"Wendy" 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 Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

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 ...

. It was released on their 1964 album '' All Summer Long'' and was also featured on their EP, '' Four by The Beach Boys''.

Composition

"Wendy" was originally credited to just Brian Wilson.

's name was added as a result of a lawsuit filed by him against Wilson in the 1990s. In a 2007 interview, Wilson commented of the song, The opening chords are whole notes played on

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

and bass. The song begins with a minor i chord in the key of D minor, moves to a major IV, comes back to the minor i, and then moves to a major VI chord, a IV in the key of F. The song then modulates to the key of F major (the relative major of D minor) through a substituted

plagal cadence In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (1999 ...

, using a I-ii progression to solidify the new tonic of F. The verse begins with another I-IV-I progression, ending on an IV chord in the first line. The second line begins the same as the first, but moves to a major ♭VII (in D minor the

neapolitan chord In Classical music theory, a Neapolitan chord (or simply a "Neapolitan") is a major chord built on the lowered ( flatted) second (supertonic) scale degree. In Schenkerian analysis, it is known as a Phrygian II, since in minor scales the chord is b ...

), and then modulates to the relative minor through use of a iii chord (A minor, the V in the key of D minor), the A minor moving to a D minor via an

authentic cadence In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (199 ...

. The chorus/bridge ("I never thought a guy could cry") uses the same chord progression found in the introduction (D: i-iv-i-VI(IV in F), coming back to the key of F for the final line. This repeats for the second verse, before going into the organ solo. After the second chorus, the song modulates again from F to D minor, this time through the usage of the ♭VII (E♭ major), which is a

tritone substitution The tritone substitution is a common chord substitution found in both jazz and classical music. Where jazz is concerned, it was the precursor to more complex substitution patterns like Coltrane changes. Tritone substitutions are sometimes used i ...

for the V of D. The solo follows the same general progression of the introduction and chorus. Another run of the verse/chorus follows, and the song then fades out with repeated I-IV cadences.

Personnel

Per Craig Slownski.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 ...

– harmony and

backing 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 ...

, electric

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,

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 ...

–

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 ...

and bass vocals * Brian Wilson – chorus falsetto lead vocals, harmony and backing vocals,

upright Body relative directions (also known as egocentric coordinates) are geometrical orientations relative to a body such as a human person's. The most common ones are: left and right; forward(s) and backward(s); up and down. They form three pairs ...

grand 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 keybo ...

, Hammond B3 organ, producer, arranger * Carl Wilson – harmony and backing vocals, electric

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

s *

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 backing vocals, drums ;Production staff * Chuck Britz – engineer

Live performances

On September 27, 1964, the group performed "Wendy" as well as " I Get Around" on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night M ...

''. It was also a staple of the band's 50th Anniversary Tour setlist.

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 ...

sang the lead vocal during these performances, rather than Love.

Alternate releases

"Wendy" peaked at No. 44 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, at No. 36 in Germany and at No. 5 in Switzerland in July 1967 when it was nominally the B-side of "

Good Vibrations "Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966 and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record ...

" — as it was everywhere outside the US.

Cover versions

*2017 - Bill DeMain, "Transatlantic Romantic"

References

{{Authority control 1964 songs The Beach Boys songs Songs written by Brian Wilson Songs written by Mike Love Song recordings produced by Brian Wilson