"Hey Little Tomboy" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1978 album M.I.U. Album. Written by Brian Wilson, the song was to be included as a track on Adult/Child before the album was scrapped.[1] It was also issued as the B-side to their single "Peggy Sue".
Background
Early recording sessions for the song were held in August and October 1976.[2] Wilson, describing "Hey Little Tomboy" as a contender for the Love You track list, said: "It's about a little girl who is sort of a roughneck, and this guy convinces her to become a pretty girl, and sure enough she slowly turns into a pretty—she starts shaving her legs and wearing short sticks—puts lipstick on and makeup. So she's a little tomboy. We're very happy with it."[3]
Reception
Biographer Peter Ames Carlin wrote: "[the song] revealed uncomfortably in an adolescent girl who is putting away her skateboard and baseball mitt to get hot and heavy with the swain portrayed by Mike [Love]. … [it] may be the most unsettling moment in the entire recorded history of the Beach Boys."[4] Music critic Jeff Tamarkin wrote that the song "is politically incorrect in every way by modern standards, yet its innocence and simplicity are undeniably charming".[5]
Personnel
Credits are sourced from Craig Slowinski, John Brode, Will Crerar, Joshilyn Hoisington, and David Beard.[6]
^Slowinski, Craig (Winter 2023). Beard, David (ed.). "The Beach Boys M.I.U. Album Vol 1". Endless Summer Quarterly Magazine. Vol. 37, no. 144. Charlotte, North Carolina.
