david coverversion: the beach boys vs. barry mcguire vs. the turtles

i first remember hearing the turtles in the movie 'ernest goes to camp', singing 'happy together' to the scene of ernest removing the turtle that had bitten his nose. and they say comedy isn't art. the turtles also took a take on the p.f. sloan protest song 'eve of destruction' as it was first rejected by the byrds. barry mcguire's session was the most noted, being released shortly after the turtles and being his only top forty hit (#1). i tend to agree with the consensus that 'eve of destruction' is the 'epitome of a protest song' although bright eyes' 'when the president talks to god' is a close second. barry mcguire also gave a version of 'sloop john b', the traditional west indies folk song made famous by the beach boys. a field recording of the song was taken by alan lomax back in 1935 and released on the compilation 'bahamas 35: chanteys and anthems from andros and cat island'. barry mcguire has since become a born-again christian and while falling off the map he probably went double myrrh. also added is his take of 'it's all over now baby blue', continuing the streak of adding that song whenever possible. the closing track to the new okkervil river album 'john allyn smith sails' segues nicely into sloop after sorta hocking the melody. i never did see the last ernest movie, 'ernest goes to heaven', even though ernest probably knew that bob dylan is for the byrds.

the turtles - eve of destruction
barry mcguire - eve of destruction
barry mcguire - sloop john b
the beach boys - sloop john b

okkervil river - john allyn smith sails
barry mcguire - it's all over now baby blue
bright eyes - when the president talks to god


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