Their hearts were full of spring

Yesterday was the birthday of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson. Given the seriousness of events transpiring in Iran, I thought it made sense to forego a tribute to Wilson this year. Looking around for a video to use for a tribute, however, I came across the Beach Boys’ a capella rendition of Bobby Troup’s “Their Hearts Were Full of Spring” at President Reagan’s 1985 inauguration. In the video below, Bruce Johnston stands in for Dennis Wilson, who had died in 1983.

Creating the Beach Boys’ sound, Wilson studied the Four Freshmen obsessively. The Beach Boys’ arrangement (the original recording of which dates back at least to the mid-sixties) closely follows the Four Freshmen version of the song. I found the live version below enjoyable on several grounds and thought you might too.

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