"Soulful Old Man Sunshine" is a song by the American rock band

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 ...

that was recorded during the sessions for their 1970 album ''

Sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as ...

''. It was written by

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 ...

, Rick Henn (former leader of the Murry Wilson-spearheaded Sunrays) and veteran arranger/producer Don Ralke (who previously contributed to ''

The Many Moods of Murry Wilson ''The Many Moods of Murry Wilson'' is the only record by American songwriter and talent manager Murry Wilson. The album was released on Capitol Records in October 1967, the same record label that the Beach Boys were contracted to at the time. Acc ...

967 Year 967 ( CMLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Emperor Otto I (the Great) calls for a council at Rome, to present the ne ...

Production

"Soulful Old Man Sunshine" was recorded on November 6 and 9, 1969, but was left unfinished. Henn arranged the instrumentation, while Brian wrote the vocal arrangement, which was loosely based on the 1957 hit " Little Bitty Pretty One".

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 ...

sang the lead vocal, at one point mispronouncing the title line as "soulful old man shunshine". According to biographers Andrew Doe and

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 ...

, the track would have been included on the 1993 box set ''

Good Vibrations "Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966 and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record c ...

'', but Carl had vetoed it because he had been embarrassed by his tongue twist on the recording.

Release

"Soulful Old Man Sunshine" was released on the 1998 compilation '' Endless Harmony Soundtrack''. The set also included a demo recording featuring Brian Wilson singing and Henn playing piano. Don Ralke remained uncredited as a co-writer by the song's publishers on ''Endless Harmony Soundtrack'' and the subsequent '' Made in California''

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

(2013) until a 2019 mix (notable for its elision of Carl's mispronunciation) was included on '' Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf's Up Sessions 1969–1971'' (2021).

Cover version

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References

External links

* * {{1960s-rock-song-stub 1998 songs The Beach Boys songs Songs written by Brian Wilson Song recordings produced by Brian Wilson Songs released posthumously

Production

Release

Cover version

See also

References

External links