It Was 50 Years Ago Today: “Help Me, Rhonda” by The Beach Boys

June 2, 1965
“Help Me, Rhonda” by the Beach Boys
#1 on the Billboard Hot 100, May 29 – June 11, 1965

From the earliest Beach Boys singles, it was obvious Brian Wilson had ambition. The songs may have been about the simple pleasures of surfing, driving, and girls, but their complex vocal harmonies and subtly elaborate production values (helmed by Wilson, though he wasn’t credited until the single “Surfer Girl” in 1963) set them apart from their teen pop contemporaries. Once Wilson fell in thrall of Phil Spector — in particular, the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby” — his dedication to studio craft became even more resolute, resulting in such attempts to replicate the Wall of Sound as “Don’t Worry Baby” and “All Summer Long.”  The watershed moment, however, occurred during the sessions for the LP The Beach Boys Today! in January 1965. Having suffered a nervous breakdown on the road a month earlier, Wilson announced to the rest of the group that he was withdrawing from touring. Instead, he would focus his energy in the studio, exploring progressive production techniques and more sophisticated songwriting.

The Beach Boys Today!, released in March 1965, was the group’s first LP to feature no beach- or car-themed songs. Singles from the album included “When I Grow Up (To Be a Man),” “Dance Dance Dance,” and “Do You Wanna Dance,” all of which charted in the Top 20 and demonstrate Wilson’s increased fixation on crafting cavernous, multi-layered soundscapes. Yet the most famous song from Today!  was originally just an album cut stuck in the middle of Side 1. “Help Me, Ronda,” as it’s spelled on the LP cover, is an over-studied emulation of Spector’s style, packed with Latin percussion, semi-unusual instruments (ukulele, saxophones, harmonica), vocals swathed in echo, and volume levels fading in and out. Wilson had the pieces in place to create a Wall-of-Sound style pop symphony but hadn’t quite worked out the right balance and sense of order to make them cohere into something polished.

Nonetheless, radio DJs recognized the catchy pop song beneath all the bells and whistles, and helped turn “Help Me, Ronda” into an airplay hit. As the song’s popularity grew, Wilson and the Beach Boys decided to re-record it in a more straightforward, slightly more uptempo version better suited for pop radio. The newly retitled “Help Me, Rhonda” omits the ukulele intro, instead launching directly into Al Jardine’s lead vocal, bouncing along from there on an insistent tambourine beat. A brief guitar solo replaces an under-cooked harmonica break. The harmonies are now tighter and more melodic; Mike Love’s bass “bow-bow-bow-bow” adds an extra hook.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oneR5lGWFfY

This newfound sense of urgency keeps “Help Me, Rhonda” fresh and vital, reflecting the intensity of young lust. Every element on the single slots neatly into place, with none of the clutter of the Today! version. Wilson’s still experimenting with dynamics, but now the crescendo into the chorus soars with a purpose: to signify the flood of desire overtaking the song’s narrator.

This streamlined version of “Help Me, Rhonda” earned the Beach Boys their second #1 single, following “I Get Around” from the previous year. (It also granted Jardine, who rarely sang lead, a chance to shine.) But while the record’s commercial success was a boost — not least because it gave Wilson, a perpetual self-doubter, proof that his productions were still connecting with pop audiences — it’s even more important as an illustration of the Beach Boys’ artistic growth. The new “Help Me, Rhonda” shows Wilson progressing from imitating Spector’s Wall of Sound to modifying it for his own ends, crafting a style that emulates the intensity of adolescent emotions but feels a little less grandiose, a little more rock ‘n’ roll. The evolution from “Ronda” to “Rhonda” also shows how quickly Wilson was learning and improving in the studio. In May 1966, less than a year after “Help Me, Rhonda” topped the pop charts, the Beach Boys would release the album Pet Sounds — not only widely acknowledged to be the band’s prime achievement, but also a landmark in the development of sophisticated pop-rock production.

It Was 50 Years Ago Today examines a song, album, movie, or book that was #1 on the charts exactly half a century ago.

Sally O'Rourke

Sally O’Rourke works in an office and sometimes writes about music. She blogs about every song to ever top the Billboard Hot 100 (in order) at No Hard Chords. She has also contributed to The Singles Jukebox, One Week // One Band, and PopMatters. Special interests include girl groups, soul pop, and over-analyzing chord changes and lyrics as if deciphering a secret code. She was born in Baton Rouge and lives in Manhattan. Her favorite Nugget is “Liar, Liar” by The Castaways.