On This Day in 1965, the Beach Boys Topped the Chart With Their First Single To Feature Al Jardine’s Lead Vocals

On this day (May 29) in 1965, the Beach Boys reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Help Me, Rhonda,” giving them their second No. 1 on the chart. It held the peak position for two weeks. While it wasn’t the band’s first song to feature Al Jardine on lead vocals, it was their first Jardine-led single.

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This was the second time the band recorded “Help Me, Rhonda.” It first appeared on their 1964 album The Beach Boys Today. They took it back to the studio during the sessions for Summer Days (And Summer Nights), which marked a major step forward for the band. The two versions of this song highlight the evolution the band underwent in less than a year. Where the first was a mellow shuffle built around a ukulele, the rerecorded features a punchy guitar-centered arrangement.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1964, the Beach Boys Entered the Studio to Record Their First No. 1 Single]

While Brian Wilson had begun writing more autobiographical and introspective songs in the months before recording Summer Days (And Summer Nights), this isn’t one of them. Mike Love, who co-wrote the song with Wilson, told Songfacts that Rhonda wasn’t based on a real person. “There are a lot of people, a lot of girls named Rhonda out there who have gotten remarks related to that song all their lives,” he added.

“Help Me, Rhonda” Was a First for the Beach Boys

Al Jardine had provided lead vocals on one song before recording “Help Me, Rhonda.” He led “Christmas Day” on The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album the previous year.

“I heard myself singing lead on it originally, and then I turned it over to Al,” Brian Wilson said. “I produced the Beach Boys, so I decided who would sing lead,” he explained.

While it’s impossible to tell by listening to the song, Jardine found recording it difficult. “I never really tackled a lead much before,” he told Record Collector. “I was always interested in the backgrounds. Carl and I were always on the harmonies. To take a lead was a big leap forward. This was not an easy lead, to be honest with you,” he added. “I was happy that Brian asked me to sing the lead. Brian had his idea of how he wanted it, and I had an idea of how I heard it, and that’s basically what you get.”

That wasn’t the only issue, though, nor was it the biggest. “The hardest part was dealing with Murry and everybody in the studio. They were fighting amongst themselves over the production, and that was really tough,” he revealed. “I was out there for hours.”

The Wilsons’ father and the band’s former manager, Murry, was at the studio when they recorded the song. He was drunk and hurling barbed comments at the band. That eventually led to a heated argument between Brian and Murry. The argument turned physical when the elder Wilson attempted to take control of the soundboard.

Despite all of the complications and chaos, Jardine laid down a vocal that led the Beach Boys to their first multi-week No. 1.

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