Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp have released a cover of The Beach Boys’ 1966 song “Caroline, No,” along with an accompanying music video. This is the fourth track the duo has released since revealing their upcoming collaborative album 18, out July 15.
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The video shows Beck with his live band performing a guitar-led instrumental version of The Beach Boys’ song. Though he doesn’t appear in the video, Depp is currently performing as a special guest on Beck’s European tour.
“That entire album was great support for me in horrible times,” said Beck in a statement about The Beach Boys’ album Pet Sounds. “I’d left the Yardbirds and regretted it because I had nothing. I bought a stereo and Pet Sounds, and I was just riveted to the spot. I remember it was a great big cure from losing the Yardbirds, having Jimi Hendrix stomp all over things, and losing my girlfriend.”
Depp, who recently won a libel lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard, and Beck previously released three tracks from 18, including Depp’s original “This Is A Song For Miss Hedy Lamarr” in 2020, a cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Venus in Furs,” and the duo’s rendition of John Lennon’s 1970 release “Isolation”—all part of the 13-track 18, which the pair started working on in 2019.
18 was named in honor of the connection Beck and Depp had since their first meeting in 2016. “When Johnny and I started playing together, it really ignited our youthful spirit and creativity,” said Beck. “We would joke about how we felt 18 again so that just became the album title too.”
Depp added, “It’s an extraordinary honor to play and write music with Jeff—one of the true greats and someone I am now privileged enough to call my brother.”
Written by Beach Boy Brian Wilson, who helmed the entirety of Pet Sounds, along with co-writer Tony Asher, “Caroline, No” was initially released as a B-Side to “Summer Means New Love” in 1966 and peaked at No. 32. Covered by Glen Frey, They Might Be Giants, Eric Carmen, and more, Caroline, No” is a song Wilson has called one of his favorite Pet Sounds tracks.
