The Turtles bring us today’s classic song of the day, “You Baby.” Released as the lead single off their album of the same name in February of 1966, “You Baby” peaked at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and a little higher, #17, on the Cash Box Top 100.
“You Baby” was written by the prolific team of Steve Barri and P.F. Sloan. Barri and Sloan wrote a lot of tunes for a lot of artists back then, including the Grass Roots, the Association, and Herman’s Hermits. They wrote this one for the Vogues in 1965, although their version remained unreleased until 1996. Fortunately for all concerned, Howard and Mark (Kaylan and Volman) of the Turtles latched onto the song and, well, you know the rest.
Musically, “You Baby” is pretty simple. The chorus, for example, uses a simple I – IV – V – IV progression; in the key of G, that’s G – C – D – C. That progression is prettied up by the Turtles’ usual shiny vocal harmonies. It’s an irresistible combination.
For your viewing pleasure, here are Mark and Howard and the rest of the Turtles lip-synching “You Baby” in downtown Los Angeles on the July 8, 1966, episode of Dick Clark’s Where the Action Is television show. It’s today’s bonus video of the day.
