"Salt Lake City" is a song written by

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 ...

and Mike Love for the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1965 album '' Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)''.

Background

"Salt Lake City" was written to call attention to the band's major fan base in the city of the same name. From 1963 until 1973, The Beach Boys performed at Utah's Lagoon Amusement Park's Patio Gardens at least twelve times, and Utah was one of the earliest places that The Beach Boys' music was played outside of California. KNAK deejay Gene Davis said, "

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remembered coming to Salt Lake, but it was not a big deal. When you talk to Mike Love, Salt Lake was big time to them. He loved Salt Lake City. But

ilson Ilson Wilians Rodrigues (born March 12, 1979) is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for América Futebol Clube (SP). His previous clubs include FC Shinnik Yaroslavl and C.S. Marítimo Club Sport Marítimo MH M, commonly known as Mar ...

remembered writing 'Salt Lake City' as one of those fun songs they sat down and did." The song was also released as a promo single, backed with "Amusement Parks U.S.A.", by the city's downtown merchants association. The song lyrics extol the attractions of northern Utah: summer sun, winter skiing, local girls and the Lagoon amusement park. Mike Love and Brian Wilson sing the leads vocals on the song.

Critical opinion

'' AllMusic'' writer Richie Unterberger called the song a "subpar effort" as well as one of the "throwbacks to the empty-headed summer filler of previous days" on ''Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!)''. Author Jim Fuselli described the track as a throwback "to the group's happy-go-lucky days."

Personnel

Partial credits via Craig Slowinski. The Beach Boys * Al Jardine – harmony and backing vocals * Mike Love – lead and bass vocals *

– lead, harmony, and backing vocals *

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 ...

– harmony and backing vocals, electric guitar * Dennis Wilson – harmony and backing vocals Additional musicians and staff * Hal Blaine – drums *

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and ...

– Hammond B-3 organ * Frank Capp – vibraphone *

Roy Caton Roy Vernon Caton (January 28, 1927 – July 29, 2010) was an American trumpet player and session musician. Biography Caton was born to Vernon and Eleanor Reed Caton in Frackville, Pennsylvania. At the age of seven, he received a cornet from a f ...

– trumpet * Jerry Cole – electric rhythm guitar *

Al De Lory Alfred V. De Lory (January 31, 1930 – February 5, 2012) was an American record producer, arranger, conductor and session musician. He was the producer and arranger of a series of worldwide hits by Glen Campbell in the 1960s, including John H ...

– grand piano * Steve Douglas – tenor saxophone * Plas Johnson – tenor saxophone *

Jay Migliori Jay Migliori (November 14, 1930 – September 2, 2001) was an American saxophonist, best known as a founding member of Supersax, a tribute band to Charlie Parker. Biography Migliori started playing the saxophone after he received one as a birthday ...

– baritone saxophone *

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– Danelectro 6-string bass guitar * Lyle Ritz – upright bass * Howard Roberts –

12-string electric guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in o ...

Billy Strange William Everett Strange (September 29, 1930 – February 22, 2012) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and an actor. He was a session musician with the famed Wrecking Crew, and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Mus ...

– tambourine

References

{{The Beach Boys 1965 songs The Beach Boys songs Songs written by Brian Wilson Songs written by Mike Love Song recordings produced by Brian Wilson Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements Songs about cities in the United States Songs about Utah