Al Jardine has spent the vast majority of his long life in California, and as a founding member of the Beach Boys, he embodies the state like very few others. But he was actually born in the small town of Lima, Ohio, and lived there during his early childhood years. When Jardine returned to the state of his birth on Aug. 15 for an intimate show with the Pet Sounds Band at the Robins Theater in Warren, Ohio, he began the encore by telling the crowd they were about do something they’d never done before.
“I think I did it with the Beach Boys back in 1973,” he said. “After about 50 years of not performing it, we had one little rehearsal today. It’s all about coming back to Ohio.”
The true die-hards in the audience cheered since they knew he was referring to “Back Home,” which kicks off with the lyrics, “Well, I’m going back this summer to Ohio/I’m going to seek out all my friends I’ve always known/I’m going back to that farm that I remember.”
Jardine was slightly off by dating it to 1973, but that’s understandable since the history of “Back Home” is oddly complicated. Brian Wilson wrote the song in 1963 with his buddy Bob Norberg, and the band cut a version that year during the Surfer Girl sessions that eventually leaked out to bootleggers.
The band revisited it twice in 1970 during the Sunflower sessions, including one with Jardine on lead vocals and totally different lyrics, but they wound up shelving them both. It wasn’t until the 1976 15 Big Ones sessions that the band finally recorded a rendition of “Back Home” they deemed worthy of release, once again with Brian Wilson on lead vocals. It wasn’t a single, but Wilson sang it on Saturday Night Live with the house band in November 1976. And the Beach Boys performed it at least 41 times between July 1976 and October 1978.
“Back Home” totally vanished from the live repertoire of the Beach Boys and their solo offshoots until Jardine went back home to Ohio for the show in Warren. It’s one of many overlooked Seventies gems he’s resurrected over the past year, including the entire 1977 Beach Boys Love You record, and “Sweet Sunday Kind of Love” and “She’s Got Rhythm” from 1978’s M.I.U. Album.
Jardine is the only Beach Boy on the road at the moment since Mike Love recently pulled all of his dates until Sept. 24, nearly 30 in total, following a string of lethargic performances. “We’ve been having a blast out there,” Love said in a statement, “and to keep the good vibrations going strong, we’ll be taking a short break to recharge before getting back on the road in September.”
Some of the shows were canceled, and others were postponed until later in the year. The Oregon State Fair booked Al Jardine and the Pet Sounds Band to fill the empty slot. It’s one of many dates on their calendar through late October. Their set features several of the biggest surf-era Beach Boys hits, along with a near-complete performance of The Beach Boys Love You, and a large portion of Pet Sounds to honor the album’s 60th anniversary.
On special occasions, they dig even deeper for a surprise like “Back Home.” It’s unclear how the show will continue to evolve in the future, but next year marks the 60th anniversary of the aborted Smile album. The only Smile song in their show now is “Heroes and Villains,” but that could easily change come 2027.
