Getcha Back
1985 single by the Beach Boys
"Getcha Back" is a song written by Mike Love and Terry Melcher for the American rock band the Beach Boys, on their 1985 album The Beach Boys. It was the band's first release since the drowning death of Dennis Wilson in 1983. The song peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Musically, the backing vocals resemble those from the 1959 hit "Hushabye" by the Mystics, which the Beach Boys had covered in 1964 for their All Summer Long album. Comparisons could also be made to Bruce Springsteen's 1980 hit "Hungry Heart", which Love later recorded a cover of for a tribute album.
01Reception
Cash Box said the song "so wonderously recalls [the Beach Boys'] earlier times and earlier sounds."
Allmusic's William Ruhlmann stated that "despite the production sheen provided by Steve Levine (of Culture Club fame), this is another competent but uninspired effort."
02Music video
The music video, directed by Dominic Orlando, was filmed on location in Malibu and Venice, California. It featured a then-unknown Katherine Kelly Lang, who went on to play Brooke Logan on the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.
03Personnel
Credits sourced from Craig Slowinski, John Brode, Will Crerar and Joshilyn Hoisington.
The Beach Boys
- Al Jardine - backing vocals
- Bruce Johnston - backing vocals
- Mike Love - lead and backing vocals
- Brian Wilson - co-lead and backing vocals
- Carl Wilson - backing vocals
Session musicians
- John Alder - electric and acoustic guitars
- Graham Broad - jingle stick, tambourine, castanets, maracas, bongos
- Steve Grainger - baritone saxophone
- Steve Levine - Fairlight CMI and LinnDrum programming, producer
- Julian Lindsay - Kurzweil K250, PPG Wave 2.3, Yamaha DX1, bass guitar
- Terry Melcher - backing vocals, Kurzweil K250
04Chart positions
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 81 |
| Austria Media Control | 8 |
| Canada Top Singles | 26 |
| Canada RPM Adult Contemporary | 4 |
| European Airplay Top 50 | 22 |
| Germany Media Control | 12 |
| UK Singles | 97 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 26 |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary | 2 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 | 25 |
| US Cash Box Jukebox Programmer | 20 |
| US Gavin Report Top 40 | 17 |
| US Gavin Report Adult Contemporary | 1 |
| US Radio & Records Contemporary Hit Radio | 23 |
| US Radio & Records Adult Contemporary | 2 |
05Cover versions
Mark McGrath, lead singer of the California rock band Sugar Ray, performed a cover of this song for the soundtrack of Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005). The Beach Boys version appears at the beginning, during the flashback of Herbie's racing career and adventures during the opening credits.
Mike Love re-recorded the song for his 2017 solo album Unleash the Love. This version features altered lyrics and a new third verse, and features John Stamos on percussion.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Getcha Back”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Beach Boys - Getcha Back.jpg by Unknown author, Fair use
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