"She's Goin' Bald" is a song by American rock band

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 ...

form their 1967 album ''

Smiley Smile ''Smiley Smile'' is the 12th studio album by American Rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, released on September 18, 1967. It reached number 9 on UK record charts, but sold poorly in the US, peaking at number 41—the band's lowest chart place ...

''. It was 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 ...

Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bass-bari ...

, and

Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album ''Song Cycle (album), Song Cycle'' and for his ...

. Like many of the songs on that album, it has roots in the abandoned ''

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses ...

'' album, as the short song "He Gives Speeches". Both compositions follow the "

How Dry I Am "The Near Future" is a song written by Irving Berlin and performed in the ''Ziegfeld Follies of 1919''. It is better known for the small part of its lyric that took on a life of its own: "How Dry I Am". Origins The origins of the song and its co ...

" progression.

Background

"He Gives Speeches" was recorded for the abandoned ''

''. After the collapse of ''Smile'', "He Gives Speeches" was left unreleased. The song was later rewritten and rerecorded for ''

'' as "She's Goin' Bald" with new lyrics by

. In 1995,

said that it was only a coincidence that Love himself "was on his way to goin' bald then," and that the group did the song without being aware that he might have thought it was about him. Brian then called it "one of the funnier songs he Beach Boysever done, very current for its time." On Love's contribution to the song,

Bruce Johnston Bruce Arthur Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who is a member of the Beach Boys. Johnston also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Bru ...

commented, "You want to know where Mike Love's at? He's

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

and

Leiber and Stoller Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such Crossover music, crossover hit songs ...

so if you listen to the end of She's Goin' Bald, there’s so much Leiber and Stoller in it. (Sings) 'You're too late mama, ain't nothing upside your head' and we go (sings) 'No hair, no hair…'." In 1976,

Dennis Wilson Dennis Carl Wilson (December 4, 1944 – December 28, 1983) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best remembered as their drummer and as the middle brother of bandmates Brian and Carl Wilson. ...

claimed: "I took that song in a very strange way, I thought it was more or less about

oral sex Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth) and the throat. Cunnilingus is oral sex per ...

. You know,

ings ''Ings'' is an old word of Old English origin referring to water meadows and marshes. The term appears in place names in Yorkshire (such as Hall Ings, Bradford, Fairburn Ings RSPB reserve, Clifton Ings in York, Derwent Ings, Sutton Ings, Ac ...

' Get a job, sha na na na, sha na na na na. What a blow...' And I thought, Jesus, that's funny as shit — oronic voice'Hey, it's about getting a blow job, huh huh huh.' Love said of the song, "We were stoned out of our heads. We were laughing our asses off when we recorded that stuff." The ''Smiley Smile'' version includes some unusual effects, including the novel use of the

Eltro Information Rate Changer The Eltro information rate changer was an analog recording tool used to modulate pitch without changing speed and vice versa. Patents for the device date back to the 1920s. The Eltro was the first technology capable of changing audio pitch (freque ...

to raise the pitch of the group's vocals without affecting the tempo. The same device was also used to lower the voice of the

HAL 9000 HAL 9000 is a fictional artificial intelligence character and the main antagonist in Arthur C. Clarke's ''Space Odyssey'' series. First appearing in the 1968 film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', HAL ( Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer ...

computer in the film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey.'' When it came time to assemble the ''Smile'' material for ''

Brian Wilson Presents Smile ''Brian Wilson Presents Smile'' (also referred to as ''Smile'' or the abbreviation ''BWPS'') is the fifth studio album by American musician Brian Wilson, released on September 28, 2004 on Nonesuch. It features all-new recordings of music that ...

'' in 2004, Wilson passed on the inclusion of "He Gives Speeches" or "She's Goin' Bald". In 2011, the Beach Boys' recording of "He Gives Speeches" was issued as a bonus track for ''

The Smile Sessions ''The Smile Sessions'' is a compilation album and box set recorded by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on October 31, 2011 by Capitol Records. The set is the follow-up to ''The Pet Sounds Sessions'' (1997), this time focusing on the a ...

''.

Personnel

Per band archivist Craig Slowinski. "He Gives Speeches" *

– lead and backing vocals, upright piano (organ on early takes) *

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 ...

– Fender bass *

– drums

References

1967 songs The Beach Boys songs Songs written by Brian Wilson Songs written by Mike Love Songs written by Van Dyke Parks Song recordings produced by the Beach Boys Comedy songs {{1960s-rock-song-stub