The lyric describes a tryst between a man and his beloved in a seaside town, 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 switches from a major to minor key.[3] The opening line of the song references the Drifters' prior hit "
Up on the Roof."
Also, the violins are heard playing the riff of "Up on the Roof", before the chorus.
History
The song was set to be recorded on May 21, 1964, but the band's lead singer,
Rudy Lewis, died of a suspected
heroinoverdose the night before. Lewis had sung lead on most of their hits since the 1960 departure of
Ben E. King, including "
Up on the Roof". Rather than reschedule the studio session, the lead on "Under the Boardwalk" was given to the group's other lead vocalist,
Johnny Moore, who had returned to the group in April 1963. The personnel on that recording included
Ernie Hayes on piano,
Everett Barksdale,
Bill Suyker and
Bob Bushnell on guitar,
Milt Hinton on bass,
Gary Chester on drums and
George Devens on percussion.[4] The arranger was
Teacho Wiltshire.[5] The last-minute move was a success, as the single, released on
Atlantic Records, went to number four on the
Billboard Hot 100 charts and number one for three non consecutive weeks on Cashbox magazine's R&B chart.[6]
A cover of this song by
the Rolling Stones was released the same year as the original version. Their version was released as a single only in Australia, South Africa and Rhodesia, and peaked at No. 1 in the first two (the song was the band's first No. 1 hit in Australia) and at No. 2 in Rhodesia. It appeared on their albums 12 X 5 and The Rolling Stones No. 2. In 2007, it was included on the album Rhythms del Mundo Classics.
"Under the Boardwalk" has since been covered by many artists, including
Bette Midler (number 26 in Australia), and the
Tom Tom Club (whose version reached number 22 on the
UK Singles Chart in 1982, becoming the first version of the song to chart in Britain). Versions by
Billy Joe Royal,
Bruce Willis (a number 2 success in the UK), and
Lynn Anderson (number 24 on the Country chart) all reached the Billboard charts. Rickie Lee
Jones also covered Under the Boardwalk in her 1983 release Girl at her Volcano.
John Mellencamp released the track as the
B-side of his single "
R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.". In Australia, the single effectively became a
double-A side when the B-side "Under the Boardwalk" received significant airplay and both tracks were listed together on the singles chart, reaching number 18.[12] The track also reached number 19 on the BillboardTop Rock Tracks chart.
In 2022, after a raid on his house by police that was captured on security cameras,
Afroman released a parody version of the song called "Lemon Pound Cake," mocking the police for their attention to a cake on the kitchen counter during the raid.[citation needed]
^Billboard Staff (October 19, 2023).
"The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved February 11, 2024. Singer Johnny Moore effortlessly stretching to reach the high notes in the final chorus lifts this playful, superbly crafted soul-pop classic to a higher dimension.