Released July 5, 1965 Length 2:00 Writer(s) Brian Wilson/Mike Love | Genre Rock Label Capitol | |
Recorded track:March 30, 1965
Western Studios
vocals: late May 1965
Columbia Recording Studios | ||
"Salt Lake City" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1965 album Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!).
Contents
Background
"Salt Lake City" was written to call attention to the band's major fan base in the city of the same name. From 1963 until 1973, The Beach Boys performed at Utah's Lagoon Amusement Park's Patio Gardens at least twelve times, and Utah was one of the earliest places that The Beach Boys' music was played outside of California. KNAK deejay Gene Davis said, "[Brian Wilson] remembered coming to Salt Lake, but it was not a big deal. When you talk to Mike Love, Salt Lake was big time to them. He loved Salt Lake City. But [Wilson] remembered writing 'Salt Lake City' as one of those fun songs they sat down and did." The song was also released as a promo single, backed with "Amusement Parks U.S.A.", by the city's downtown merchants association.
The song lyrics extol the attractions of northern Utah: summer sun, winter skiing, local girls and the Lagoon amusement park. Mike Love and Brian Wilson sing the leads vocals on the song.
Critical opinion
AllMusic writer Richie Unterberger called the song a "subpar effort" as well as one of the "throwbacks to the empty-headed summer filler of previous days" on Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!). Author Jim Fuselli described the track as a throwback "to the group's happy-go-lucky days."