Obbverse and I were commenting the other day and this song came up. I had this single from a relative of mine when I was a kid and I would play this and Eleanor by the Turtles over and over again. The band had a really cool name. The song is pure bubblegum but enjoyable.
Every Mother’s Son was short-lived, consisting of brothers Dennis (guitars) and Larry Larden (lead vocals, guitars), along with Bruce Milner (keyboards), Schuyler Larsen (bass), and Christopher Augustine (drums). They were formed in New York City, New York in 1967.
The band’s clean image was a perfect foil to the “hippie invasion” groups of that time, and that clean image was the very reason why MGM signed them. By 1967 though the squeaky clean image didn’t help…well…their image.
The group recorded their self-titled debut album, which was released in 1967. The album mostly contained a collection of songs written by Jerry Goldstein and Wes Farrell. Not only did the band look like the Beach Boys, but Every Mother’s Son‘s sound had echoes of the Beach Boys too.
This was their first single and they hit pay dirt. It peaked at #6 on the Billboard 100 and #3 in Canada in 1967. They were making appearances and enjoying being in the top 10 and they did try to follow up this song. They released four more singles in 1967 and 68 trying to push another one up the charts…but it didn’t work.
They would fall into the One Hit Wonder file…but it’s better than the No Hit Wonder file. The bubblegum band The Rare Breed also released this song before Every Mother’s Son but it wasn’t a hit.
Come On Down To My Boat
She sits on the dockA fishin’ in the water uh, huhI don’t know her nameShe’s the fisherman’s daughter uh, huh
Come on down to my boat babyCome on down where we can playCome on down to my boat babyCome on down we’ll sail away
She smiled so niceLike she wants to come with me uh, huhBut she’s tied to the dockAnd she can’t get free
Come on down to my boat babyCome on down where we can playCome on down to my boat babyCome on down we’ll sail away
Fish all day sleep all nightFather never lets her out of his sightSoon I’m gonna have to get my knifeAnd cut that rope, cut that rope
So we can go fishin’ in my little red boatMake you happy in my little red boat, so
Come on down to my boat babyCome on down where we can playCome on down to my boat babyCome on down we’ll sail away
Come on down to my boat babyCome on down where we can playCome on down to my boat babyCome on down we’ll sail away
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