Susie Cincinnati

1970 single by the Beach Boys

"Susie Cincinnati"

Single by the Beach Boys

from the album 15 Big Ones

A-side

"Add Some Music to Your Day"

Released

February 23, 1970 (1970-02-23)^[1]

Recorded

December 24, 1969 – February 2, 1970

Studio

Beach Boys (Bel Air)

Label

Brother/Reprise

Songwriter(s)

Al Jardine

Producer(s)

The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys singles chronology

"Break Away"
(1969)

"Susie Cincinnati"
(1970)

"Cottonfields"
(1970)

"Susie Cincinnati" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was recorded during the sessions for their 1970 album Sunflower.^[2] It was written by Al Jardine about a female cab driver from Ohio.^[3]

Background

Al Jardine stated in a 2022 interview, "'Susie Cincinnati' is kind of a jab at The Beatles, a 'Drive My Car' kind of thing, I enjoyed that. There wasn’t so much a rivalry with The Beatles, more of an appreciation. With Brian it might have been competition but myself, I enjoyed their work a lot."^[4]

Recording

"Susie Cincinnati" was recorded at the Beach Boys' Bel Air studio on December 24, 1969 and January 7, 1970. The automobile sound effects were recorded on February 2, 1970.^[5]^[6]

Release

The song was first issued in February 1970 as the B-side of the "Add Some Music to Your Day" single, and then again in December 1974 as the B-side of the "Child of Winter (Christmas Song)" single.^[7]^[8] In 1976, it was included as a track on the album 15 Big Ones. Brian Wilson included it on the LP "because it's a good song", although Dennis Wilson felt that it was a "silly piece of shit".^[9]

Personnel

Per liner notes.^[3]

The Beach Boys

Al Jardine – lead and backing vocals, guitar
Bruce Johnston – backing vocals
Mike Love – backing vocals
Brian Wilson – backing vocals, harmonica, bass
Carl Wilson – backing vocals, guitar
Dennis Wilson – backing vocals

Session musicians

Daryl Dragon – clavinet
Dennis Dragon – drums

References

Citations

^ Badman 2004, pp. 264, 381.
^ White 1996, p. 315.
^ ^a ^b Diken, Dennis; Buck, Peter (2000). 15 Big Ones/Love You (booklet). The Beach Boys. California: Capitol Records.
^ "The Beach Boys on 10 of their favourite Beach Boys songs". 24 June 2022.
^ Doe, Andrew G. "GIGS69". Bellagio 10452. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^ Doe, Andrew G. "GIGS70". Bellagio 10452. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^ Badman 2004, p. 342.
^ Matijas-Mecca 2017, p. 110.
^ Abbott 1997, pp. 108, 110.

Bibliography

Abbott, Kingsley, ed. (1997). Back to the Beach: A Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys Reader. Helter Skelter. ISBN 978-1-90092-402-3.
Badman, Keith (2004). The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band, on Stage and in the Studio. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-818-6.
Matijas-Mecca, Christian (2017). The Words and Music of Brian Wilson. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-3899-6.
White, Timothy (1996). The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys, and the Southern Californian Experience. Macmillan. ISBN 0333649370.

External links

Susie Cincinnati (Basic Session Highlights) on YouTube
Susie Cincinnati (2012 Mix) on YouTube
Susie Cincinnati (2020 Mix) on YouTube
Susie Cincinnati (Live/1976) on YouTube

The Beach Boys singles

1960s

1961	"Surfin'" / "Luau"
1962	"Surfin' Safari" / "409" "Ten Little Indians" / "County Fair"
1963	"Surfin' U.S.A." / "Shut Down" "Surfer Girl" / "Little Deuce Coupe" "Be True to Your School" / "In My Room" "Little Saint Nick" / "The Lord's Prayer"
1964	"Fun, Fun, Fun" / "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" "I Get Around" / "Don't Worry Baby" "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)" / "She Knows Me Too Well" "Dance, Dance, Dance" / "The Warmth of the Sun" "The Man with All the Toys" / "Blue Christmas"
1965	"Do You Wanna Dance?" / "Please Let Me Wonder" "Help Me, Rhonda" / "Kiss Me, Baby" "California Girls"/ "Let Him Run Wild" "The Little Girl I Once Knew" / "There's No Other (Like My Baby)" "Barbara Ann" / "Girl Don't Tell Me"
1966	"Sloop John B" / "You're So Good to Me" "Wouldn't It Be Nice" / "God Only Knows" "Good Vibrations" / "Let's Go Away for Awhile"
1967	"Then I Kissed Her" / "Mountain of Love" "Heroes and Villains" / "You're Welcome" "Wild Honey" / "Wind Chimes" "Darlin'" / "Here Today"
1968	"Friends" / "Little Bird" "Do It Again" / "Wake the World" "Bluebirds over the Mountain" / "Never Learn Not to Love"
1969	"I Can Hear Music" / "All I Want to Do" "Break Away" / "Celebrate the News"

1970s

1970	"Add Some Music to Your Day" / "Susie Cincinnati" "Cottonfields" / "The Nearest Faraway Place" "Slip On Through" / "This Whole World" "Tears in the Morning" / "It's About Time"
1971	"Cool, Cool Water" / "Forever" "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (live) / "The Times They Are a-Changin'" (by Merry Clayton) "Long Promised Road" / "Deirdre" "Long Promised Road" / "'Til I Die" "Student Demonstration Time" / "Don't Go Near the Water" "Surf's Up" / "Don't Go Near the Water"
1972	"You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone" / "Cuddle Up" "Marcella" / "Hold On Dear Brother"
1973	"Sail On, Sailor" / "Only with You" "California Saga/California" / "Funky Pretty"
1974	"Surfin' U.S.A." / "The Warmth of the Sun" "Child of Winter (Christmas Song)" / "Susie Cincinnati"
1975	"Sail On, Sailor" / "Only with You"
1976	"Rock and Roll Music" / "T M Song" "It's O.K." / "Had to Phone Ya" "Everyone's in Love with You" / "Susie Cincinnati"
1977	"Honkin' Down the Highway" / "Solar System"
1978	"Peggy Sue" / "Hey Little Tomboy"
1979	"Here Comes the Night" / "Baby Blue" "Good Timin'" / "Love Surrounds Me" "Lady Lynda" / "Full Sail" "It's a Beautiful Day" / "Sumahama"

1980s

1980	"Goin' On" / "Endless Harmony" "Livin' with a Heartache" / "Santa Ana Winds"
1981	"The Beach Boys Medley" / "God Only Knows" "Come Go with Me" / "Don't Go Near the Water"
1985	"Getcha Back" / "Male Ego" "It's Gettin' Late" / "It's O.K." "She Believes in Love Again" / "It's Just a Matter of Time"
1986	"Rock 'n' Roll to the Rescue" / "Good Vibrations" (live) "California Dreamin'" / "Lady Liberty"
1987	"Happy Endings" (with Little Richard) / "California Girls" (live)
1988	"Kokomo" / "Tutti Frutti" (Little Richard)
1989	"Still Cruisin'" / "Kokomo"

1990s

1990	"Somewhere Near Japan" / "Kokomo" "Problem Child" / "Problem Child (Instrumental)"
1992	"Hot Fun in the Summertime" / "Summer of Love"
1996	"I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" / "Wouldn't It Be Nice" / "Here Today"

2010s

2011	"Good Vibrations" / "Heroes and Villains" "Don't Fight the Sea" / "Friends"
2012	"That's Why God Made the Radio" / "That's Why God Made the Radio" (instrumental) "Isn't It Time" / Live in Chicago

Category

Sunflower

Songs

Side one	"Slip On Through" "This Whole World" "Add Some Music to Your Day" "Got to Know the Woman" "Deirdre" "It's About Time"
Side two	"Tears in the Morning" "All I Wanna Do" "Forever" "Our Sweet Love" "At My Window" "Cool, Cool Water"

Outtakes

"Back Home"
"Carnival"
"Fallin' in Love"
"Loop de Loop (Flip Flop Flyin' in an Aeroplane)"
"Games Two Can Play"
"Good Time"
"I'm Going Your Way"
"I Just Got My Pay"
"Raspberries, Strawberries"
"San Miguel"
"Soulful Old Man Sunshine"
"Susie Cincinnati"
"Take a Load Off Your Feet"
"When Girls Get Together"

Surfin' Safari
Surfin' U.S.A.
Surfer Girl
Little Deuce Coupe
Shut Down Volume 2
All Summer Long
The Beach Boys' Christmas Album
The Beach Boys Today!
Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
Beach Boys' Party!
Pet Sounds
Smiley Smile
Wild Honey
Friends
20/20
Sunflower
Surf's Up
Carl and the Passions – "So Tough"
Holland
15 Big Ones
The Beach Boys Love You
M.I.U. Album
L.A. (Light Album)
Keepin' the Summer Alive
The Beach Boys
Still Cruisin'
Summer in Paradise
Stars and Stripes Vol. 1
That's Why God Made the Radio

15 Big Ones

Songs

Side one	"Rock and Roll Music" "It's O.K." "Had to Phone Ya" "Chapel of Love" "Everyone's in Love with You" "Talk to Me" "That Same Song" "T M Song"
Side two	"Palisades Park" "Susie Cincinnati" "A Casual Look" "Blueberry Hill" "Back Home" "In the Still of the Night" "Just Once in My Life"

Outtakes

Covers	"Battle Hymn of the Republic" "Come Go With Me" "Come to the Sunshine" "Don't Fight the Sea" "Let's Dance" "Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore" "Mony Mony" "On Broadway" "Peggy Sue" "Running Bear" "Secret Love" "Shake, Rattle, and Roll"
Originals	"10,000 Years Ago" "Barnyard Blues" "California Feelin'" "Clangin'" "Don't Let Me Go" "Gold Rush" "Good Timin'" "Lisa" "Lucy Jones" "Our Life, Our Love, Our Land" "Rollin' Up to Heaven" "Short Skirts" "You're Riding High On the Music"