At Number 16, the Beach Boys with Sloop John B
"Sloop John B" is the seventh track on The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album and was also a single which was released in 1966 on Capitol Records. It was originally a traditional West Indies folk song, possibly recorded earliest by The Weavers under the title "Wreck of the John B", the song taken from a collection by Carl Sandburg (1927). Alan Lomax made a field recording of the song in Nassau, 1935, under the title "Histe Up the John B. Sail". This recording appears on the album Bahamas 1935: Chanteys And Anthems From Andros And Cat Island. The song was adapted by Weavers member Lee Hays. The recording of the song which directly influenced The Beach Boys was by The Kingston Trio.
This version was ranked #271 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The John B. was an old sponger boat whose crew were in the habit of getting notoriously merry whenever they made port. It was wrecked and sunk at Governor's Harbour in Eleuthera, the Bahamas, in about 1900.
The single, backed with the B side "You're So Good to Me", was released on March 21, 1966. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart on April 2, and peaked at #3 on May 7, remaining on the chart, in total, for 11 weeks. It also charted highly throughout the world, remaining as one of the Beach Boys' most popular and memorable hits.
In the film Forrest Gump, based on Winston Groom's novel, the song can be heard in the background playing on a radio as Lieutenant Dan, played by Gary Sinise, finishes his very cynical, revelatory lecture to Forrest and Bubba, played by Tom Hanks and Mykelti Williamson, respectively. The words, "This is the worst trip I've ever been on," help accentuate Forrest and Bubba's realization that they have arrived in a very tumultuous setting.
Labels: James G, The Summer of Love Countdown