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"Sumahama" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1979 album L.A. (Light Album). Written by Mike Love, it was lyrically inspired by his fiancée at the time, a woman named Sumako. The lyrics describe "a young girl who wants to go with her mother to a place called 'Sumahama' in search of her father."[1] Although some of the lyrics are in Japanese, Sumako was of Korean descent.[1]
| "Sumahama" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by the Beach Boys | ||||
| from the album L.A. (Light Album) | ||||
| A-side | "It's a Beautiful Day" | |||
| Released | September 1979 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 4:07 (album) 4:28 (single) | |||
| Label | Caribou | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Mike Love | |||
| Producer(s) | Bruce Johnston, The Beach Boys, James William Guercio | |||
| The Beach Boys singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background edit
It was originally written by Mike Love for his unreleased solo album, First Love.[citation needed] When the release of that project fell through, the song was rerecorded by the Beach Boys.
The original United States LP release of the L.A. (Light Album) featured a version of "Sumahama" that faded out early during the final Japanese verse and did not feature the instrumental ending present on the later released 45 or the re-released CD version of the album. The original LP version of the song was approximately four minutes and seven seconds.
Single release edit
In the U.S., "Sumahama" was released as a B-side to the single "It's a Beautiful Day".
"Sumahama" was released as a single in the UK backed with "Angel Come Home", charting at number 45.[2]
Personnel edit
Per Craig Slowinski.[3]
The Beach Boys
- Mike Love – lead vocals
- Carl Wilson - backing vocals
- Bruce Johnston - backing vocals
Additional musicians
- Murray Adler - violin
- Roberleigh Barnhart - cello
- Myer Bello - viola
- Alfred Breuning - violin
- Isabelle Daskoff - violin
- Earle Dumler - oboe
- Jesse Ehrlich - cello
- Bryan Garofalo - bass guitar
- Igor Horoshevsky - cello
- Bill House - guitar
- Bernard Kundell - violin
- William Kurasch - violin
- Gayle Levant - harp
- Joy Lyle - violin
- Brian O’Connor - French horn
- Earl Palmer - drums
- Joel Peskin - flute
- Jay Rosen - violin
- Sid Sharp - violin
- Barbara Thomason - cello
- Tommy Vig - vibraphone
- Jai Winding - Fender Rhodes
- Herschel Wise - viola
- Tibor Zelig - violin
References edit
- ^ a b Love, Mike (2016). Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 446. ISBN 978-0-698-40886-9.
- ^ "beach boys | Album Search | Official Charts". www.officialcharts.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-02.
- ^ Slowinski, Craig (Spring 2015). Beard, David (ed.). "THE BEACH BOYS' - L.A. (Light Album)". Endless Summer Quarterly Magazine. No. 109. Charlotte, North Carolina.