"She Knows Me Too Well" is a song written by Brian Wilson and

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 bas ...

for the American

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

, about a man who is engrossed and obsessed in his own jealousy and insecurity. It was released on the 1965 album ''

The Beach Boys Today! ''The Beach Boys Today!'' is the eighth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released March 8, 1965 on Capitol Records. It signaled a departure from their previous records with its orchestral sound, intimate subject matter, and ...

'', initially serving as the B-side of their " When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)" single in 1964.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. p. 63 It was one of the first songs that Brian wrote while under the influence of marijuana.

Composition

Brian considered the song a tribute to Burt Bacharach. According to

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, "This song can essentially be called 'son of "

Don't Worry Baby "Don't Worry Baby" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their March 1964 album ''Shut Down Volume 2''. Written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian, Wilson's lead vocal on the track is considered one of his defining performance ...

".' It's built around the same kinds of

Spector Spector is a guitar manufacturing company. It has been based in Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders ...

-inspired chord changes and also has a similar sense of vulnerability." According to ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'', Interpreting its lyrics,

David Leaf David Leaf (born April 20, 1952) is a Peabody and WGAW award-winning writer, director, and producer, known for his associations with Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys since the late 1970s. Leaf's 1978 biography ''The Beach Boys and the California ...

believed the song "is another of the important musical developments on the road to ''

Pet Sounds ''Pet Sounds'' is the 11th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on May 16, 1966, by Capitol Records. It was initially met with a lukewarm critical and commercial response in the United States, peaking at number 10 on the ...

'', and in retrospect, hearing this in 1965 might have felt very strange … almost like you were hearing a cut from ''Pet Sounds'' a year before that album even existed." He also notes that it was "a gorgeous production, but it took a little while to get used to, probably because the bittersweet chord changes and harmonies were more sophisticated than the typical pop ballad of the day."

Recording

The song was recorded over two sessions at

United Western Recorders United Western Recorders was a two-building recording studio complex in Hollywood that was one of the most successful independent recording studios of the 1960s. The complex merged neighboring studios United Recording Corp. on 6050 Sunset Boule ...

in early August, both engineered by Chuck Britz and produced by Brian Wilson: the first session for the instrumental track took place on August 5 in tandem with " When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)"; three days later, the vocals were recorded. They are doubletracked, just as they are on most Beach Boys songs. The instrumental track features Carl Wilson on both lead and rhythm electric guitars, Alan Jardine on electric bass guitar, Brian Wilson on acoustic upright piano, and Dennis Wilson on drums. The song features Brian Wilson on lead vocal and Brian, Carl & Dennis Wilson, Mike Love, and Al Jardine on backing vocals. On the ''Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 7 (1964): The Alternate "Beach Boys Today" Album Vol. 1'' bootleg, various recording sessions were released in high quality. Four takes of the instrumental track (plus rehearsals) were released on this bootleg, as well as two backing vocal overdubs and Brian's lead vocal overdub.Sea Of Tunes, 1998, "Unsurpassed Masters Vol. 7 (1964): The Alternate "Beach Boys Today" Album Vol. 1", Luxembourg.

Release

In August 1964, "She Knows Me Too Well" was released in the United States as the B-side of the " When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)" single. The single, the band's tenth in the United States, peaked at number nine position on the ''Billboard'' charts, with "She Knows Me Too Well" in its own right placing at number 101 in ''Billboard'' and number 93 in ''Cash Box''. The song was treated as the A-side at Vancouver's popular CFUN station and reached number seven locally. The song was also released in the United Kingdom, again as the B-side of the "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)" single, which was the band's sixth there. The single didn't fare as well, but still peaked at number 27 on the charts. '' Cash Box'' described it as "a captivating cha cha beat romancer that's...sure to please the kids." American rock band

Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots (also known by the initialism STP) is an American rock band from San Diego, California, that originally consisted of Scott Weiland (lead vocals), brothers Dean (guitar) and Robert DeLeo (bass, backing vocals), and Eric Kr ...

recorded a cover version of the song during the sessions for their 1994 album ''Purple''. This version of the song was included on the band's 2019 "Super Deluxe" version of the album.

Personnel

Track details courtesy of session archivist Craig Slowinski.Mirror
/ref> The Beach Boys *

Al Jardine Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as " Help Me, Rh ...

– electric

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, harmony and

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

– harmony and background vocals * Brian Wilson –

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

, harmony and background vocals; acoustic

upright piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

* Carl Wilson – harmony and background vocals; electric

and

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular re ...

guitars *

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. ...

– harmony and background vocals; drums Additional personnel * Chuck Britz – sound engineer *

Russ Titelman Russ Titelman (born August 16, 1944, Los Angeles, California) is an American record producer and songwriter. He has to date won three Grammy Awards. He earned his first producing the Steve Winwood song " Higher Love", and his second and third f ...

– microphone boom with screwdriver

References

{{Authority control 1965 songs The Beach Boys songs Songs written by Brian Wilson Songs written by Mike Love Song recordings produced by Brian Wilson Capitol Records singles