Marcella (song) explained

Marcella
Cover:Marcella Beach Boys.jpg
Type:single
Artist:the Beach Boys
Album:Carl and the Passions – "So Tough"
B-Side:Hold On Dear Brother
Genre:Rock
Length:3:54
Label:Brother/Reprise
Producer:The Beach Boys
Prev Title:You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
Prev Year:1972
Next Title:Sail On, Sailor
Next Year:1973

"Marcella" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1972 album Carl and the Passions – "So Tough". Written by Brian Wilson, Jack Rieley, and Tandyn Almer, the lyrics were inspired by Wilson's fixation with a local massage therapist.[1] It is the last song to feature Bruce Johnston during his original tenure in the band.[2]

Background

The verse melody of "Marcella" branched from an earlier track entitled "I Just Got My Pay" (recorded during sessions for Sunflower) which itself branched from another discarded song called "All Dressed Up for School" (recorded during the making of The Beach Boys Today!). Both songs were released on the 1993 box set .[3]

"Marcella" was written about a real woman that Wilson knew. Music journalist Nick Kent explains that she "worked at a parlour just off the strip called Circus Maximus" and had allowed Wilson to "stay and talk to her even though she was aware most of what he said was crazy bullshit."[4] According to Jack Rieley:

Wilson later said that one of the lead guitar parts was inspired by George Harrison's playing,[5] namely, Harrison's solo on "Let It Be" (1970).[6] On another occasion, Wilson said that the song "represents one of the first times we tried to emulate The Rolling Stones. In my mind, it was dedicated to the Stones, but I never told them that. It's one of the rockingest songs I ever wrote."[7]

Recording

"Marcella" was recorded on February 17, 1972 during the same session for "Out in the Country" and "Body Talk" at the Beach Boys' Bel Air studio.[8]

Release

"Marcella" (backed with "Hold On Dear Brother") was released on June 26, 1972 as the album's second single. It peaked at No. 110 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, No. 116 on the Cashbox singles chart and No. 129 on the Record World singles chart.[9]

Record World said it "is the Beach Boys at their very best."[10]

Personnel

Credits from Craig Slowinski, John Brode, Will Crerar and Joshilyn Hoisington.[11]

The Beach Boys

Additional musicians

Notes and References

  1. News: Guy. Timothy. FANTASY SPRINGS: Brian Wilson, Al Jardine bring 'Good Vibrations'. August 29, 2014. The Press Enterprise. August 26, 2014.
  2. Web site: Watch Brian Wilson and His Band's 2001 Soundcheck of 'Marcella' . 24 January 2022 .
  4. Book: Kent, Nick. Nick Kent. The Last Beach Movie Revisited: The Life of Brian Wilson. The Dark Stuff: Selected Writings on Rock Music. 1995. Da Capo Press. 0306806460. https://archive.org/details/darkstuffselecte0000kent/page/n21/. registration. 47.
  5. Book: Kubernik, Harvey. It Was Fifty Years Ago Today: The Beatles Invade America and Hollywood. 2014. Otherworld Cottage Industries. Los Angeles, CA. 978-0-9898936-8-8. 76.
  6. Web site: Kubernik . Harvey . Harvey Kubernik . July 2, 2021. Beach Boys "Feel Flows" Box Set . Music Connection . April 25, 2022.
  7. . The Beach Boys. 2002. Brian. Wilson. Brian Wilson. Capitol Records. CD Liner.
  8. Web site: Doe. Andrew G.. GIGS72. Bellagio 10452. Endless Summer Quarterly.
  9. Book: Badman, Keith. The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band, on Stage and in the Studio. registration. 2004. Backbeat Books. 978-0-87930-818-6. 320.
  10. Record World. July 1, 1972. 2023-03-30. Single Picks. 12.
  11. Web site: Sail On Sailor Sessionography . 2023-02-03 . The Beach Boys . en-US.

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