"Under the Boardwalk" is a hit pop song written by Kenny Young and Arthur Resnick and recorded by The Drifters in 1964. (US Pop Singles: #4)
The lyric describes a tryst between a man and his beloved in a seaside town (Coney Island, New York), who plan to privately meet "out of the sun" and out of sight from everyone else under a boardwalk. The instrumentation includes güiro, triangle and violins. The song's chorus is unusual in that it switches from a major to minor key.[1] The opening line of the song references the Drifters' prior hit "Up on the Roof", showing the occasional thermal weakness of the rooftop getaway and setting the stage for an alternate meeting location, under the boardwalk.
The song was set to be recorded on May 21, 1964, but the band's lead singer, Rudy Lewis, unexpectedly died of a heroin overdose the night before. Lewis had sung lead on all of their hits since the 1960 departure of Ben E. King, including "Up on the Roof". Rather than reschedule the studio session to find a new frontman, former Drifters lead vocalist Johnny Moore was brought back to perform lead vocals for the recording.[2] The last-minute move was a success, as the single, released on Atlantic Records, went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
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