Beach Baby


"Beach Baby" is a song by the British band The First Class. It was written by John Carter and his wife, Gillian Shakespeare, became the band's only substantial hit.

Background

Carter and Shakespeare wrote "Beach Baby" in their home in East Sheen, South West London. Shortly afterward, Carter hired Tony Burrows and session singer Chas Mills to record it under the band name The First Class. Towards the end of the song, there are two instrumental quotations, both on the French Horn: the main theme from the last movement of Sibelius's Fifth Symphony and the tune of the title line from one of Carter's previous compositions. Lead singer Burrows attempts to sing in an American accent, reflecting the song's setting in California. Because the running time was over 5 minutes, several AM radio stations edited "Beach Baby" by fading it out during the second instrumental bridge. The estate of Jean Sibelius filed a lawsuit against the song's writers, for infringing on the Sibelius piece. The case was settled out of court, with the Sibelius estate receiving half of the song's proceeds. The radio-play fade outs then took on some importance, helping to avoid further legal implications.
On the 31 August 1974 edition of "American Top 40", Casey Kasem revealed that a recording of the song already existed by 1973:
This is an exaggeration; there were power cuts in the UK in 1973, but no law preventing use of electricity.
In 1974, the song became a hit in the UK, and in the US, where it peaked at #4. In Canada, "Beach Baby" was a #1 hit.
Although the band went on to release two studio albums and a multitude of singles, they were unable to recreate the success of "Beach Baby".

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts

Year-end charts

Covers