“Under the Boardwalk” (The Drifters)

Our classic summer song of the day moves from “Up on the Roof” (yesterday’s classic song) to “Under the Boardwalk.” Like yesterday’s song, “Under the Boardwalk” was recorded by the Drifters; released in June of 1964, it rose to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, one spot higher than their 1962 single.

Unlike “Up on the Roof,” which was written by the legendary songwriting team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, “Under the Boardwalk” was written by the less-well-known team of Kenny Young and Arthur Resnick. Both had moderate success writing for others; Renick, notably, wrote the song “Good Lovin’,” which was a huge hit for the Rascals.

“Under the Boardwalk” tells the tale of a man hankering to hook up with his woman “under the boardwalk” near the sea. It actually references “Up on the Roof” in its opening lyrics:

Oh, when the sun beats down and burns the tar up on the roof
And your shoes get so hot you wish your tired feet were fire proof
Under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah
On a blanket with my baby is where I’ll be

That’s a little cheeky. Lyrically, it’s good but not near as polished or poetic as Gerry Goffin’s words for “Up on the Roof.” Same thing with the music; it’s good, but not great like Carole King’s music was for the prior hit.

Comparing the two songs’ chords and melodies are instructive. The melody of “Under the Boardwalk” is centered (with embellishments) around a single note in a relatively static chord progression. Ms. King’s melody for “Up on the Roof” is livelier and more melodic, driven by a faster-changing chord progression. In “Up on the Roof,” the chords change every measure and sometimes more frequently. With “Under the Boardwalk,” the chords stay the same for two more more measures at a time. The frequency of chord changes in “Up on the Roof” forces more melodic motion, whereas the slower-moving chords of “Under the Boardwalk” lets the melody sit in one place for longer. It’s a big difference in songwriting, and it’s not surprising that Carole King’s natural talent comes out on top.

That’s not to diminish today’s song. “Under the Boardwalk” is a classic. It expertly sets the steamy summer mood and describes the scene at a typical seaside town, complete with the “happy sound of the carousel” and “the hot dogs and French fries they sell.” And through it all, we have the happy goal of the singer getting his baby on a blanket in the shade of the boardwalk, falling in love while other people are walking above. You get the picture.

On this recording, Johnny Moore sang lead, supported by fellow Drifters Charlie Thomas, Gene Pearson, and Johnny Terry. The instrumental backing was by the normal NYC studio cats, including Ernie Hayes on piano, Milt Hinton on bass, and the inescapable Gary Chester on drums. Mike Leander did the arrangement and Bert Berns produced.

Interestingly, the group’s normal lead singer, Rudy Lewis, was slated to sing this one but he was found dead (allegedly of a heroin overdose) the night before the recording session, on May 20th, 1964. Rather than reschedule the session, producer Berns assigned Moore to lead vocal duties and went ahead with the recording. If you hear a tad bit of melancholy in the Drifters’ vocals, that’s why.

By the way, “Under the Boardwalk” was the Drifters’ last Top Ten hit. They were hit hard by the British Invasion, as well as continuing personnel changes, and only registered a few minor hits after this one—the most notable being the follow-up soundalike “I’ve Got Sand In My Shoes” (#33 in 1964, also written by Young and Resnick) and “Saturday Night at the Movies” (#18 in 1964). That pales with their string of earlier hits, including the groundbreaking “There Goes My Baby” (#2 in 1959), “Dance with Me” (#15 in 1959), “This Magic Moment” (#16 in 1959), “Save the Last Dance for Me” (#1 in 1960), “I Count the Tears” (#17 in 1960), “Please Stay” (#14 in 1961), “Sweets for My Sweet” (#16 in 1961), “Up on the Roof” (#5 in 1962), and “On Broadway“(#9 in 1963).

Note that several of the group’s biggest hits—”This Magic Moment,” “Save the Last Dance for Me,” “Sweets for My Sweet,” and “I Count the Tears”—were written by the legendary songwriting team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. Those guys wrote a ton of hits for the Drifters, Elvis Presley, and others, and deserve to be thought of in the same pantheon as Goffin and King, Mann and Weil, and Bacharach and David. They wrote a lot of damned good songs.

The Drifters have received many well-earned accolades over the years, including being inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame twice—first as “The Original Drifters” and later as “Ben E. King and the Drifters.” The group was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1988. While the Drifters changed members repeatedly over the years (I count more than 60 members between 1953 and today, including legends like Clyde McPhatter and Ben E. King), their music lives on—both on the roof and under the boardwalk.