The Little Girl I Once Knew
| "The Little Girl I Once Knew" | ||||
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| Single by The Beach Boys | ||||
| B-side | "There's No Other (Like My Baby)" | |||
| Released | November 27, 1965 [1] | |||
| Format | 7" vinyl | |||
| Recorded | October 13 & 24, 1965 Western Studios |
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| Genre | Rock, pop | |||
| Length | 2:35 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Writer(s) | Brian Wilson | |||
| Producer | Brian Wilson | |||
| The Beach Boys singles chronology | ||||
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"The Little Girl I Once Knew" is a song written by Brian Wilson for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released in November 1965 as a single 45 rpm, backed by "There's No Other (Like My Baby)", and reached #15 on the Cash Box chart, #20 on Billboard. On the UPI (United Press International) chart, quoted by newspapers across the United States, it placed at #4 -- the same position it peaked at the 'pirate' station Radio London serving the UK. In Canada it was #7 on the national chart cited by Billboard and #10 on the RPM chart. Across North America, of major markets, it was highly popular only in Minneapolis and Vancouver (both #3), Washington DC (#5), Boston (#8), Baltimore and Pittsburgh (both #9); also top ten across the South in Birmingham, Louisville, Orlando and St Joseph.
The last new original song the group produced before the album Pet Sounds, it was not included on any regular Beach Boys album, but has since been collected on several anthologies (its first LP appearance being volume 3 of the group's Best Of series) and as a bonus track on reissues of Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!).
The song is notable for innovative use of two dramatic periods of near-silence lasting several seconds each. Although one of the Beach Boys' most exuberant songs, it was poorly received by radio stations preferring to avoid dead air time, which may account for its relatively low chart rating among their other singles of the period, including "California Girls" and "Barbara Ann". It is still rarely heard on oldies radio.
Capitol Records' rushed release of "Barbara Ann" in December ruined any chance "The Little Girl I Once Knew" had of continuing up the charts. Just after its release, John Lennon gave it a favorable review.
Brian Wilson regularly opened his concerts on his 2001 solo tour with the song.
References
- ^ Badman, Keith. The Beach Boys. The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band: On Stage and in the Studio Backbeat Books, San Francisco, California, 2004. ISBN 0-87930-818-4 p. 104
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