This song started in the Bahamas as “The John B. Sails.” Richard Le Gallienne wrote down and published the lyrics in 1916 and a decade later the poet Carl Sandberg included a version in his The American Songbag.
By the 1950s, folk groups like the Weavers cut tracks and The Kingston Trio released a version in 1958 calling it “The Wreck of the John B.” You can see how the song was in the air and it eventually made its way to Al Jardine of the Beach Boys who got his bandmate Brian Wilson to listen. Like a sculptor given a large piece of granite, he took to chiseling away to unearth the gem that lay within, change the chord progression, altering the lyrics and some of the Beach Boys musical magic and we get “The Sloop John B” a top of the charts hit.
The song sounds good straight and retains its shape even when sung as part of a drunken midnight chorus.
#Songoftheday #Spreadinghappiness #TheBeachBoys #SloopJohnB #
YouTube: https://youtu.be/nSAoEf1Ib58?si=6CwlAWVfSCB2Mg1S
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2ULL3VZf4WwBKO4vjwT7Bg?si=15859e051b4e4a9b