Today’s classic song of the day sounds like a West Coast surf music song from the 1960s but it was actually written and recorded by a bunch of Brits in the mid-70s. The song is “Beach Baby” and the group is called the First Class. Released in May of 1974, this slice of bubblegum pop peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the Cash Box Top 100. Interestingly, the single only reached #13 in the group’s native UK.
“Beach Baby” was written by UK-based songwriter/producer John Carter and his wife Gillian (Jill) Shakespeare. They assembled a group of British studio musicians to record the Beach Boys-like tune, with studio ace Tony Burrows singing lead. You probably remember Mr. Burrows from his mostly anonymous vocal work on a string of early ’70s British hits, including “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” by Edison Lighthouse, “My Baby Loves Lovin‘” by White Plains, “United We Stand” by the Brotherhood of Man, and “Gimme Dat Ding” by the Pipkins. For Mr. Burrows, singing lead on “Beach Baby” was just another day at the office.
Interesting fact about this one. The “Beach Baby” arrangement, in an instrumental break, quotes the theme from the last movement of Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony. Mr. Sibelius’ estate sued Carter and Shakespeare and settled out of court for half the song’s royalties.
The First Class “band” went on to release two studio albums and a number of follow-up singles, none of which left a lasting mark on the firmament of 20th century music. Tony Burrows, however, is still around today, aged 82.
And here’s your daily bonus video of the day, the touring version of First Class “performing” (AKA lip synching) “Beach Baby” on a television program in 1974. That’s not Tony Burrows singing lead, of course; he was too busy in the studio to go the road (or on TV). The singer lip-synching Mr. Burrows’ vocals is some guy named Del John, accompanied by a bunch of other musicians recruited to play First Class tunes on stage.
