Honkin' Down the Highway
{{Infobox song
| name = Honkin' Down the Highway
| cover = HonkinDowntheHighway.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = the Beach Boys
| album = The Beach Boys Love You
| B-side = Solar System
| released = May 30, 1977
| recorded = 1976–1977
| studio =
| genre = Rock and roll{{sfn|Dillon|2012|p=232}}
| length = 2:48
| label = Brother
| writer = Brian Wilson
| producer = Brian Wilson
| prev_title = Susie Cincinnati
| prev_year = 1976
| next_title = Peggy Sue
| next_year = 1978
}}
"Honkin' Down the Highway" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1977 album The Beach Boys Love You. It was written by Brian Wilson and sung by Al Jardine. The lyrics describe a man driving to a woman, at her father's behest, for an engagement that the narrator states will conclude with himself "Takin' one little inch at a time, now / 'Til we're feelin' fine, now".{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=214}}
Background and recording
Asked if the song was influenced by country music, Wilson responded, "It was to a certain degree – but just to a certain degree though. I remember when I wrote that I was thinkin' 'truckin' down the highway' – just some kind of a country western kind of an idea. The actual song itself wasn't that country though."{{cite web |title=Brian Wilson – Caroline Now! Interview |url=https://www.marinarecords.com/brian.htm |website=Marina Records |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119151054/https://www.marinarecords.com/brian.htm |archive-date=November 19, 2008 |date=April 20, 2000}}
The song was originally going to be sung by touring musician Billy Hinsche. Hinsche later said that Eugene Landy had convinced Wilson to discard the lead vocal that Hinsche had recorded.{{sfn|Dillon|2012|p=230}}
Engineer Earle Mankey recalled that Wizzard frontman Roy Wood contributed to the recording.{{cite magazine|last=Beard|first=David|magazine=Endless Summer Quarterly|title=Ding Dang|date=Spring 2007}}
An edited version appeared on the 1991 CD reissue of The Beach Boys Love You,{{cite web |last1=Doe |first1=Andrew G. |title=1970-78 |url=http://bellagio10452.com/1970-78.html |website=Bellagio 10452 |access-date=8 October 2022 |at=The Beach Boys Love You}} in which the drum intro is cut off.{{cn|date=October 2022}}
Single mix
The German single mix runs shorter than the album release, cutting the instrumental bridge.{{cite AV media |people=The Beach Boys |date=July 1977 |title=Honkin' Down the Highway |type=Single |time=1:53. (Length: 2:31)|location=Germany |publisher=Brother Publishing Co. |id=REP 14 479}}
Reception
Cash Box said of the single, "the vocals and darkly colored instruments are blended into one thick soup, but the warm summer feelings come through."{{cite news|title=CashBox Singles Reviews|date=June 18, 1977|page=20|newspaper=Cash Box|accessdate=2021-12-26|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1977/CB-1977-06-18.pdf}} Record World called it a "rock-ribbed driving song.."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=June 18, 1977|accessdate=2023-02-16|title=Single Picks|page=20|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/77/Record-World-1977-06-18.pdf}}
Cover versions
- In the mid-1980s, Alex Chilton played "Honkin' Down the Highway" in concert with revised lyrics.{{cite web |title=Alex Chilton Setlist at VFW Hall, Baton Rouge, LA, USA |url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/alex-chilton/1985/vfw-hall-baton-rouge-la-bff458a.html |website=setlist.fm |access-date=3 October 2022}}{{better source|date=October 2022}}
- A remake of this song was included on Jardine's 2010 album A Postcard from California, with Wilson making a guest appearance.{{Cite AV media notes |title=A Postcard From California |title-link=A Postcard from California |others=Al Jardine |date=2012 |orig-date=2010 |at=track 11 |type=booklet |publisher=Yamaha Music & Visuals |id=YMCP-10032 |location=Japan}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book|first=Peter Ames|last=Carlin|author-link=Peter Ames Carlin|title=Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eYyovo_AbqAC|year=2006|publisher=Rodale|isbn=978-1-59486-320-2}}
- {{cite book|last=Dillon|first=Mark|title=Fifty Sides of the Beach Boys: The Songs That Tell Their Story|url=https://archive.org/details/fiftysidesofbeac0000dill/|year=2012|publisher=ECW Press|isbn=978-1-77090-198-8|url-access=registration}}
{{Love You}}
{{The Beach Boys singles}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Brian Wilson