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"He's a Doll"
Single by the Honeys
B-side	"The Love of a Boy and Girl"
Released	April 13, 1964 (1964-04-13)
Recorded	February 17, 1964
Length	2:08
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Brian Wilson
Producer(s)	Brian Wilson
The Honeys singles chronology
"The One You Can't Have" (1963) "He's a Doll" (1964) "Tonight You Belong to Me" (1969)

"He's a Doll" is a song by American girl group the Honeys that was written and produced by the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. It was released as their fourth single on April 13, 1964, with the B-side "The Love of a Boy and Girl".

Background

According to Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford, "Brian would always notice when we saw a cute guy we would say, 'He's such a doll' so he picked up on it and wrote one of the great songs for us. We feel it’s a classic with the Wrecking Crew jamming too. That track and arrangement is amazing!" She regarded it as the definitive song by the group, particularly for "the energy and the commitment of young imagination of the perfect boyfriend."

The song was heavily influenced by Phil Spector productions such as "Be My Baby" (1963) and features the same verse chord progression as "Da Doo Ron Ron" (1963). Diane Rovell remembered, "We had a ball doing 'He's a Doll' That was our attempt at the Angels/Shangri-Las sound."

Cover versions

• 1993 – Sonic Surf City, He's a Doll

References

1. ^ Badman, Keith (2004). The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band, on Stage and in the Studio. Backbeat Books. pp. 52, 55. ISBN 978-0-87930-818-6.
2. ^ Sharp, Ken (June 7, 2016). "Q&A with Marilyn Wilson and Ginger Blake of The Honeys". rockcellarmagazine.com. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
3. Lambert, Philip (2007). Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds, and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 142. ISBN 978-1-4411-0748-0.
4. Lambert, Philip (2016). "Brian Wilson's Harmonic Language". In Lambert, Philip (ed.). Good Vibrations: Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys in Critical Perspective. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-11995-0.
5. Lambert 2007, p. 141.

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