"Sail On, Sailor" (mislabeled "Sail On Sailor" on original pressings) is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1973 album Holland. It was written primarily by Van Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson with Ray Kennedy, Tandyn Almer, and Jack Rieley. The lead singer on the song is Blondie Chaplin, making this one of the band's few well-known songs not sung by Mike Love, Brian Wilson or Carl Wilson. The song was released as a single in 1973, backed with "Only with You", and peaked at No. 79 on the Billboard singles chart. A 1975 reissue (also backed with "Only with You") charted higher, at No. 49.
Brian Wilson himself later stated, "It's the only song that we did that I absolutely do not like at all. I never liked 'Sail On, Sailor'." However, Wilson personally selected the song as one of 19 track selections for the compilation Classics Selected by Brian Wilson, saying, "I love how this song rocks." According to biographer Jon Stebbins, the song "is perhaps the only perennial Beach Boys favorite to still thrive in the classic rock and album rock FM radio formats of the present."
Background
Initial writing and demo tape
Van Dyke Parks, who was then director of audio-visual services at Warner Bros. Records, explained the impetus for the song: "I called [Brian] up out of the clear blue sky and at some point he said, 'Let's write a tune.' It was better than having him stare at the angels on his headboard and write tunes about them." On another occasion, he shared further context,
Parks credited himself as the primary composer of "Sail On, Sailor", saying, "I went over to Brian's with my new [tape recorder] and told him the name of the tune and sang those intervals, and he pumped out the rest of that song." In 2002, Wilson said of the song: "Van Dyke really inspired this one. We worked on it originally; then, the other collaborators contributed some different lyrics. By the time the Beach Boys recorded it, the lyrics were all over the place. But I love how this song rocks."
There exists a 15-minute cassette recording of Parks and Wilson writing the song on Wilson's piano. According to Parks, "it's clear from the contents [of the tape] that I authored the words and the musical intervals to 'Sail On, Sailor.' It's also clear that I composed the bridge, played them, and taught them to Brian." Biographer Timothy White quoted an anonymous source's description of the tape's contents, "Brian was playing that song on the piano. It was completely different words. He's singing different words; much better words." One of the discarded lyrical passages in the song was "Fill your sails with fortitude / and ride her stormy waves / You've got to sail on, sail on, sailor".
The tape, according to one report, begins with the following exchange:
Another report of the tape's contents details a slightly different exchange:
Parks later said, "That was a tough moment for both Brian and me. I just went over to see how he was, and he wasn't good. Of course, you couldn't tell that from this song, because it represents such hope, but it came out of a very difficult time." He remembered, "It was a rare visit. In a five-day rush at that house, I came out with one song." Asked in 1976 about his remarks from the tape, Wilson responded, "I was serious. I used to think I was insane. I'm a lot saner since I've had my doctor."
Parks said that he subsequently "put the tape away, and lay low", as he had "wanted to avoid getting involved with the internecine group dilemmas once again." As of 2006, Parks did not know the whereabouts of the tape, having given it to Warner Bros. in 1972. A four-minute edit of the tape was later released on Sail On Sailor – 1972 (2022).
Alterations
Biographer Peter Ames Carlin stated that the song was essentially co-written by Wilson and Parks in 1971, with Kennedy and Almer's lyrical contributions dating from impromptu sessions at Three Dog Night singer Danny Hutton's house during the period. Wilson said in a 2007 interview:
Kennedy recalled that "Sail On, Sailor" had originally been intended by Wilson for Three Dog Night, and that he had written the song with Wilson over the course of three days in 1970:
Manager Jack Rieley stated that when he was informed by Warner Bros. executives of the song's existence, he took a flight from Holland to Los Angeles and, while staying at a Holiday Inn, devised new lyrics that "reflected how I felt 'lost like a sewer rat alone but I sail…' about having to fly out to LA. Van Dyke contributed additional lyrics."
According to biographer Steven Gaines,
thumb|upright|Lead vocalist [[Blondie Chaplin (1979)]]
The Beach Boys ultimately recorded the song at Village Recorders on November 28, 1972, with production by Carl Wilson. Brian remembered being "grossly incompetent" with the song and that he had failed to show up to the sessions.
Personnel
Credits from Craig Slowinski, John Brode, Will Crerar, and Joshilyn Hoisington.
The Beach Boys
- Blondie Chaplin – lead and backing vocals, bass guitar
- Ricky Fataar – backing vocals, drums
- Mike Love – backing vocals
- Carl Wilson – backing vocals, grand piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, electric guitar, Hammond organ, ARP Odyssey synthesizers, producer
Additional musicians
- Gerry Beckley – backing vocals
- Kevin Michaels – tambourine
Cover versions
- 1976 – KGB, KGB (Ray Kennedy on lead vocals)
- 1977 – Steve Hunter, Swept Away
- 1980 – Ray Kennedy, Ray Kennedy
- 1986 – Ray Charles, The Beach Boys 25 Years Together: A Celebration in Waikiki
- 1995 – Golden Earring, Love Sweat
- 1996 – Shawn Colvin, Head Above Water
- 2001 – Darius Rucker & Matthew Sweet, An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson
- 2002 – The Bluetones, "After Hours"
- 2002 – Sting with Lulu, Together
- 2003 – Jimmy Buffett, Meet Me In Margaritaville: The Ultimate Collection
- 2007 – Jamie Cullum, Musicares Presents A Tribute to Brian Wilson
- 2007 – Sean Lennon & Mark Ronson, BBC Electric Proms
- 2021 – A.J. Croce, By Request
- 2021 – Mitch Rocket, 1979/Sail On Sailor
- 2021 – Los Lobos, Native Sons
Charts
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Chart (1973)
!Peak<br />position
|-
|Canada RPM Adult Contemporary
| style="text-align:center;"|52
|-
|Netherlands
| style="text-align:center;"|73
|-
|U.S. Billboard Hot 100
| style="text-align:center;"|79
|-
|U.S. Cash Box Top 100
|align="center"|96
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart (1975)
!Peak<br />position
|-
|Canada RPM Top Singles
| style="text-align:center;"|73
|-
|U.S. Billboard Hot 100
| style="text-align:center;"|49
|-
|U.S. Cash Box Top 100
|align="center"|62
|-
|}