Who Did It Better? Darlin'

Who Did It Better? 

Darlin'

Some songs become perennial favorites because artists belonging to various generations keep them alive - and appearing on the charts. Such is the case with today's Who Did It Better? chestnut of a song, which surprisingly turns out to be the all-time favorite of a certain someone.

 Darlin' is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love and recorded by the Beach Boys for their 1967 album Wild Honey. 

It began life back in February, 1964 under the title Thinkin' 'Bout You Baby. That version was first recorded in April of 1964 by Sharon Marie, a teenage singer Love had met in June of 1963 at a Beach Boys concert. Love would get her signed to the Beach Boys' label, Capitol Records, with Wilson working behind the board.

Sharon Marie

As Wilson recalled: "I was writing more in a soul/R&B bag. The horns were conceived as a Phil Spector kind of a horn thing. That song took about a week to write."

Unfortunately, the song and the singer went nowhere fast. 

Years later, Wilson revisited the song, taking inspiration from singer Danny Hutton, who, at the time, had a tendency to call everyone 'darlin'. It was Wilson's intention that Hutton and an early version of what would later become Three Dog Night record the song. However, though the group, then known as Redwood, did record a guide vocal, a completed recording never materialized. This was due to an intervention of sorts. Beach Boy members, Mike Love and Carl Wilson, sensing a potential hit, insisted that Brian focus his attention on producing work for the Beach Boys. In the end, the song was reserved for the next Beach Boys next album, with Carl singing the lead vocal.

In an interview, Wilson later recalled, "Darlin' was for Three Dog Night. They recorded it and said, 'No, you can have it.'  - so I gave it to Carl to sing." When asked what songs worked best for Carl Wilson's voice, Brian responded, "Wow, well Darlin', of course. Carl did an amazing vocal on that song."

Released on December 18, 1967 as the second single from Wild Honey with Here Today as the flipside, Darlin' peaked at #19 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #11 in the UK. It also hit #10 in New Zealand, #15 in Switzerland, #17 in the Netherlands and #28 in Australia. 

In 1968, The Paper Dolls, a British female vocal trio from Northampton recorded a version of Darlin' for their sole album Paper Doll House on Pye Records. The group had enjoyed a one-off hit, Something Here In My Heart (Keeps A Tellin' Me No) in the UK and the album followed. The name of the group was suggestive of 'dolly birds', a term which journalist Christopher Booker associated with "girls transformed into throwaway plastic objects." Comprised of lead vocalist Susie 'Tiger' Mathis, Pauline 'Spyder' Bennett and Sue 'Copper' Marshall, each member of the group was assigned a nickname, not unlike the Spice Girls three decades later.

1975 found former teen idol David Cassidy leaving his old label, Bell Records, for a fresh start on RCA. His first for his new label and fifth overall solo album, The Higher They Climb, The Harder They Fall was produced by Cassidy and Beach Boy member Bruce Johnston. While the album did little to reverse his fortunes in the US, overseas the album's singles did quite well - the second being the Johnston-penned I Write The Songs (the subject of a future Who Did It Better? post) and the third, a version of the Beach Boys Darlin'.

Cassidy's version of Darlin' would peak at #16 in the UK. In addition, it went #1 in South Africa, #20 in Ireland and #38 in Germany.

 

In 1977, Paul Davis, who had been recording since 1970 and enjoyed a number of minor hits on Bang Records, released his fifth album for the label, Singer Of Songs, Teller Of Tales, which included his breakthrough hit, I Go Crazy. His version of Darlin' would serve as the second single. Released on March 23, 1978, his take on the song, featuring Susan Collins, would land at #51 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #37 in Canada. 

Asked in 2015 which song that he'd written was his all-time favorite, Wilson cited Darlin', saying: "I just like the melody."

And that's the whole story.

Now? On to the competition.

The Song: Darlin'

The Competitors: The Beach Boys vs. The Paper Dolls vs. Cassidy vs. Davis

Darlin' - The Beach Boys

Darlin' - Paper Dolls

Darlin' - David Cassidy

Darlin' - Paul Davis

The Beach Boys

Those are some punchy horns. I am amazed Chicago never recorded this one. 

Great energy from the get-go. Now, keep in mind you are listening to a remastered version - so everything is super crisp and lively. Still, I have a feeling that's likely true of the original, too. This would have sounded great on AM radio - a real wake-up call. 

And Carl sounds in fine form on those first two lines, but then goes all pinched for the next two. He's a serviceable singer, but a bit limited. He sounds strained and strident throughout.

Interesting use of the bass clef on the acoustic piano.  

This brings to mind Spiral Staircases' More Today Than Yesterday and Chicago's Only The Beginning.

And, of course, the rest of the Beach Boys sound amazing as always when it comes to harmonies and backing vocals. So tight and precise. 

Wow.. and it fades away much too soon. 

Not my favorite Beach Boys recording by a long shot, but they're very focused here. Love the energy.  

The Paper Dolls

Oh, dear. Those horns. Very upper crust. And a flank of backing vocals, too. 

Susie Mathis has a lovely voice - a sweet smile to it - as striking as those bells which guide our way. Sounds a bit silly, but still appealing. They've sort of shorn off the edges a bit, no? 

I always love when the other two vocalists in a female trio - the ones assigned to backing vocals - chime in and sound just a tad bored. 

Okay... I love the backing vocals. They are so deadpan. 

As for the horns and strings... its variety show time, for sure. This arrangement is aimed at the cocktail party set. It has a lot of charm and captures an era perfectly. I would have loved a video of Mr. Humphries and Mrs. Slocombe, wearing party hats, drinking gin and sashaying to this. 

Oh, dear... that instrumental break goes nowhere fast. That's a shame. They should have brought back the bells and that trumpet and let them have a go at it. No energy. Such a waste... 

And the play off? Well... a bit of a shrug, isn't it? A tad undercooked.

David Cassidy

Now Bruce Johnston, who would have been singing a part of the harmonies backing Carl Wilson on the original, produced this version with Flo & Eddy from the Troggs (Wild Thing) on backing vocals. Flo & Eddy were in big demand for backing vocals during the day - as they worked with members of the Beatles, the Byrds, CSN&Y, the Who, Jefferson Airplane and The Doors, Nilsson, Alice Cooper, Blondie and Bruce Springsteen.

So, that's a drag race car being revved, believe it or not. Very tinny. And lots of reverb and a rather gothic cathedral reading to those intro vocals.

The arrangement and band are tight, but oddly mixed all in a jumble. Cassidy rides on top and is doing his smarmy/charming act. It's a pity he never took vocal lessons. Lots of bad habits, like leaning into his 'R's and he doesn't seem to know how to pop the top off a note. His worst being... and this is also part of his signature sound - he sort of locks his jaw or he sings from it... I'm not sure which. It inhibits sound and it is the reason he's not popping those notes - he's grounding his sound. 

He and Eddy & Flo sound great together. Lots of punch and energy. I like what the percussion is doing on the chorus... a lot. That said, I wish Johnston had found a way to blend the vocals together more on the chorus. I know I typically complain that there's not enough separation in a mix, but the opposite is true here. It lacks cohesion. Or maybe its an odd pairing? 

The instrumental break works, for the most part. Cassidy possesses a lot of charm and it serves him well, here. Very punchy. I keep using that word, but it's true. 

I know what it is on the chorus! Flo & Eddy are competing too much with Cassidy's lead. So dovetailing them into one another? Not a good idea... but turning the knobs down on Flo & Eddy might have fixed this. Yes, their energy is vital to the success of this, but toning them down might be what's needed. 

At the 2:50 mark, I am done with this. The Beach Boys ended at 2:13 and The Paper Dolls at 2:00 on the dot. So... why are we subject to another 30 seconds? Ah, because we return to the intro... twice. Actually... a nice touch. I like it. 

Paul Davis

Oh, lord no. Talk about taking all the fun out of something. And that female spoken word bit... ick. 

This is so weird. I hear the bell in there. Is this... is this disco lite? This is what disco would have been had funk and soul not had a lot of influence. 

Oddly enough, Davis has the vocal chops to pull this off. Maybe. His vocals are so oddly treated. Weird that the keyboards are doing the counter melody. This sounds like someone took a hot iron and flattened a fun time. 

Collins is okay. She sings in a straight line, though. But I do like her rasp. Suzi Quatro would have been an inspired choice.

The backing vocals are a bit too Vegas for me. Nothing organic about this. I think that's what makes Cassidy's version and the original work so well.. they're very in the moment, very 'live' feeling. This is sort of sugar-coated and somewhat brightly colored - you know, like cereal with no nutritional value whatsoever. 

UGH. A saxophone solo? What in the world? OH. It's 1978. Everything had a sax solo, thank you Gerry Rafferty/Raphael Ravenscroft and Clarence E. Clemons. And the vocals are dreadful. 

Nope. Can't with this. 

Collins isn't up to the task. She's a capable, limited vocalist, but she's having to compete with way too much trash instrumentation.

Oddly, this doesn't even work as variety show fodder, because it does such a disservice to the song. 

The Verdict

This didn't go the way I thought it would.

I adored Paul Davis' hit I Go Crazy. Played it on the piano and sang it over and over again. So, even though I've never heard the album it came from, I thought his would be the one I would like best... nope. 

The Paper Dolls, whose version is ten years older and aimed at the elevator music crowd sound more hip and interesting than Davis' take on it. That said, there is a definite appeal to The Paper Dolls recording - in a campy, cocktail lounge sort of way. 

Cassidy, Johnston and Flo & Eddy certainly mean well. And it's sort of fun, if you forgive all the poor choices made on the part of Johnston, and Cassidy's odd way of singing. The energy and spirit is there. 

And The Beach Boys are actually spot on - except Carl isn't a great vocalist either - not even as good as Cassidy. 

Of the voices here, Davis has the best pipes. But he's undone by a really crappy arrangement. Who thought that was a good idea? 

So... I'm going with Cassidy. The Beach Boys production and arrangement are stellar, but Carl sort of ruins it for me. I think had Brian sung lead, this would have been a huge hit and sounded even better. 

Cassidy's version has the same energy and drive that The Beach Boys brought to the table, plus his singing is better than Carl Wilson's. Oh, and I really like that intro/outro. Great idea and well executed.

--- ---

And that's enough of me.

Now? It's your turn. You know what to do; leave your thoughts and choice in the comments section. 

Until next time...

Thanks for reading... and listening!

Darlin' - David Cassiday feat. Flo & Eddie

1977