"Guess I'm Dumb" is a song recorded by American singer

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

that was released as his seventh single on Capitol Records on June 7, 1965. Written by Brian Wilson and

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 ...

, it is a love song that describes a man who regrets ending a relationship after he realizes he still harbors deep feelings for his former lover. The single failed to chart. The song was originally intended to be recorded by Wilson's 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 ...

, during the sessions for their 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 ...

'' Wilson's bandmates rejected the track, and so he ultimately produced it for Campbell, who had recently been hired as an emergency fill-in for Wilson on the group's concert tours. The song has since been covered by artists including

Tatsuro Yamashita , occasionally credited as Tatsu Yamashita or Tats Yamashita, is a Japanese singer-songwriter and record producer, who is known for pioneering the style of Japanese Soft rock, adult-oriented rock/soft rock music. His most well-known song is "C ...

Louis Phillipe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...

, and Wondermints.

Background and recording

"Guess I'm Dumb" is a love song that describes a man who regrets ending a relationship after he realizes he still harbors deep feelings for his former lover. It was one of two songs written by Brian Wilson and

during the early 1960s, the other being "

Sherry She Needs Me "Sherry She Needs Me" (also known as "Sandy" or "Sandy She Needs Me") is a song written in 1965 by Brian Wilson and Russ Titelman for the American rock band the Beach Boys. The recording was not released until decades later. As a solo artist in ...

". Titelman recalled co-writing the song in 1964 at Wilson's apartment and his wife Marilyn's home. Wilson produced the backing track on October 14, 1964, at Western Studio in Hollywood during the early sessions for ''

'' His 2016 memoir states: "When I was finished, no one from the band wanted to sing it. The message was okay, but maybe it was just the idea of being dumb." Campbell, then a studio musician who had played on many of the band's recordings, said, "I played on the track for Brian and the Beach Boys, and the guys didn't want to do it. ... that's when

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 ...

thought he was the star of the show. If he hadn't had Brian Wilson to write, I don't think anything would have happened." From December 1964 to early 1965, Campbell filled in for Wilson on the band's concert tours after Wilson had suffered a nervous breakdown. As a show of thanks, Wilson gave the song to Campbell. According to Campbell, "Brian

aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...

'Glen you want to sing it?' I said, 'Sure I do.' Because I kind of liked it. It was a great track and the guys already had some background on it." Campbell's lead vocal was recorded on March 8, 1965. Wilson's working title for the Beach Boys' unfinished album ''

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 ...

'' was ''Dumb Angel''. According to biographer

John Tobler John Hugen Tobler (born 9 May 1943) is a British rock music journalist, writer, occasional broadcaster, and record company executive. With Pete Frame, he was one of the founders of ZigZag magazine in April 1969. The magazine focused on the " un ...

, "whether or not there is any significance and connection in the imilar title of 'Guess I'm Dumb'is open to question."

Composition

Musicologist Philip Lambert wrote about "Guess I'm Dumb" in his 2007 book ''Inside the Music of Brian Wilson'':

Reception

"Guess I'm Dumb" was released as Campbell's seventh single on Capitol Records on June 7, 1965. It failed to chart. Biographer

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 ...

referred to the song as "Brian's most ambitious outside production effort, and one of the first records that consolidated all his ideas into a coherent sound. The instrumental sophistication, the intricate voices, the forlorn lyrics—this song and production were an obvious foreshadowing of ''

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 ...

''." Writing in his book ''Sonic Alchemy'', David Howard said "Guess I'm Dumb" was Wilson's "most inspired" production to date, featuring a "surging, elegant Burt Bacharach-inspired string and horn arrangement and Campbell's forlorn Roy Orbison-like vocal." Journalist

Domenic Priore Domenic Priore (born January 15th 1960) is an American author, historian and television producer whose focus is on popular music and its attendant youth culture. Biography He has written extensively about The Beach Boys' ''Smile'' album, includin ...

credited the arrangement with influencing subsequent work by

Jimmy Webb Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including " Up, Up and Away", " By the Time I Get to Phoenix", " MacArthur Park", " Wichita Lineman", " Wo ...

. Marilyn Wilson and Ginger Blake reflected on the song's relative commercial failure, "It's a shame that Capitol Records did not carry out the promotion of one of the finest performances by Glen Campbell and the beautiful songwriting from Brian Wilson. Brian loved the song as did we. It's a mystery as to why it was not a hit."

Variations

The song is featured on many Glen Campbell compilations, and appears as one of the many Wilson-produced tracks on '' Pet Projects: The Brian Wilson Productions'' (2003). In 2013, the instrumental track with backing vocals was released on the Beach Boys compilation ''

Made in California ''Made in California (1962–2012)'' is a compilation box set by the Beach Boys, released on August 27, 2013. The set, released through Capitol Records, was designed by Mark London in a form emulating a high school yearbook. The set contains six ...

''.

Personnel

Per Beach Boys archivist Craig Slowinski. *

– lead vocals, twelve-string acoustic guitar

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 ...

* Brian Wilson – backing vocals, acoustic grand piano * Carl Wilson – backing vocals, twelve-string electric guitar

The Honeys The Honeys (originally the Rovell Sisters) were an American girl group, formed in Los Angeles in 1958, that initially comprised sisters Marilyn, Diane, and Barbara Rovell. Barbara was later replaced by their cousin, Ginger Blake. After 1962, ...

Marilyn Wilson Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford (née Rovell; born February 6, 1948) is an American singer who is best known as the first wife of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Raised in Los Angeles, she started her singing career in the late 1950s, initially as part ...

– backing vocals *Diane Rovell – backing vocals * Ginger Blake – backing vocals Session musicians (later known as " the Wrecking Crew") *

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

– drums,

timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfico ...

bell tree A bell tree, also known as tree bellsBeck, John. ''Encyclopedia of Percussion.'' Taylor and Francis, 1995. or Chinese bell tree (often confused with the mark tree), is a percussion instrument, consisting of vertically nested inverted metal bowl ...

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 *Harry Betts – trombone *Louis Blackburn – trombone *Steve Douglas –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

Larry Knechtel Lawrence William Knechtel (August 4, 1940 – August 20, 2009) was an American keyboard player and bassist who was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles-based session musicians who worked with such renowned artists as Simon & ...

– electric bass guitar *

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 *Oliver Mitchell – trumpet *

Tommy Tedesco Thomas Joseph Tedesco (July 3, 1930 – November 10, 1997) was an American guitarist and studio musician in Los Angeles and Hollywood. He was part of the loose collective of the area's leading session musicians later popularly known as The Wrec ...

– guitar The Sid Sharp Strings *Arnold Belnick – violins *Jesse Ehrlich – cello *Jim Getzoff – violin *Anne Goodman – cello *Leonard Malarski – violin *Alexander Neiman – viola *Sidney Sharp – violin *Darrel Terwilliger – viola Production * Chuck Britz – engineer

Cover versions

* 1966 – Dani Sheridan * 1967 – Johnny Wells * 1983 –

, ''

Melodies A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinati ...

'' (later featured in 1984's '' Big Wave'') * 1988 –

, ''Ivory Tower'' * 1996 – Wondermints, ''Wonderful World of the Wondermints'' * 2004 –

Jules Shear Jules Mark Shear (born March 7, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He wrote the Cyndi Lauper hit single " All Through the Night" and The Bangles' hit "If She Knew What She Wants", and charted a hit as a performer with "Stead ...

, ''Sayin' Hello to the Folks''

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *

External links

* {{authority control 1965 singles Glen Campbell songs The Beach Boys songs Songs written by Brian Wilson Song recordings produced by Brian Wilson Capitol Records singles 1965 songs Songs written by Russ Titelman