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| "Don't Worry Baby" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by the Beach Boys | ||||
| from the album Shut Down Volume 2 | ||||
| A-side | "I Get Around" | |||
| Released | May 11, 1964 | |||
| Recorded | January 7-9 1964 | |||
| Studio | Western, Hollywood | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:47 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Brian Wilson | |||
| The Beach Boys singles chronology | ||||
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| Licensed audio | ||||
| Don't Worry Baby (Mono) on YouTube | ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
"Don't Worry Baby" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their March 1964 album Shut Down Volume 2. Written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian, Wilson's lead vocal on the track is considered one of his defining performances, and he later referred to "Don't Worry Baby" as perhaps the Beach Boys' finest record. It was issued in May 1964 as the B-side of "I Get Around", and charted separately at number 24.
Deriving from Wilson's obsession with the Ronettes' 1963 hit "Be My Baby", "Don't Worry Baby" has a similar musical structure, but different subject matter and production approach. The lyrics portray a braggadocian man who agrees to a drag race, much to his regret, and is subsequently consoled by his girlfriend with the song's title phrase. The song was originally offered to the Ronettes, but was rejected by their producer, Phil Spector, leaving Wilson to produce it for his own band. On the recording, all of the Beach Boys played their own instruments.
"Don't Worry Baby" has appeared in several critics' rankings lists, including Spin's "100 Greatest Singles of All Time", Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and Pitchfork's "200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s". Cover versions have been recorded by many acts, including the Bay City Rollers, B.J. Thomas, and Ronnie Spector. Thomas' version outperformed the sales of the original record, reaching number 17 in the U.S. and number 1 in Canada. The Beach Boys rerecorded the song with Lorrie Morgan for their 1996 album Stars and Stripes Vol. 1.
- ^ Leaf 1978, p. 52.
- ^ Sanchez 2014, p. 54.
- ^ Dillon 2012, p. 29.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (November 15, 2022). "The Beach Boys - "Good Vibrations". The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music. New York: Hachette Book Group. pp. 86–87.