Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman, and the Turtles bring us today’s classic song of the day, “She’d Rather Be With Me.” Released in April of 1967, this sweet little pop tune went all the way to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Cash Box Top 100. It was a #1 hit in Canada and South Africa.
“She’d Rather Be With Me” was written by Gary Bonner and Alan Gordon as a follow-up to the Turtles’ previous hit, “Happy Together.” The two of them had previously written “Happy Together” for the Turtles and would later write “She’s My Girl” for the group and “Celebrate” for Three Dog Night.
As much as listeners liked “She’d Rather Be With Me,” Turtles vocalist Howard Kaylan said the band was disappointed in the choice of song:
“We were kind of distraught, because it was such a 1920s razzmatazz kind of a song compared to this mysterious and glorious record we had just bought out. It was like following up ‘Good Vibrations’ with ‘Barbara Ann.'”
By the way, “She’d Rather Be With Me” features some terrific drumming from Turtle John Barbata. He really propels the band forward on this one—and throws in a fast group of triplets on the snare drum leading into the final verse for good measure. Good stuff.
And for your viewing pleasure, here’s the Turtles performing “She’d Rather Be With Me” on the May 14, 1967, episode of The Ed Sullivan Show. Ed must have liked the boys; the Turtles were a frequent guest on his Sunday night show.
