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“Soulful Old Man Sunshine” by the Beach Boys – Chords & Lyrics : Ask the Musician

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By Jim Fusco:

I received an email today from Mike H., who just watched my cover song music video of the Beach Boys’ semi-unreleased song, “Soulful Old Man Sunshine”.  What a great song it is- it’s hard to believe they put so much effort into a song and then canned it for years.  Anyway, Mike was wondering what the chords to the song were.  So, I decided to post them here on the music blog for all to see!  Also make sure to check out my cover song video of “Soulful Old Man Sunshine” below the chords and lyrics.  Thanks for writing, Mike, and I hope this helps!

..........Am7..Gm7......F
In that soulful ol’ man sunshine


F................Bb6................F...............Bb6


She looks so fresh and sweet, keeps herself soft and tender


Am7.............Dm7...........Gm7............Gm7/C..C7


No wonder that I can sing a song about my baby


F................Bb6.....F..........Bb6


She looks so healthy, I feel so doggone wealthy


Am7.............Dm7...........Gm7............Gm7/C..C7


No wonder that I can sing a song about my baby




Dm.........G7........Bb......Bb/C..........Am7..Gm7......F


So happy, together love is better in that soulful ol’ man sunshine


F..Cm7..Bb..F


Do-do-do




F.................Bb6.............F..........Bb6


She wakes up singing songs, of happy everafters


Am7..............Dm7.................Gm7........Gm7/C..C7


Well let me just tell you ‘bout my ever-lovin’ lady


F.................Bb6.....F..........Bb6


One bright September, I can remember


Am7................Dm7..............Gm7.............Gm7/C..C7


The morning we walked together laughin’ in the sunshine




F.............................Cm7


Hey old man shine your love on me


F.............................Cm7


Hey old man shine your love on me


F............................................Cm7


Soulful old man sunshine shine your light divine on me


F.............................Cm7


Hey ol’ man shine your love on me


........Gm7..........Am7...........................Bb6................C6


Then suddenly the light shines through and I see you there standing before me


Gm7........Am7.............Bb6...................Gm7/C........C7..C/D


Today the world is new I feel so high and so far within you, yeah




G................C6........G.............C6


Morning and evening, my love is weaving


Bm7.............Em7...........Am7............Am7/D..D7


A magical thread of joy that joins our hearts together


Em.........A7........C.......C/D...........Bm7..Am7......G


So happy, together love is better in that soulful old man sunshine


 








					

		
		

	


				
					
	

		

						
“Lady (Fallin’ In Love)” (The Beach Boys Cover)

			
						

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By Jim Fusco


Welcome to another edition of the Laptop Sessions with Jim Fusco!  It’s been a long time since my last video blog post.  Before my new season of cover song videos begins, I decided to post a few leftover cover songs that I recorded a few months ago.  I guess I never got around to posting them!  Life can get busy…


Now that school is starting up again (my wife is a teacher, so she’s really busy 10 months out of the year)I should have a bit more time to focus on my musical endeavors.  I’m excited to bring The Laptop Sessions Acoustic Cover Songs Music Video Blog to new heights this year!  I just signed an agreement to promote my existing cover songs and I hope that these efforts will allow me to expand the website even further.


Tonight, I bring you an obscure song from The Beach Boys.  Well, it’s not really The Beach Boys- this is a Dennis Wilson solo project put under the Beach Boys’ name.  In the early 70s, Dennis Wilson was creating music at a very fast pace.  “Sunflower”, one of the Beach Boys’ best albums, shows a large contribution from Dennis.  In my opinion, his songwriting was second to only Brian Wilson in the band and after Brian slipped away from participating in the band, Dennis filled the void the best.  I think there was a time when the band decided to push Dennis as the front man of the band.  But, Dennis’ songs didn’t catch on commercially and eventually, they went back to the Brian Wilson formula once again (before he was ready, but that’s a whole different story).  Honestly, I’m not sure if the move away from Dennis as the face of the Beach Boys was due to his songs not receiving critical acclaim, or because of Dennis’ lifestyle.  Like Brian, it’s been said that Dennis had a hard time seeing projects through to the end.  Even though he was prolific during this period, I have a feeling he would get bored with projects very quickly and either not finish them or simply get them done and move on.


“Lady (Fallin’ In Love)” is an interesting song.  Dennis had a great way of taking a simple sounding song and making it lush and beautiful.  “Lady” isn’t the hardest song to play or sing, but the string orchestration (most likely done by Daryl Dragon of Captain & Tennille fame) is breathtaking.  That’s one of the reasons, though, that I wanted to do a solo acoustic cover version of “Lady”.  I wanted to show people what the song would sound like in it’s bare-bones form.  I think it’s still a really moving song.


Dennis’ voice on the original recording is so nice- it’s such a shame that he let it deteriorate so much.  I can only imagine the songs he could’ve come out with if he didn’t allow his personal demons to overtake him.


“Lady (Fallin’ In Love)” was actually the flip side of a solo Dennis Wilson single, which is fascinating to me.  “The Sound of Free” was the A-side.  Of course, the single didn’t go anywhere, but up to that point, only Brian had released a solo single in “Caroline, No” four years earlier.  I’m glad the Beach Boys and Capitol Records finally got it together to release “Lady” on their Summer Love Songs compilation.  This song deserved a new audience.


Enjoy tonight’s Dennis Wilson/Beach Boys cover song music video here on the Laptop Sessions video blog!  Stay tuned for more videos very soon with me, Jim Fusco!








					

		
		

	


				
					
	

		

						
Ranking every Beach Boys album and song: “Surfin’ Safari” LP (by Songwriter Jim Fusco)

			
						

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By Jim Fusco:


A great man named Michael F. Becher on Brian Wilson’s message board started a project where he’s ranking every single Beach Boys album and song on a scale from 1-10.  I love the idea and am participating in the project.  But, I thought I would extend it to this forum with my picks posted here!  So, without further ado, I give you the Beach Boys’ first album: Surfin’ Safari.


ALBUM – SURFIN’ SAFARI


Little Miss America – 4 (they sound lackluster, but Dennis singing brings it up a bit)

Surfin’ Safari – 6

409 – 3 

The Shift – 3 (waaaaay before my time!)

*Land Ahoy – 5 (enjoyable)

*Lavender – 4

Chug-A-Lug – 4 

Heads You Win – Tails I Lose – 4 

Surfin’ – 4 

Summertime Blues – 2 (not a huge fan of the covers- funny, ’cause that’s what I do!)

Moon Dawg – 4 (Not a big fan of the instrumentals- kinda boring, especially because they’re really known for vocals. This one isn’t bad because of the harmonies and the cool guitar playing.)

Cuckoo Clock – 4 (I like Brian’s cute high voice)

Ten Little Indians – 3 

*Luau – 3 

*Karate – 2  

County Fair – 5 (funny and catchy)

*Judy – 3 

*Barbie – 5 (a rare early gem)

*What is a Young Girl Made Of – 3 (yuck- foreign background singers!)

*Cindy, Oh Cindy – 4 (good vocal)


** It’s funny, I like this album much more than the ratings give it credit for. The songs on their own are too weak to stand up to the other BB classics, but I think the album is so enjoyable and I love hearing the boys when they’re so young and, quite frankly, full of life. **  

					

		
		

	


				
					
	

		

						
The BEST REMASTERS / REISSUES of 2011 (The Year-End Review Awards)

			
						

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By Chris Moore:


This year, I didn’t listen to all that many remasters or reissues.  Pink Floyd re-released all their albums in one intimidating batch.  Had it been one at a time, I might have tried one.  Nearly every week, there have been remasters or reissues on the new release rack at Newbury Comics.  And yet, at year’s end, I am left with only one in mind that carries any weight with me:  The Beach Boys’ SMiLE Sessions box set.


This is – finally, officially – the closest we’ll ever come to hearing what SMiLE would have sounded like, had it been released in context over four decades ago.  Brian Wilson’s 2004 take on SMiLE turns out to be, as expected, a close approximation and, in some ways, a more complete version.  That is the most heartbreaking aspect of this box set: there are parts missing, instrumentation with unfinished vocals, and a general sense of genius abandoned.  This being said, The SMiLE Sessions present a gorgeous, expansive vision that may well have been yet another game changer in a series of re-visionings then taking place, led largely by the Beatles.


We’ll never know how much of an impact this album would have had, or how great a success it would (or wouldn’t) have been.  What we can do is marvel at the beauty of Brian Wilson’s vision and the Beach Boys’ remarkable vocal soundscapes.  (The deluxe box set may only be for the diehard fan, but believe me, it’s well worth it if you consider yourself to be anything approaching diehard!)


1) The SMiLE Sessions – The Beach Boys