This song is fantastic It has all the elements Brian applied in California Girls. 12 string hooks, organ arpeggios, walking bass lines, soaring harmonies. All foreshadowing Pet Sounds and Good Vibrations. The use of silence before the chorus has not been duplicated and was ground breaking 💔
Indeed he did, i'm reading UNCUT-History of Rock 1965 magazine and he reviewed that weeks singles and raved about it. I'd not hear this song before so had to find it on youtube
And this is the last original song by the Beach Boys before Pet Sounds. In between was the release of the "Party!" album, which consisted of covers (including the hit version of Barbara Ann) and was actually a stopgap provision for the Christmas market in 1965.
This is one of those hidden gems the Beach Boys sprinkled throughout their musical career. It's for the TRUE BB fan. Full of energy and excitement that only the BB could infuse. The music layering is so deep!
The keyboard note sustains through the nearly dead air section, giving it enough life to anticipate the refreshing key change into the chorus. These small production decisions drive most of Brian Wilson's best pop recordings, elevating the songs beyond typical 60's fare.
the SOUNDTRACK TO BARABAS by Mario Nacembiene has a loud electric guitar chord when Barbabas sees the sun after being in the salt mines for 6 years using a tape recorder with warped bearings it goes bah wang wang wang wang the recording engineer said they spend millions of dollars taking the wow out of records and you put it back in
Clearly this tune is the musical bridge Brian used to connect the early surf and hot rod songs to the total triumphs of his masterpiece Pet Sounds. Love all this stuff!
This sounds awesome! As for the "dead air", it could be one reason some radio stations were reluctant to play it, but in South Florida, WQAM didn't sweat the small stuff and played it extensively.
it wasnt dead air...they were silent beats something you find in many classical pieces as classical composers understood that silence was just as important as sound
Thewkovacs, you have to look at it from a radio programmer's point of view. Anytime there's a stop in the music, it could give a listener a chance to tune away. This song did it twice. In top 40 radio, that's not good. Yes, the great composers did it, too, but you can't compare the genres. There was no radio when the great classics were composed.
lol what kind of fucking dipshit would, half a minute into a song, hear literally two seconds of near-silence and then be like, "OPE, SONG'S OVER, TIME TO SWITCH STATION."
The quality of their output started out great, and became even greater exponentially in short order. Following a masterpiece like California Girls was no easy task, and The Little Girl I Once Knew more than rose to that occasion. It soars with the band's best work. Absolute, utter perfection.
BB's well ahead of the game at this point.Brilliant production and arrangement.The stop/start interludes prevented some dj's playing it at the time.Try 'Let Him Run Wild' and 'Girl Don't Tell Me' for more fab sounds....
I still look at the whole of 1965--from the Today LP all the way to "Little Girl I Once Knew" to be one of the BBS most underrated, creative, and most competitive years. But you can take out that "Party!" LP--that was a joke album to satisfy Capitol, along the same lines as "The Who Sells Out" But What a busy year that was!
Their haircuts and the way they all look make me think this film was when they were on their UK tour in 1966, just after Pet Sounds, and while Brian was putting Smile together. Doesn't exactly look like there was as much fanfare getting off that plane as when the Beatles landed in America two years earlier. But while the Boys were away--Brian PLAYED!!!
Hearing this song makes you just want to step into it. Pet Sounds was a great record, but I always thought they reached their peak just before that. I've heard that DJs were reluctant to play this because of the "dead air" pauses; it should have been their biggest record.
If you actually LISTEN to the "dead air sections" you'll actually hear the natural note decaying. There ISN'T real silence. Those sections should have been boosted slightly so they could be HEARD. This song is really good. Lennon was right.
This should have been a hit and included on Pet Sounds, shame on the majority of the public and radio stations for not recognizing this masterpiece! Criticizing the "dead air", meanwhile, the likes of John Lennon and George Harrison absolutely adored this song...
LOVE THIS.. WISH BRIAN would have had PERFECT hearing , 1 ear he's almost DEAF in it.. so ALL could be in STEREO.. So much more Life to their songs....
@@fntime Brian's dad Murry smacked him around a to few times as a child and Brian says to him and I quote. "You know I cant hear it of that ear to well". This was all caught durning a recording session w/ a young twenty one year old Brian. And he kept it too. Didn't erase it. The video's on YT.
Loved, loved LOVED Carl, but man, those cancer sticks eventually killed him. Brian was the head, but Carl was the heart of the Beach Boys, especially 1969-1975 when some of their best music was produced.
It breaks my heart to see such an innocent, sweet teenage face like his putting a cigarette in it. I never knew that about him before I saw this! Same thing killed John Candy, too--chain smoking
I always thought it was like "she's not the little girl I once knew, so sad", but it's actually "she's not the little girl I once knew, oh yeah" XD now it sounds much better for me
And two other bass players. Brian almost always used a Fender six string bass, a Fender Precision bass, and an upright acoustic bass, all playing the same lines, which was whatever Brian told them to play. Remember, he was a great bass player himself.
Is that Glen Campbell on guitar in the intro? Sounds like his playing. Also, I remember Tom Petty saying he wondered how he could get his bass to sound like that, not knowing that it was THREE basses playing together
Typical Brian Wilson structure. As in, there's nothing typical about it. When you expect a "Middle Eight," he goes into "Brian Wilson Land" and stays there until the final chorus. Amazing.
Although this song was not originally on an LP , eventually it was included on an LP. It appears on The Best of the Beach Boys Volume 3 , released during 1968.
"The Little Girl I Once Knew's most notable feature is its use of several abrupt pauses in the arrangement, as the music shifts to complete silence. As a result of this, many disc jockeys omitted the song from radio playlists to avoid dead air. Despite receiving positive reviews from music critics at the time, the single reached number 20 on the U.S. Billboard charts, marking the band's lowest entry there for an A-sided single since 1963. This relatively poor commercial performance may have been a factor in Wilson's decision to omit the song from Pet Sounds. Retrospectively, critics have praised the song for its ambitious arrangement and production, and have described it as a turning point in the group's sound and musical style." - Wikipedia
There is a lot going on in this song......the harmony , organ puffing along bass guitar xylophone .......double organ playing vocals up front with backing harmony.....
John Lennon loved this song and Paul McCartney wished he had written "God Only Knows". Brian Wilson was influenced by "Rubber Soul" and produced "Pet Sounds". Lennon and McCartney listened to that and produced "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". Iron sharpens iron.
1:53 Brian seems to makes his appearance, but might be Dennis in disguise.... Everyone smoked cuz it was "Cool" but sometimes with tragic results. Dennis off the plane in his mod cool suit...dynamite.
Don't get me wrong, Pet Sounds is a perfect record. But imagine this song being on the album instead of Sloop John B... (the latter being a non-album single only)
If people didn't see the brilliance of this track that John Lennon saw--who was raving about it--choosing something simplistic like "Barbara Ann" instead---then they simply had no taste!
We met when she was younger Then I had no eyes for her A few years went by and I saw her Now I'm gonna try for her Look out babe She's not the little girl I once knew She's not the little girl I once knew She's not the little girl I once knew She's not the little girl I once knew How could I ever have known that She'd be what she is today And look at how her boyfriend holds her I'll be moving in one day Split man She's not the little girl I once knew She's not the little girl I once knew She's not the little girl I once knew She's not the little girl I once knew La doo day pow pow pow La doo day pow pow pow La doo day pow pow pow She's not the little girl I once knew She's not the little girl I once knew She's not the little girl I once knew She's not the little girl I once knew She's not the little girl I once knew She's not the little girl I once knew She's not the little girl I once knew She's not the little girl I once knew Source: Musixmatch Songwriters: Brian Wilson
Not Bad... Beach Boys are known for using their Voices ( Harmonies) Where the Guitars etc... Are in the Background... But as far as this Song goes Not as Good as " God Only Knows" or " Wouldn't It Be Nice" But Still Good 👍
Funny how songs must grow on you because this is the first time I've ever heard this song and it sounds like total shit that was made up on the spot. Serious.
This song is fantastic
It has all the elements Brian applied in California Girls. 12 string hooks, organ arpeggios, walking bass lines, soaring harmonies. All foreshadowing Pet Sounds and Good Vibrations. The use of silence before the chorus has not been duplicated and was ground breaking 💔
Some guy named John Lennon thought this was one of the greatest songs ever recorded.
Indeed he did, i'm reading UNCUT-History of Rock 1965 magazine and he reviewed that weeks singles and raved about it. I'd not hear this song before so had to find it on youtube
That guy was dead on.
And this is the last original song by the Beach Boys before Pet Sounds. In between was the release of the "Party!" album, which consisted of covers (including the hit version of Barbara Ann) and was actually a stopgap provision for the Christmas market in 1965.
@@carlmoore3215 I SO love THIS song and really dislike the throwaway "Barbara Ann."
That John Lennon fella has EXCELLENT taste! Its definitely MY favorite BBS song!
This is one of those hidden gems the Beach Boys sprinkled throughout their musical career. It's for the TRUE BB fan. Full of energy and excitement that only the BB could infuse. The music layering is so deep!
Well put. Hidden gem. 👍
Absolutely! I discovered this one when I was at summer camp as a kid and one of the counselors played Endless Summer & Spirit of America non-stop
This song SHOULD'VE been on Pet Sounds, NOT Sloop John B, which didn't really fit.
@@burlingtonbill1 Why doesn't Sloop John B fit? I feel like this is just something people repeat
@@superstimulatedminotaur3681 all the other songs involve adolescent emotions
"Split, man." Hard to top that!
The keyboard note sustains through the nearly dead air section, giving it enough life to anticipate the refreshing key change into the chorus. These small production decisions drive most of Brian Wilson's best pop recordings, elevating the songs beyond typical 60's fare.
Vibraphone, not keyboard.
0:31 ECHO PLEX ?
VIBRAPHONE
the SOUNDTRACK TO BARABAS by Mario Nacembiene has a loud electric guitar chord when Barbabas sees the sun after being in the salt mines for 6 years using a tape recorder with warped bearings it goes bah wang wang wang wang the recording engineer said they spend millions of dollars taking the wow out of records and you put it back in
@@NS9213 It's clearly a keytar.
One of the lesser known masterpieces.
Clearly this tune is the musical bridge Brian used to connect the early surf and hot rod songs to the total triumphs of his masterpiece Pet Sounds. Love all this stuff!
Best version out there. Song deserves more respect
One of their least known but best songs. Complex harmonies an great composition. Brian and the Boys brilliance at work.
Gorgeous!!! One of the greatest songs.
This single was the very first BB record I bought when I was 12. I have them all....and this is still my favorite Beach Boys tune.
I am so happy that people LOVE this like i do -- i felt a bit alone - i love it!
My favorite BB song! Wow"" this has EVERYTHING!! Great melody, harmonies, and rhythm! Thank You, BB, for being a part of my life!!
This sounds awesome! As for the "dead air", it could be one reason some radio stations were reluctant to play it, but in South Florida, WQAM didn't sweat the small stuff and played it extensively.
They had good taste.
it wasnt dead air...they were silent beats
something you find in many classical pieces as classical composers understood that silence was just as important as sound
Thewkovacs, you have to look at it from a radio programmer's point of view. Anytime there's a stop in the music, it could give a listener a chance to tune away. This song did it twice. In top 40 radio, that's not good. Yes, the great composers did it, too, but you can't compare the genres. There was no radio when the great classics were composed.
lol what kind of fucking dipshit would, half a minute into a song, hear literally two seconds of near-silence and then be like, "OPE, SONG'S OVER, TIME TO SWITCH STATION."
Breaks my heart to see Carl smoking - I still miss him and his beautiful voice every day.
The quality of their output started out great, and became even greater exponentially in short order. Following a masterpiece like California Girls was no easy task, and The Little Girl I Once Knew more than rose to that occasion. It soars with the band's best work. Absolute, utter perfection.
played by David Hamilton on boom radio today
LOVE THIS SONG
Love this song.
i think the intro even surpasses the one for California Girls .... tears of musical joy
My favorite recording by the Beach Boys.
I read an interview quite some time ago with Brian and he said the singing sounded “a bit sour”. Sounds great to me but I wouldn’t argue with Brian.
I once heard thus described as the link between the early beach songs and the later sophisticated music they made. So true.
This is BEYOND "a link." This IS the later sophisticated music (disguised as fun, striped shirt innocence).
What a guitar riff at the beginning. 12 string guitars, about 3 or 4 of them, then the bass answer and response, immense song by Brian
I could listen to 1:33-1:49 for HOURS on repeat… I love that part so much
Brian's genius, Wrecking Crew's execution
You can just hear the embryonic beginnings of Pet Sounds and in my view would have graced the album. Genius Brian Wilson. Thank you
This would have fit perfectly on "Pet Sounds." So would "Summer Means New Love."
Those two are THAT GREAT!♥
One of their most brilliant
thank you for posting this, it's a real gem, and Dennis in the video......
Sheer brilliance! Thanks for posting. 👍
Excellent! I love The Beach Boys. Thanks for posting it in HQ. 👍😊🎼🎶🎵
Walter Krueger I love the beach boys too
Such a magic sound.
The intro and portion that starts around 1:50 are amazing. An unfinished masterpiece.
Really the last song of the classic era of the Beach Boys.
jmua04 they changed a lot after this
Check out Al Jardine in the antique store in London UK playing the Gramophone
Saw them live at the Bushnell in Hartford CT in 1969...Awesome show
BB's well ahead of the game at this point.Brilliant production and arrangement.The stop/start interludes prevented some dj's playing it at the time.Try 'Let Him Run Wild' and 'Girl Don't Tell Me' for more fab sounds....
I still look at the whole of 1965--from the Today LP all the way to "Little Girl I Once Knew" to be one of the BBS most underrated, creative, and most competitive years. But you can take out that "Party!" LP--that was a joke album to satisfy Capitol, along the same lines as "The Who Sells Out" But What a busy year that was!
Beach Boys = not just Rock stars but true musical geniuses.
Their haircuts and the way they all look make me think this film was when they were on their UK tour in 1966, just after Pet Sounds, and while Brian was putting Smile together. Doesn't exactly look like there was as much fanfare getting off that plane as when the Beatles landed in America two years earlier. But while the Boys were away--Brian PLAYED!!!
And yet Pet Sounds was a big hit in Britain bit didn't sell well in America.
Hearing this song makes you just want to step into it. Pet Sounds was a great record, but I always thought they reached their peak just before that. I've heard that DJs were reluctant to play this because of the "dead air" pauses; it should have been their biggest record.
If you actually LISTEN to the "dead air sections" you'll actually hear the natural note decaying. There ISN'T real silence. Those sections should have been boosted slightly so they could be HEARD. This song is really good. Lennon was right.
This should have been a hit and included on Pet Sounds, shame on the majority of the public and radio stations for not recognizing this masterpiece! Criticizing the "dead air", meanwhile, the likes of John Lennon and George Harrison absolutely adored this song...
Er på det aller første opptaket mitt på en Tandberg spole. Det var tider det!
Simply superb!
LOVE THIS.. WISH BRIAN would have had PERFECT hearing , 1 ear he's almost DEAF in it..
so ALL could be in STEREO.. So much more Life to their songs....
He also did most in mono because back then, there was only AM radio in cars, which was in mono.
Brians's problem wasn't his hearing, the man is 'out of hismind."
@@fntime THATS PART OF THE GENIUS. You gotta take the good with the bad
@@gigid9606 Here then is a playlist you'll
enjoy. Songs added daily. Hope YOU
enjoy! :)ruclips.net/p/PL240940E21E6C83E3
@@fntime Brian's dad Murry smacked him around a to few times as a child and Brian says to him and I quote. "You know I cant hear it of that ear to well". This was all caught durning a recording session w/ a young twenty one year old Brian. And he kept it too. Didn't erase it. The video's on YT.
Didn't chart as high as their earlier singles which just showed the world wasnt ready for Brian's genius.
Loved, loved LOVED Carl, but man, those cancer sticks eventually killed him. Brian was the head, but Carl was the heart of the Beach Boys, especially 1969-1975 when some of their best music was produced.
It breaks my heart to see such an innocent, sweet teenage face like his putting a cigarette in it. I never knew that about him before I saw this! Same thing killed John Candy, too--chain smoking
Everybody smoked. Denny, Brian...Carl just seems too young to join in with the grownups, but he's puffin away, rest his soul.
Was thinking the same about Carl. Sad.
I always thought it was like "she's not the little girl I once knew, so sad", but it's actually "she's not the little girl I once knew, oh yeah" XD now it sounds much better for me
Among other things, I love the skating-rink organ
Brian Wilson at his very best. 1966 yes sir! l need to hear this song every night this year, to heal my self!
John Lennon loved this song from the moment he heard it. Played it over and over trying to figure out how Brian used their voices like instruments
Amazing
Mike Love is such as boat anchor!
Carol Kaye on the bass....
And two other bass players. Brian almost always used a Fender six string bass, a Fender Precision bass, and an upright acoustic bass, all playing the same lines, which was whatever Brian told them to play. Remember, he was a great bass player himself.
Is that Glen Campbell on guitar in the intro? Sounds like his playing. Also, I remember Tom Petty saying he wondered how he could get his bass to sound like that, not knowing that it was THREE basses playing together
@@wkbcgb I think one of those bassists was Chuck Berghofer. He's on "Boots Are Made for Walkin'" and the "Barney Miller" theme.
Phenomenal
This song for some reason never took off but it has all the classic Beach Boy bells and whistles.......
Typical Brian Wilson structure. As in, there's nothing typical about it. When you expect a "Middle Eight," he goes into "Brian Wilson Land" and stays there until the final chorus. Amazing.
Although this song was not originally on an LP , eventually it was included on an LP. It appears on The Best of the Beach Boys Volume 3 , released during 1968.
"The Little Girl I Once Knew's most notable feature is its use of several abrupt pauses in the arrangement, as the music shifts to complete silence. As a result of this, many disc jockeys omitted the song from radio playlists to avoid dead air. Despite receiving positive reviews from music critics at the time, the single reached number 20 on the U.S. Billboard charts, marking the band's lowest entry there for an A-sided single since 1963. This relatively poor commercial performance may have been a factor in Wilson's decision to omit the song from Pet Sounds. Retrospectively, critics have praised the song for its ambitious arrangement and production, and have described it as a turning point in the group's sound and musical style." - Wikipedia
Yes look at Yesterdays papers John Lennon reviewing December 1965 songs. He loved it.
There is a lot going on in this song......the harmony , organ puffing along bass guitar xylophone .......double organ playing vocals up front with backing harmony.....
Split Man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Look out, baby!
I literally wore this record out as a kid. That and Palisades Park.
Gawd damn, you and me both, same records.
John Lennon loved this song and Paul McCartney wished he had written "God Only Knows". Brian Wilson was influenced by "Rubber Soul" and produced "Pet Sounds". Lennon and McCartney listened to that and produced "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". Iron sharpens iron.
Then made smile after pepper, it was a great album but he scrapped it
BRIAN at his wackiest & best!
1:53 Brian seems to makes his appearance, but might be Dennis in disguise.... Everyone smoked cuz it was "Cool" but sometimes with tragic results. Dennis off the plane in his mod cool suit...dynamite.
Yeah, that's Dennis and Al in the store.
“He’s not well ya know.” - John Lennon
Why is Al so cute!?!?! ❤️
Don't get me wrong, Pet Sounds is a perfect record. But imagine this song being on the album instead of Sloop John B... (the latter being a non-album single only)
Para mim, esta música já era um prenúncio do Pet Sounds
For me, this song was already a harbinger of Pet Sounds
This is a brilliant song, supposedly, the "pause" threw radio programmers(they didn't know what to make of it)
Southern California gals the beach boys scored with those white and blue striped collared shirts
split man
La cancion que le encantó a John Lennon ,será que le recordaba a una de sus primeras composiciones (Hello little Girl)
0:30 MIKE THE COOL ONE
Jose Belindo no way. Dennis is the cool one, not Mike.
He won't be so cool once he heads home after this tour, and finds that Brian wants him to put his vocals on those Smile tracks!
0:32 DEAD AIR
Este disco le justo jhon lennon
Do any of the Beach Boys play an instrument on this?
This song should have charted higher.
If people didn't see the brilliance of this track that John Lennon saw--who was raving about it--choosing something simplistic like "Barbara Ann" instead---then they simply had no taste!
Beach boys before beatles
no i don't see the need for the pauses. no idea why he did that. don't you think it's more of a distraction?
John Lennon loved it too.
Prince Andy likes this
I've not really been one for the beach boys I'm more for the beatles john lennon loved this song and that was his prerogative .
Were you born in 65 the reason I asked that's when I was born
We met when she was younger
Then I had no eyes for her
A few years went by and I saw her
Now I'm gonna try for her
Look out babe
She's not the little girl I once knew
She's not the little girl I once knew
She's not the little girl I once knew
She's not the little girl I once knew
How could I ever have known that
She'd be what she is today
And look at how her boyfriend holds her
I'll be moving in one day
Split man
She's not the little girl I once knew
She's not the little girl I once knew
She's not the little girl I once knew
She's not the little girl I once knew
La doo day pow pow pow
La doo day pow pow pow
La doo day pow pow pow
She's not the little girl I once knew
She's not the little girl I once knew
She's not the little girl I once knew
She's not the little girl I once knew
She's not the little girl I once knew
She's not the little girl I once knew
She's not the little girl I once knew
She's not the little girl I once knew
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Brian Wilson
Not Bad... Beach Boys are known for using their Voices ( Harmonies) Where the Guitars etc... Are in the Background... But as far as this Song goes Not as Good as " God Only Knows" or " Wouldn't It Be Nice" But Still Good 👍
This was John Lennon’s favorite Beach Boys song. My favorite was, “There’s a Whole Lot of Sucking Going On.”
John Lennon brought me here ...
Sadly The Beach Boys could never have played the instrumentation on this and most of their recordings.
Like the Beatles,who stopped performing in 65,their music is none the worse for it
Just another Beach Bous Mill cut songs. Not clear why John Lennon was so excited about it.
Funny how songs must grow on you because this is the first time I've ever heard this song and it sounds like total shit that was made up on the spot. Serious.
Dude I’d love to hear your music if it’s better than this!
Not bad 🤔 but many other songs better👍