Under the Boardwalk
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| “Under the Boardwalk” | |||||
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| Single by The Drifters | |||||
| Released | June 1964 | ||||
| Format | 7" single | ||||
| Genre | Soul/Pop | ||||
| Length | 2:45 | ||||
| Label | Atlantic 8099 |
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| Writer(s) | Kenny Young, Arthur Resnick | ||||
| Producer | Bert Berns | ||||
| The Drifters singles chronology | |||||
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"Under the Boardwalk" is a hit pop song written by Kenny Young and Arthur Resnick and recorded by The Drifters in 1964. (US Pop Singles: #4)
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[edit] Premise
The lyric describes a tryst between a man and his beloved in a seaside town (Myrtle Beach, SC), who plan to privately meet "out of the sun" and out of sight from everyone else under a boardwalk. The instrumentation includes güiro, triangle and violins. The song's chorus is unusual in that it switches from a major to minor key.[1] The song occasionally quotes the chorus of the Drifters' prior hit "Up on the Roof".
[edit] History
The song was set to be recorded on May 21, 1964, but the band's lead singer, Rudy Lewis, unexpectedly died of a heroin overdose the night before. Lewis had sung lead on all of their hits since the 1960 departure of Ben E. King, including "Up on the Roof". Rather than reschedule the studio session to find a new frontman, former Drifters backup singer Johnny Moore was brought back to perform lead vocals for the recording.[2] The last-minute move was a success, as the single, released on Atlantic Records, went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
"Under the Boardwalk" has since been covered many times, including The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, John Mellencamp, The Undertones, Bette Midler, and Tom Tom Club. Versions by Billy Joe Royal, Bruce Willis (a #2 success in the UK), and Lynn Anderson (#24 on the Country singles) all reached the Billboard charts.
A cajun-tinged swamp pop parody of the song, "(Holly Beach) Under the Boardwalk" by Kenny Tibbs (Kenny Thibodeaux) and the Jokers was released in 1991 and was a perennial Louisiana jukebox favorite until Hurricane Rita virtually wiped out the small seaside resort of Holly Beach, Louisiana in 2005.
The song ranked #487 on Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ All Music Guide entry by Richie Unterberger
- ^ Gammond, Peter (1991). The Oxford Companion to Popular Music. Oxford University Press, New York. p. 165.
