"Barbara Ann" is a song written by Fred Fassert that was first recorded by the Regents as "Barbara-Ann". Their version was released in 1961 and reached number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The more famous version was recorded by

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

for their 1965 in-house live album ''

Beach Boys' Party! ''Beach Boys' Party!'' is the tenth studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, and their third in 1965, consisting mostly of cover songs played with acoustic instruments. It reached No. 6 in the US and No. 3 in the UK. The album spawned o ...

''. In December, "Barbara Ann" was issued as a single with the B-side "

Girl Don't Tell Me "Girl Don't Tell Me" is a song written by Brian Wilson for the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on July 5, 1965, on the album ''Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)''. It was later included as the B-side of the group's single "Barbara Ann" ...

", peaking at number 2 in the U.S. and number 3 in the UK. The Regents' original version was featured in the 1973 film ''

American Graffiti ''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard (billed as Ronn ...

'' and later included on the

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

The Beach Boys version

The Beach Boys recorded their version on September 23, 1965. Dean Torrence of

Jan and Dean Jan and Dean was an American rock music, rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf mu ...

is featured on lead vocals along with

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

. Torrence is not credited on the album, but

Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian and Dennis, and the group's ''de ...

is heard saying "Thanks, Dean" at the song's conclusion. Capitol's

Al Coury Albert Eli Coury (October 21, 1934 – August 8, 2013) was an American music record executive and producer who was vice-president of Capitol Records, co-founder of RSO Records, founder of Network Records and general manager of Geffen Records. Co ...

rush-released "Barbara Ann" as a single without informing the band, after the relatively poor performance of the group's previous disc, "

The Little Girl I Once Knew "The Little Girl I Once Knew" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was issued as a standalone single on November 22, 1965. Written and produced by Brian Wilson, it was recorded during the making of the band's 1966 album ''Pet ...

". The song entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart the week ending January 1, 1966. The week ending January 29, the song leaped from to and was in position to replace "

We Can Work It Out "We Can Work It Out" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. It was first issued as a double A-side single with "Day Tripper" in December 1965. It also appeared on the 1966 US release '' Yesterd ...

" by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

as the next song. However, " My Love" by

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

unexpectedly vaulted into the position the week ending February 5, 1966. Consequently, "Barbara Ann" peaked at on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ( in ''Cash Box'' and ''Record World'') and at in the UK in January 1966. It also topped the charts in Germany, Switzerland and Norway. It was The Beach Boys' biggest hit in Italy, reaching . ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said the Beach Boys apply a "distinctive, easy-going style complete with plenty harmony and counterpoint portions." Variations of the Beach Boys' recording have seen release. A version without the party sound effects can be found on the '' Hawthorne, CA'' album. The group sang the song as an encore on their '' Live in London'' album. As a solo artist, Brian has a rendition on his live album '' Live at the Roxy Theatre'', and in 2001, performed it himself, with the ensemble, on ''

An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson was a tribute concert held at New York City's famed Radio City Music Hall on March 29, 2001 that TNT presented on July 4, 2001. Setlist Chazz Palminteri hosted the show and Cameron Crowe, Dennis Hopper, Rach ...

''. In 1987, the group re-recorded the song as "Here Come the Cubs" with re-written lyrics about the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. It became the team's official theme that year, replacing " Go, Cubs, Go".

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

perform "Barbara Ann" in the film '' The Kids Are Alright'' with

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol. Moon grew ...

on vocals. Moon, a massive Beach Boys fan but a notoriously limited singer, plays and sings much to the delight of his fellow band members. An earlier version by them was released on the ''

Ready Steady Who Ready Steady Who is the first 7" EP by The Who, released on 11 November 1966, about a month prior to their album ''A Quick One''. The title refers to a ''Ready Steady Go!'' TV special the band had recently appeared in, but the EP contains diff ...

'' EP in 1966.

Other versions

* 1962 –

* 1966 –

, ''

'' * 1975 –

Martin Circus Martin Circus was a French band formed in the late 1960s, whose musical style developed over time from progressive rock through pop to disco and new wave music in the 1970s and 1980s. Career The band formed in 1968, at a time when the popular musi ...

(as "Marylène", with French lyrics) * 1989 –

Blind Guardian Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in 1984 in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres.Follow the Blind ''Follow the Blind'' is the second full-length album by German power metal band Blind Guardian. It was released in 1989 and is more in the vein of speed metal, compared to the style that would later define the band's unique sound. Guitarist Marcu ...

'' * 2002 –

ApologetiX ApologetiX is an American Christian parody band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The band was founded in 1990, and since then, has played in almost all 50 states, released 40 studio albums, and built up a fan club that includes over 65,000 peopl ...

, ''Grace Period'' (as "Baa! We're Lambs") * 2010 – "Banana Song", ''

Despicable Me ''Despicable Me'' is a computer-animated media franchise centering on Gru, a reformed super-villain (who later becomes a father, husband, and secret agent), and his yellow-colored Minions. It is produced by Illumination and distributed by ...

'' (sung by the Minions) * 2013 –

Elements of Life ''Elements of Life'' is the third studio album by Dutch DJ Tiësto. It was released on 6 April 2007 (see 2007 in music). The album contains collaborations with Jes of Motorcycle, Julie Thompson of Holden & Thompson, Charlotte Martin, Christian B ...

"Bomb Iran"

The song was parodied as "Bomb Iran" by various musicians, including Vince Vance and the Valiants, during the 1979

Iran hostage crisis On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over ...

. On April 17, 2007, at an appearance in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina during the 2008 presidential election campaign, U.S. Senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

responded to a question from an audience member about military action against Iran by referring to "That old, eh, that old Beach Boys song, 'Bomb Iran'," and then singing the parody chorus, "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, anyway, ah ..."

Charts

Weekly charts Year-end charts

References

{{authority control The Beach Boys songs Jan and Dean songs 1961 songs 1965 singles 1966 singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Norway The Who songs Song recordings produced by Brian Wilson Capitol Records singles Gee Records singles Doo-wop songs 1961 singles