"Somewhere Near Japan" is a song written for the

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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, ...

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

. It was released on their 1989 album ''

Still Cruisin' ''Still Cruisin is the twenty-sixth studio album by the Beach Boys, their thirty-fifth official album (counting compilations and live packages), and their last release of the 1980s. It is also the last album of new material released during a br ...

''.

Backstory

The bulk of the song was written by John Phillips and concerns his daughter Mackenzie Phillips's honeymoon experiences. She and her new husband, both serious substance abusers, flew to

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic ce ...

and when the money and drugs ran out, she made a late-night phone call to her father begging him to send money or drugs, preferably both; when he asked where she was, the reply was "somewhere near Japan". Phillips' original version of the song, titled "Fairy Tale Girl", allegedly ran to over 25 verses. A late-1980s recording by

The New Mamas and The Papas The Mamas & the Papas were a folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group consisted of Am ...

(John Phillips, Mackenzie Phillips,

Scott McKenzie Scott McKenzie (born Philip Wallach Blondheim III; January 10, 1939 – August 18, 2012) was an American singer and songwriter who recorded the 1967 hit single and generational anthem "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)". ...

, and

Spanky McFarlane Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane (born June 19, 1942) is an American singer best known for fronting the vocal group Spanky and Our Gang in the late 1960s. She was nicknamed "The Queen of Sunshine Pop". Early years In 1959, McFarlane arrived in Chicago f ...

) under the title "Fairy Tale Girl (Somewhere Near Japan)" was belatedly released on the 2010 compilation ''Many Mamas, Many Papas'' from

Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as well as newer ...

. The final Beach Boys release describes a protagonist agreeing to come to the rescue of his "fairy tale girl" who is "driftin' on some Chinese junk" (a double entendre for both heroin and a type of ship), despite the likelihood that she will "break isheart one more time"—concluding that "I broke her fall and I always will."

Recording

"Somewhere Near Japan" features the lead vocals of

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 bass-ba ...

Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian and Dennis, and the group's ''de ...

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, Rho ...

and

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 ...

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

was not included in the recording of the song, as he was involved with

Eugene Landy Eugene Ellsworth Landy (November 26, 1934 – March 22, 2006) was an American psychologist known for his unconventional 24-hour therapy and treatment of celebrity clients. His most notable patient was the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, with who ...

at the time of recording and was not actively participating in many

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

projects. He did, however, appear in the music video. The single release is a remix of the album recording. The 12-string guitars, mandolin & solo were played by Los Angeles studio musician, Craig T. Fall. The main recording was done at

's Red Barn Studios in Big Sur, Calif. The programming, including drums/keyboards were done by Keith Wechsler, who also was the engineer on the ''

'' album, and the ''

Summer in Paradise ''Summer in Paradise'' is the twenty-seventh studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on August 3, 1992, by Brother Records. Produced by Terry Melcher, it is the only album not to feature any new contributions from Brian Wil ...

'' album. The song was produced by

Terry Melcher Terrence Paul Melcher (born Terrence Paul Jorden; February 8, 1942 – November 19, 2004) was an American record producer, singer, and songwriter who was instrumental in shaping the mid-to-late 1960s California Sound and folk rock movements. His ...

, who co-wrote the song, helped arrange the background vocals.

Music video

The music video features

and

. In the closing moments of ''Somewhere Near Japan'', all five members of the band were featured together for the first time since the

video

California Dreamin' "California Dreamin'" is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips and first recorded by Barry McGuire. The best-known version is by the Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in ...

; however, Brian Wilson's footage was filmed separately from the remaining four and was superimposed into the shot. It was produced by Paul Flattery and directed by Jim Yukich of FYI - Flattery Yukich Inc.

Charts

Personnel

– lead vocals *

– lead vocals, keyboards, bass *Craig Trippand Fall – lead guitar, mandolin *Keith Wechsler – drums, keyboards, programming *Terry Melcher – backing vocals

References

{{Authority control 1989 songs The Beach Boys songs Songs written by Mike Love Songs written by Terry Melcher Songs written by Bruce Johnston Song recordings produced by Terry Melcher Capitol Records singles Songs written by John Phillips (musician)