Sail on, Sailor

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"Sail On, Sailor"

Single by The Beach Boys
from the album Holland
Released	January 29, 1973 March 10, 1975
Format	Vinyl
Recorded	Unknown
Genre	Pop music
Length	3 min 18 sec
Label	Capitol Records
Producer(s)	The Beach Boys
Chart positions
• #79 (US) • #49 (US)
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"Marcella"/"Hold On Dear Brother" (1972) ---- "Child of Winter/Susie Cincinnati" (1974)	"Sail On, Sailor"/"Only with You" (1973) ---- "Sail On, Sailor"/"Only with You" (1975)	"California Saga: California"/"Funky Pretty" (1973) ---- "Rock And Roll Music"/"The TM Song" (1976)

Sail On, Sailor was the final song recorded for the 1973 Beach Boys album Holland. The song was written over a period of two years by Beach Boy Brian Wilson, along with Van Dyke Parks (Brian's lyricist for Smile), then-Beach Boys manager Jack Rieley, Ray Kennedy, and Tandyn Almer (composer of The Association's "Along Comes Mary").

When the Beach Boys submitted the original version of Holland to Warner Brothers in October 1972, the album was rejected by the company for lacking a potential hit single. After discussion among Warners executives, an associate, Van Dyke Parks, said that he had a tape of a song that he had cowritten with Brian Wilson entitled "Sail On, Sailor." Warners then told the Beach Boys to drop what the company perceived as the weakest track, "We Got Love," and replace it with the Wilson-Parks tune. The song eventually featured contributions (some dating back from 1971) from Ray Kennedy and Tandyn Almer, and underwent some lyrical revision from Beach Boys manager Jack Rieley.

"Sail On, Sailor" was recorded in late October 1972, some time after the Beach Boys had left Holland. However, Brian Wilson was not involved at all with the song's recording sessions, leaving the basic track to be recorded by Brian's brother Carl and ex-Flame and then-Beach Boys members Ricky Fataar and Blondie Chaplin. The lead vocal was first attempted by Dennis Wilson, who sang the vocal once before leaving to go surfing. Carl was the next to attempt a vocal, but he then suggested that Chaplin make an attempt. After two takes, Carl decided that Chaplin's vocal would feature as the lead.

"Sail On, Sailor" was released as a single in 1973, backed with "Only with You." However, the single only reached #79 on the singles charts. "Sail On, Sailor"/"Only with You" was rereleased in 1975, and ended up charting higher at #49. The song is still regarded as one of the Beach Boys' best songs of the 1970s, and one of Brian Wilson's last classic songs he wrote for the group.

Recent statements by Parks on Wilson's message board, however, suggest that the song was not really worked on by Wilson, but rather that Wilson gave him a few chords with a small melody. Parks claims that part of the reason it was so heavily stressed to be a mostly Wilson composition (indeed, Parks had to sue to gain any credits at all) is because Warner Brothers had demanded Wilson return to writing music and to the front of the band -- something Wilson was not willing to do.

It has also been stated by former Beach Boys engineer and mixer Steven Desper that the song was actually completed just after the release of Surf's Up in late 1971. The song was then remixed and a Blondie Chaplin vocal was rerecorded onto the original track.

The song recently featured in Martin Scorsese's Academy Award winning film The Departed, and on the motion picture soundtrack CD.

1 Van Dyke Parks on "Sail On, Sailor"
2 Original Holland sequence
3 Details
- 3.1 Performers
4 See also

[edit] Van Dyke Parks on "Sail On, Sailor"

"This is my first public comment on the authorship of this song.

Once upon a time, Brian Wilson owned a house on Bellagio Drive in Bel Air, California, (built by Edgar Rice Burroughs). I visited him there one day, with a trusty Sony tape recorder in hand, hoped to resurrect an aborted attempt at commercially successful song collaboration. Let me back-track.

I was working at Warner Brothers' Records at the time, both in A&R and in my newly developed office of "Audio Visual Services". The CEO of the company was Mo Ostin, the Executive V.P., A&R was Lenny Waronker. My influence on Mr. Ostin is best shown by a corporate "org.chart" of that period, which shows that my only superior officer was Mr. Ostin himself. I'd pressured Mo to sign the beleaguered Beach Boys to the label, in spite of industry-wide reservations about the group's ability to deliver. When I went to Bellagio Drive to work on a song with Brian, the entire group was in Holland, working on a record aptly titled "Holland" for delivery to the label.

Mo and Lenny had held great expectations for that record. They suggested that my working with Brian might goad him to similar creative heights reached in "Smile". Mo and Lenny were astonished that Brian wasn't participating in the album effort, and feeling somewhat deceived, thought I should step forward, as I was in large part, the reason for their commitment to the group.

Having only gotten a partial song out of that one meeting with Brian, I put the tape away, and lay low. I wanted to avoid getting involved with the internecine group dilemmas once again.

"Holland" arrived at the Burbank offices, DOA. It was the consensus of everyone in A&R, Promotion, and distribution, that "Holland" was "unreleaseable". Knowing the company's enormous investment, and the high stakes involved, I got out the tape cassette from my session with Brian that evening on Bellagio Dr., gave it a listen, and delivered it to the company with my assurance that it would solve all their problems.

On the tape (I gave my only copy to David Berson, Mr. Ostin's assistant), it's clear from the contents that I authored the words (and the musical intervals to) "Sail On Sail On Sailor". It's also clear that I composed the chords to the bridge, played them, and taught them to Brian.

Ecstatic, Mr. Ostin immediately messengered this tape (or a copy of it) to Amsterdam, and the Beach Boys were instructed to slap words on the verses and deliver it, as a pre-condition for their album's release.

When the song was delivered back to WB, it was designated as the single for the album. My name appeared as co-author on that first issue copy, with Brian's. After Ray Kennedy's lawsuit (claiming authorship of the lyrics), my name and participation diminished, and in some ensuing cases, I've been given no royalties or credit at all.

I understand that there was a general "feeding frenzy" around the tune's lyrics, as the Beach Boys regrouped back in L.A. I have no idea how many people may have been at those final vocal sessions, now claiming additional credit. That's none of my business. All I can attest to is my seminal contribution to "Sail On Sailor", and the authorship of that famous chorus.

Repeated questions about my role in this composition compel me to respond, as "history is written by the victors". I've always believed that honesty is the best course, and I'll be doing all I can to pursue this matter soon, to a just conclusion. I hope that the attorneys' fees don't outweigh the royalties involved. What can I say--it's a town full of heroes and villains!"

-- Van Dyke Parks.

[edit] Original Holland sequence

"Steamboat"
"California Saga: Big Sur"
"California Saga: The Beaks of Eagles"
"California Saga: California"
"We Got Love"
"The Trader"
"Leaving This Town"
"Only with You"
"Funky Pretty"

Note: "We Got Love" was written by Ricky Fataar, Blondie Chaplin, and Mike Love. A live version of the song appeared on the 1973 double-album The Beach Boys in Concert.