Drive-In (song)

1964 song by the Beach Boys

"Drive-In"

Song by the Beach Boys
from the album  All Summer Long
Released| July 13, 1964 (1964-07-13)
Recorded| October 1963
Genre| Rock and roll[1]
Length| 1:49
Label| Capitol
Songwriter(s)| Brian Wilson, Mike Love
Producer(s)| Brian Wilson
Licensed audio
"Drive-In" on YouTube

"Drive-In" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1964 album All Summer Long. It was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, although Love was not originally credited until after a 1990s songwriting lawsuit.[2]

## Lyrics

[edit]

Smokey Bear (depicted here in a 1960 poster) is referenced in the song through a sexual double entendre.

"Drive-In" was inspired by the group's outings at the Studio Drive-In in Culver City, California.[3] The song gives the listener advice on how to enter a drive-in theater without paying for admission, among other things, and climaxes with a line alluding to contraception ("If you say you watched the movie, you're a couple of liars / And remember, only you can prevent forest fires").[4]

## Composition

[edit]

Musician Andy Paley commented of the song,

> A typical rock ‘n’ roll progression for this song would have been going from F to D minor. Brian goes from a D7 instead which is really unusual and inventive. It kind of throws you for a loop. I can’t think of any song, particularly in that time period, that does that. It was such a weird change that I remember at the time wondering if that change was a mistake or if it was done on purpose, because it almost sounds as if somebody on the record doesn’t quite know. Everybody I knew at the time was kind of scratching their head and saying ‘what is that?’[1]

## Recording

[edit]

"Drive-In" was recorded shortly after the release of Little Deuce Coupe in October 1963.[5] Paley shared an anecdote related to the song that occurred during the filming of the 1995 documentary Brian Wilson: I Just Wasn't Made for These Times.

> Don Was said, "Brian, I have recorded all these people talking about how important your work is to them, what is the heaviest work you've ever done?" Up until that point, Brian hadn't been giving them much ... I think they were hoping to get more of him interview-wise. Brian got really excited by this question and said, "Okay, I'm gonna give you an honest answer to the best thing I ever did ... I'm gonna talk about 'Drive-In'." Brian started talking about "Drive-In" and vividly remembered cutting the track, being stoked about it, getting the guys around the microphone and getting the perfect blend. He said that was the best thing he had ever done.[6]

## Critical reception

[edit]

Biographer David Leaf called "Drive-In" "a great example of Brian’s sense of humor working perfectly within a rock 'n' roll song."[1]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Leaf, David (1990). Little Deuce Coupe / All Summer Long (CD Liner). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records.
2. ^ Doe, Andrew G. "Album Archive". Bellagio 10452. Endless Summer Quarterly. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24.
3. ^ White, Timothy (1996). The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys, and the Southern Californian Experience. Macmillan. p. 207\. ISBN 0333649370.
4. ^ Carlin, Peter Ames (2006). Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Rodale. p. 47\. ISBN 978-1-59486-320-2.
5. ^ Doe, Andrew Grayham. "GIGS63". Endless Summer Quarterly. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
6. ^ Beard, David, ed. (Winter 2015). "Brian Wilson - The Andy Paley sessions". Endless Summer Quarterly. Vol. 29, no. 112.

## External links

[edit]

* "Drive-In" (stereo mix) on YouTube

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All Summer Long

Songs|

| Side one|

* "I Get Around"
* "All Summer Long"
* "Hushabye"
* "Little Honda"
* "We'll Run Away"
* "Carl's Big Chance"

|

Side two|

* "Wendy"
* "Do You Remember?"
* "Girls on the Beach"
* "Drive-In"
* "Our Favorite Recording Sessions"
* "Don't Back Down"

Related articles|

* "All Dressed Up for School"
* Keep an Eye on Summer – The Beach Boys Sessions 1964
* The Beach Boys
* discography
* The Girls on the Beach
* The Monkey's Uncle
* Four by the Beach Boys

* 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

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The Beach Boys

* Brian Wilson
* Dennis Wilson
* Carl Wilson
* Mike Love
* Al Jardine

* Bruce Johnston
* David Marks
* Blondie Chaplin
* Ricky Fataar

Studio albums|

* 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

Live albums|

* Beach Boys Concert
* Live in London
* The Beach Boys in Concert
* Good Timin': Live at Knebworth England 1980
* Songs from Here & Back
* Live – The 50th Anniversary Tour
* Live in Sacramento 1964
* Live in Chicago 1965
* Graduation Day 1966
* 1967 – Live Sunshine
* The Beach Boys On Tour: 1968

Selected
compilations|

* Endless Summer
* Rarities
* Made in U.S.A.
* Lost & Found (1961–62)
* Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys
* The Pet Sounds Sessions
* Endless Harmony
* Ultimate Christmas
* Hawthorne, CA
* Sounds of Summer
* The Smile Sessions
* Made in California
* The Big Beat 1963
* Keep an Eye on Summer 1964
* Beach Boys' Party! Uncovered and Unplugged
* Becoming the Beach Boys
* 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow
* Wake the World: The Friends Sessions
* I Can Hear Music: The 20/20 Sessions
* Feel Flows
* Sail On Sailor – 1972

Unreleased|

* Smile
* Lei'd in Hawaii
* Charles Manson sessions
* Adult/Child
* Merry Christmas from the Beach Boys
* Andy Paley sessions

EPs|

* Four by the Beach Boys
* Mount Vernon and Fairway

* Documentary

concert films

* It's OK! (1976)
* An American Band (1985)
* Brian Wilson: I Just Wasn't Made for These Times (1995)
* Nashville Sounds (1996)
* Endless Harmony: The Beach Boys Story (1998)
* Good Timin': Live at Knebworth England 1980 (2002)
* Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of Smile (2004)
* Doin' It Again (2012)
* Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road (2021)
* The Beach Boys (2024)

Fictionalized|

* Summer Dreams: The Story of the Beach Boys (1990)
* An American Family (2000)
* Love & Mercy (2014)

Books|

* The Beach Boys and the California Myth
* Becoming the Beach Boys, 1961–1963
* Catch a Wave
* Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy
* Heroes and Villains: The True Story of the Beach Boys
* I Am Brian Wilson
* Inside the Music of Brian Wilson
* Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story

Places|

* Beach Boys Historic Landmark
* Beach Boys Studio
* Brother Studios
* Radiant Radish
* United Western Recorders

Lists|

* Bootlegs and unreleased material
* Cover versions
* Discography
* Song recordings
* Unreleased
* Brian
* Carl
* Dennis
* Mike
* Songs covered by the Beach Boys

Personnel|

* David Anderle
* Irving Azoff
* Jeffrey Foskett
* James William Guercio
* Jack Rieley
* Jerry Schilling
* Derek Taylor
* Michael Vosse
* Murry Wilson

Related media|

* The Beach Boys with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
* Brian Wilson Presents Smile
* Caroline Now!
* Good Vibrations (musical)
* Looking Back with Love
* Pacific Ocean Blue
* Pet Sounds Live
* A Postcard from California
* Smiling Pets
* Spring

Other topics|

* "Brian Wilson is a genius"
* Brother Records
* California Music
* California sound
* Live performances
* 1967 Summer Spectacular
* 1968 tour with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
* The 50th Reunion Tour
* Love v. Wilson
* Sea of Tunes

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