Little Deuce Coupe

For the title track, see Little Deuce Coupe (song).
Little Deuce Coupe
Studio album by The Beach Boys
Released October 7, 1963[1]
Recorded
  • April 19, 1962
  • January 5 – September 2, 1963
Studio United Western Recorders, Hollywood
Genre Hot rod rock[2]
Length 25:25
Label Capitol
Producer Brian Wilson
The Beach Boys chronology
Surfer Girl
(1963)		 Little Deuce Coupe
(1963)		 Shut Down Volume 2
(1964)
The Beach Boys UK chronology
Surfin' U.S.A.
(1965)		 Little Deuce Coupe
(1965)		 Beach Boys' Party!
(1966)

Little Deuce Coupe is the fourth studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, and their third album release in 1963. It reached number four in the United States during a 46-week chart stay, and was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA. It is considered to be one of the earliest examples of a rock concept album.[3]

The album was released three weeks after Surfer Girl. Four of the tracks from Little Deuce Coupe ("Shut Down", "409", "Our Car Club" and "Little Deuce Coupe") had already appeared on previous albums, and discounting an alternate recording of "Be True to Your School", no tracks from the album were issued as an A-sided single.

Background

In the summer of 1963, Capitol Records compiled a "hot rod" compilation album called Shut Down, including the Beach Boys' song of the same name and "409"—without their approval or involvement. Brian Wilson promptly readied several songs he had already been working on (mainly with radio DJ Roger Christian) and the band hastily went through recording sessions to put Little Deuce Coupe on the record shop racks, remarkably, one month after Surfer Girl had come out. Eight of the tracks were new, while "Little Deuce Coupe", "Our Car Club", "Shut Down" and "409" had all come out on one of their previous three albums.

Production

Although Nick Venet was listed as producer for "Shut Down" and Murry Wilson for "409", the official producer's credit for the entire Little Deuce Coupe album cites only Brian Wilson. Despite the rushed nature of the album's sessions, Brian Wilson's song arrangements were notably becoming more complex, specifically songs like "No-Go Showboat" and "Custom Machine". After its recording, Brian Wilson re-recorded "Be True to Your School" for single release, resulting in another top 10 hit. An original Christmas-themed composition, "Little Saint Nick" was also recorded, produced and issued as a Christmas single.

This was the last Beach Boys album to officially include rhythm guitarist David Marks until 2012's That's Why God Made the Radio. Original member Al Jardine made his permanent return preceding this album's sessions, and Marks departed shortly thereafter.

As with the preceding Surfer Girl album, the date assigned for recording all eight of the new tracks (September 2, 1963) is highly doubtful. However, as no AFM contracts from these sessions are known to exist, the actual dates are currently unknown.

Title and cover art

The 1932 Ford that appeared on the cover, pictured in 2006

A 'Deuce Coupe' is a 1932 Ford Coupe (deuce being for the year). This was considered by many to be the definitive "hot rod". The Model B had four cylinders and the Model 18 featured the Ford flathead V8 engine when the car was introduced. A pink slip (mentioned in the lyrics) was the title to the car, named for the color of the paper then used in California vehicle ownership certificates.

The picture featured on the front cover of the album was supplied by Hot Rod magazine, and features the body (with his head cropped in the photo) of hod-rod owner Clarence 'Chili' Catallo and his own customized three-window 1932 Ford Coupe - known amongst hot rod enthusiasts as "the lil' deuce coupe".[4][5]

Reception

Professional ratings
Retrospective reviews
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

Track listing

All tracks written by Brian Wilson/Roger Christian except where noted. 

Side one
No. TitleLead Vocals Length
1. "Little Deuce Coupe"  Mike Love 1:38
2. "Ballad of Ole' Betsy"  Brian Wilson 2:15
3. "Be True to Your School" (B. Wilson/Love)Love 2:06
4. "Car Crazy Cutie"  B. Wilson 2:47
5. "Cherry, Cherry Coupe"  Love 1:47
6. "409" (B. Wilson/Gary Usher/Love)Love 1:58
Side two
No. TitleLead Vocals Length
1. "Shut Down"  Love 1:48
2. "Spirit of America"  B. Wilson 2:23
3. "Our Car Club" (B. Wilson/Love)Love with B. Wilson 2:21
4. "No-Go Showboat"  B. Wilson with Love 1:54
5. "A Young Man Is Gone" (Troup)group 2:15
6. "Custom Machine" (B. Wilson/Love)Love 1:38

Personnel

The Beach Boys

References

  1. ↑ 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. 42
  2. 1 2 Allmusic review
  3. ↑ Springer, Matt (October 7, 2015). "52 Years Ago: The Beach Boys Release a Concept Album About Cars, 'Little Deuce Coupe'". Ultimate Guitar.
  4. ↑ Roy, Rex (August 27, 2009). "Surfers Met Rodders, and a Genre Was Born". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ Wallace, Dave (October 19, 2012). "Little Deuce Coupe". Hot Rod.
Sources
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