‘Living Doll’: the Beach Boys song Brian Wilson wrote as a tribute to Barbie
The Beach Boys’ creative mastermind, Brian Wilson, has achieved many things that remain the stuff of dreams for aspiring musicians. From writing one of the most influential records of all time in 1966’s Pet Sounds to releasing a host of era-defining hits elsewhere, Wilson’s CV is one of the most glowing of his generation. In fact, he has had such an odyssey of a career that many aspects are forgotten by fans, including the time he wrote a song specifically for a type of Barbie Doll by Mattel.
That’s right; Brian Wilson wrote a Beach Boys song for Barbie. However, it makes much more sense when you note the name of the specific doll in question, the ‘California Dream Barbie’. This means that Mattel hiring Wilson to pen a tune for the toy was as near-to-perfect as possible, as The Beach Boys are the quintessential Californian band, with famous cuts such as ‘California Girls’.
The doll and song, ‘Living Doll (Barbie)’, were released together circa 1987. In a piece by Bob Greene in Fredricksburg, Virginia’s The Free Lance-Star from March 2nd, 1988, it was reported that the flex disk of Wilson’s track was included in the box. Wilson co-wrote the tune with his controversial psychiatrist Dr Eugene Landy and his future wife, Alexandra Morgan. ‘Living Doll (Barbie)’ is adapted from ‘Christine’, an outtake from Wilson’s self-titled solo album.
In the Lance-Star article, Greene reports speaking to Scott Masline – the then-marketing manager for Barbie Dolls – about the Brian Wilson collaboration. “It just made sense,” Masline told him. “When we came up with the whole theme of the California lifestyle for this new Barbie, we asked ourselves what would a good element be? The Beach Boys are very California. So we worked out a deal with them, and they wrote and recorded ‘Living Doll’. And now when you buy the California Dream Barbie you get The Beach Boys singing ‘Living Doll,’ too”.
“We’re very pleased with the song”, Masline continued. “It is one minute and 59 seconds long, and the word ‘Barbie appears 16 times.” Elsewhere, a spokesperson for The Beach Boys said all band members had been behind recording ‘Living Doll’ for Mattel. “They all wanted to do it,” he said. “No one argued against it.”
“It actually is pretty good,” the spokesman said before explaining that the band were paid a flat fee for the song and would not receive royalties based on the sales of ‘California Dream Barbie’. Despite the promise of the doll selling over a million units, the group knew they would not receive a gold certification as it did not meet industry requirements.
“The Beach Boys feels that it was a good idea to make the record because it gives children who are five and six years old a chance to hear their music,” the spokesman continued. In a stark reflection of where The Beach Boys found themselves at the time, he said: “The Beach Boys feel that this is where their new audience is.”
Whilst a physical copy of ‘Living Doll (Barbie)’ might be nearly impossible to come by today, it does appear on the bootleg, Sweet Insanity Sessions Vol. 1.
