia Records requested until late 1999, when the RIAA Gold status and had sales of 670,000 copies for this purpose since 1986 after. It took 34 years to 11 February 2000 to the RIAA the influential album to Gold status awarded - a first in the music industry.
Other cover versions
Even after the Beach Boys many other cover versions were released. Cover info lists 55 versions, but probably there are well over 200 The duo Peter & Alex brought in 1966 in a timely manner, the German version with the title We want to go home ' on the market ( Polydor # 52674 ) and was the first forerunner of the many German versions with other titles and texts. Bruce Low has such a German text version under the title Sloop John B. Many English versions followed. Van Morrison, Lonnie Donegan and Chris Barber brought the song on their CD Skiffle Sessions as I Wanna Go Home ( recorded live on 20 and 21 January 1998 Belfast, published in January 2000) out. We should also mention Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (March 2001) and Simple Minds (May 2009).