"Getcha Back" is a song written by Mike Love and Terry Melcher for the American rock band the Beach Boys, on their 1985 album The Beach Boys. It was the band's first release since the drowning death of Dennis Wilson in 1983. The song peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Adult Contemporary chart.[1]

"Getcha Back"
Single by the Beach Boys
from the album The Beach Boys
B-side"Male Ego"
ReleasedMay 8, 1985
Length2:59
LabelBrother
Songwriter(s)Mike Love, Terry Melcher
Producer(s)Steve Levine
The Beach Boys singles chronology
"Come Go with Me"
(1981)
"Getcha Back"
(1985)
"It's Gettin' Late"
(1985)

Musically, the backing vocals resemble those from the 1959 hit "Hushabye" by the Mystics, which the Beach Boys had covered in 1964 for their All Summer Long album. Comparisons could also be made to Bruce Springsteen's 1980 hit "Hungry Heart", which Love later recorded a cover of for a tribute album. Allmusic's William Ruhlmann stated that "despite the production sheen provided by Steve Levine (of Culture Club fame), this is another competent but uninspired effort."[2]

Reception

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Cash Box said the song "so wonderously recalls [the Beach Boys'] earlier times and earlier sounds."[3]

Music video

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The music video, directed by Dominic Orlando, was filmed on location in Malibu and Venice, California. It featured a then-unknown Katherine Kelly Lang, who went on to play Brooke Logan on the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.

Personnel

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Credits sourced from Craig Slowinski, John Brode, Will Crerar and Joshilyn Hoisington.[4]

The Beach Boys

Session musicians

Chart positions

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Chart (1985) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart 81
Austria Media Control 8
Canada Top Singles 26
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary 4
European Airplay Top 50 22
Germany Media Control 12
UK Singles 97
US Billboard Hot 100 26
US Billboard Adult Contemporary 2
US Cash Box Top 100[5] 25
US Cash Box Jukebox Programmer[6] 20
US Gavin Report Top 40 17
US Gavin Report Adult Contemporary 1
US Radio & Records Contemporary Hit Radio 23
US Radio & Records Adult Contemporary 2

Cover versions

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Mark McGrath, lead singer of the California rock band Sugar Ray, performed a cover of this song for the soundtrack of Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005). The Beach Boys version appears at the beginning, during the flashback of Herbie's racing career and adventures, during the opening credits.

Mike Love re-recorded the song for his 2017 solo album Unleash the Love. This version features altered lyrics and a new third verse, and features John Stamos on percussion.

References

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  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 29.
  2. ^ Ruhlmann, William (2008). The Allmusic Review. Allmusic.
  3. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. May 25, 1985. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
  4. ^ Slowinski, Craig (Summer 2023). Beard, David (ed.). "The Beach Boys 1985". Endless Summer Quarterly Magazine. Vol. 36, no. 142. Charlotte, North Carolina.
  5. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, July 6, 1985
  6. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, July 6, 1985