"You Tell Me Why" is a song by

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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 ...

group

The Beau Brummels The Beau Brummels was an American rock band. Formed in San Francisco in 1964, the band's original lineup included Sal Valentino (lead vocals), Ron Elliott (lead guitar), Ron Meagher (bass guitar), Declan Mulligan (rhythm guitar, bass, harmo ...

, from the band's second album, '' The Beau Brummels, Volume 2''. The song was written by guitarist Ron Elliott and produced by Sylvester Stewart, later known as

Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...

. "You Tell Me Why" was released as the album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

, and peaked at number 38 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in August 1965. The band revisited the song and included it on their 1975 eponymous album. The original version later appeared on the band's 1987

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

The Best of The Beau Brummels 1964–1968 ''The Best of the Beau Brummels 1964-1968'', sometimes titled ''The Best of the Beau Brummels: Golden Archive Series'', is a compilation album by American rock band The Beau Brummels. Released in 1987 by Rhino Records, the album features 18 songs ...

''.

Release and reception

Released in the summer of 1965, "You Tell Me Why" was the Beau Brummels' third and final U.S. top 40 hit, reaching number 38 in August. The song peaked at number eight in Canada, making it the third consecutive single by the band to reach the top 10 on the

Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart was a chart compiled by the American-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan, which began publication in November 1996. It was published every Wednesday and also published on Thursday by '' Jam!''/Canoe. I ...

. The song was written by Ron Elliott and produced by Sylvester Stewart, later known as

, although his involvement, according to Elliott and lead vocalist

Sal Valentino Sal Valentino (born Salvatore Spampinato; September 8, 1942) is an American rock musician, singer and songwriter, best known as lead singer of The Beau Brummels, subsequently becoming a songwriter as well. The band released a pair of top 20 U.S. ...

, had diminished to the point the band does not recall any producer being in charge.

SF Weekly ''SF Weekly'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California. It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper has won national journalism awards, ...

journalist Justin F. Farrar said the song was "so prescient of the lush, melancholic vibe of early

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...

that

Marty Balin Martyn Jerel Buchwald (January 30, 1942 – September 27, 2018), known as Marty Balin (), was an American singer, songwriter, and musician best known as the founder/leader and one of the lead singers and songwriters of Jefferson Airplane and ...

must have been digging it."

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 databas ...

writer Matthew Greenwald called it one of the band's "finest early ballads." The single's

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

, "I Want You," was also written by Elliott.

Music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

and author

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

said it was "as good as any song the Beau Brummels ever did, with its dense humming harmonies and spellbinding melody.

Other versions

The Beau Brummels re-recorded "You Tell Me Why" on their self-titled 1975 reunion album. It was the only remake of the band's older material to appear on the album. A live performance of the song from February 1974 is included on the band's 2000 '' Live!'' album, which was recorded in Fair Oaks Village near

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Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

surf rock Surf music (or surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a Music genre, genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is in ...

band

The Atlantics The Atlantics are an Australian surf rock band founded in 1961. Initially, the band line-up consisted of drummer Peter Hood, bassist Bosco Bosanac, Theo Penglis on lead and rhythm guitar, and guitarist Eddy Matzenik. Matzenik was replaced by ...

released a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the song as the B-side to their 1967 single "Come On." Acoustic guitarist

Leo Kottke Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...

included his rendition of the song on his 1974 album, ''

Ice Water Ice water may refer to: Music * Ice Water (song), a song from Cat Power's second album ''Myra Lee'' * Ice Water (album), an album by guitarist Leo Kottke * Ice Water Inc., a music group affiliated with the Wu Tang Clan Other uses * Ice W ...

''.

Track listing

;7" Vinyl

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control 1965 singles Parlophone singles The Beau Brummels songs Song recordings produced by Sly Stone Songs written by Ron Elliott (musician) 1965 songs