Darlin' Be Home Soon
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"Darling Be Home Soon" is a song written by
John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who founded the rock band the Lovin' Spoonful in 1964 with Zal Yanovsky. During his time in the Lovin Spoonful, Sebastian wrote and sang some of the ban ...
of
the Lovin' Spoonful The Lovin' Spoonful is a Canadian-American folk-rock band formed in Greenwich Village, New York City, in 1964. The band were among the most popular groups in the United States for a short period in the mid-1960s and their music and image influ ...
for the soundtrack of the 1966
Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...
film ''
You're a Big Boy Now ''You're a Big Boy Now'' is a 1966 American comedy film written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Based on David Benedictus' 1963 novel of the same name, it stars Elizabeth Hartman, Peter Kastner, Geraldine Page, her spouse Rip Torn, Kar ...
''. It appeared on the Lovin' Spoonful's 1967 soundtrack album ''
You're a Big Boy Now ''You're a Big Boy Now'' is a 1966 American comedy film written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Based on David Benedictus' 1963 novel of the same name, it stars Elizabeth Hartman, Peter Kastner, Geraldine Page, her spouse Rip Torn, Kar ...
''. Sebastian performed his composition at
Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...
; it was the fourth song out of the five he performed at the 1969 music festival in White Lake, New York.


Writing and recording

Coppola commissioned Sebastian to write music for the film, and for one scene wanted a song with a similar mood and tempo to "
Monday, Monday "Monday, Monday" is a 1966 song written by John Phillips and recorded by the Mamas & the Papas, with backing music by members of the Wrecking Crew for their 1966 album ''If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears''. Denny Doherty was the lead vocali ...
" by
the Mamas and the Papas The Mamas & the Papas were an American folk rock vocal group that recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968, with a brief reunion in 1971. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. Formed in New York C ...
. Sebastian said that he wrote the song as "pleas for a partner to spend a few minutes talking before leaving.... utyou never knew if the other person was actually there listening or was already gone". Coppola approved the song, and it was recorded by the band but with
session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...
Billy LaVorgna rather than
Joe Butler Joseph Campbell Butler (born September 16, 1941) is an American drummer, singer and actor. He is best known as a member of folk-rock band the Lovin' Spoonful, where he was their drummer and later lead vocalist, the group had seven top 10 hits ...
on drums. The
arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...
was by Artie Schroeck. After the recording was completed and the musicians left, the producer,
Erik Jacobsen Erik Jacobsen (born May 19, 1940) is an American record producer, song publisher and artist manager. He is best known for his work in the 1960s with Tim Hardin, the Lovin' Spoonful, The Charlatans (American band), the Charlatans, and Sopwith Cam ...
, discovered that an engineer had mistakenly erased Sebastian's vocal track, so he had to re-record it the next day. Sebastian said: "What you hear on the record is me, a half hour after learning that my original vocal track had been erased. You can even hear my voice quiver a little at the end. That was me thinking about the vocal we lost and wanting to kill someone." It has been described as "...one of the most heartfelt songs about being away from a loved one, written from the point of view of a musician on the road writing a letter." ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' described the song as a "medium-paced rock ballad given that 'extra special' Lovin' Spoonful treatment" and should be a "smash" on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The critic Richard Goldstein, one of the earliest champions of the Spoonful, criticized the song as the band's first disappointing single. In his review for ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'', he disparaged the song as a tribute to
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
which "lacks the master's raunchiness".
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
regularly praised the Spoonful in interviews, but when
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
reviewed the latest singles for ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' in February 1967, he criticized "Darling Be Home Soon" for its instrumentation, which he thought "very ordinary" and "corny". While complimenting Sebastian's vocal, McCartney hypothesized that the film studio pressured the band to keep the song's arrangement "flimsy".


Personnel

According to
John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who founded the rock band the Lovin' Spoonful in 1964 with Zal Yanovsky. During his time in the Lovin Spoonful, Sebastian wrote and sang some of the ban ...
: The Lovin' Spoonful * John Sebastianvocals, acoustic guitar *
Zal Yanovsky Zalman Yanovsky (December 19, 1944 – December 13, 2002) was a Canadian folk-rock musician and restaurateur. Born in Toronto, he was the son of political cartoonist Avrom Yanovsky and teacher Nechama Yanovsky (née Gemeril), who died in 1958. ...
electric guitar *
Steve Boone John Stephen Boone (born September 23, 1943) is an American bass guitarist and music producer, best known as a member of the American folk-rock group the Lovin' Spoonful. Boone co-wrote two of the groups' biggest hits, " You Didn't Have to Be So ...
bass guitar Additional musicians *
Bill LaVorgna William A. LaVorgna (1933–2007) was an American traditional pop and jazz musician (drums) who for many years was musical director for American actress, dancer and singer, Liza Minnelli. Life and work LaVorgna took up the drums as a child. H ...
drums *
David "Fathead" Newman David "Fathead" Newman (February 24, 1933 – January 20, 2009) was an American jazz and rhythm-and-blues saxophonist, who made numerous recordings as a session musician and leader, but is best known for his work as a sideman on seminal 1950s an ...
saxophone * Artie Schroeck
arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...
*
Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American Swing music, swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948â ...
flügelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet, but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B♭, though s ...
* Unidentified
session musicians A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a record ...
orchestra


Charts


Other recordings of the song

*1967 –
Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 â€“ December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...
, whose version reached #93 on the US charts and #17 in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. *1969 –
Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright ...
, on his album ''
Joe Cocker! ''Joe Cocker!'' is the second studio album by English singer Joe Cocker, released in November 1969. Following the template of his first LP, the album features numerous covers of songs originally performed by Bob Dylan (" Dear Landlord"), the ...
'' *1972 –
The Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from Los Angeles, California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts, ''Billboard'' charts (including "Windy (The Association song), Windy" ...
on their album ''
Waterbeds in Trinidad! ''Waterbeds in Trinidad!'' is the seventh studio album (and ninth album overall by including a greatest hits and a live album) by The Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from Los Angeles, California. During the lat ...
''. #104 US Billboard, #90 US Cashbox. #61
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
*1972 –
Slade Slade are a rock band formed in Wolverhampton, England in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The '' British Hit Singl ...
did a live version on their album '' Slade Alive''. *1993 – The Barra MacNeils on their album ''Closer to Paradise'', #23 Canadian charts, and ''Let Loose'' (1996, #65 UK as a single, and on the album ''Rollercoaster''). *2012 –
Tedeschi Trucks Band The Tedeschi Trucks Band () is an American blues and blues rock group based in Jacksonville, Florida. Formed in 2010, the band is led by married couple Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks. Their debut album, '' Revelator'' (2011), won the 2012 Gr ...
did a live version on their album ''
Everybody's Talkin' "Everybody's Talkin (Echoes)" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Fred Neil in 1966 and released two years later. A version of the song performed by the American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson became a hit in 1969, ...
''.


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * {{authority control 1966 songs 1967 singles The Lovin' Spoonful songs Bobby Darin songs Songs written by John Sebastian Song recordings produced by Erik Jacobsen Kama Sutra Records singles