Don't Talk to Strangers (The Beau Brummels song)

"Don't Talk to Strangers" is a song by American rock group The Beau Brummels, released as the second single from the band's second album, The Beau Brummels, Volume 2. The song later appeared on the band's 1987 compilation album The Best of The Beau Brummels 1964–1968. The single peaked at number 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1965;^[1] its relatively low chart placement possibly being the result of the band's label, Autumn Records, verging on collapse at the time.^[2] The song reached number 16 on the Canadian singles chart.^[3]

"Don't Talk to Strangers"
2000 Italian LP
Single by The Beau Brummels
from the album The Beau Brummels, Volume 2
Released	September 1965
Recorded	21 August 1965
Studio	Coast Recorders, Inc., San Francisco, California
Genre	Folk rock
Length	2:20
Label	Autumn
Songwriter(s)	Ron Elliott, Bob Durand
Producer(s)	Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart
The Beau Brummels singles chronology
"You Tell Me Why" (1965) "Don't Talk to Strangers" (1965) "Good Time Music" (1965)

"Don't Talk to Strangers" was written by Ron Elliott and Bob Durand. Sylvester Stewart, later known as Sly Stone, produced the track. The song has received generally positive reviews in the decades since its release. San Francisco Chronicle music critic Joel Selvin called the song inventive,^[4] while author Maury Dean praised the song's "raging chord patterns and dynamic harmonies," and called the instrumental bridge "second to none in punch and pulse in power."^[2] The song has been criticized, however, for sounding too similar to The Byrds in regard to the harmonies and twelve-string guitar licks.^[5]

A live performance of the song from February 1974 is included on the band's 2000 Live! album, which was recorded in Fair Oaks Village near Sacramento, California.^[6]

Track listing

7" Vinyl

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Don't Talk to Strangers"	Elliott, Durand	2:20
2.	"In Good Time"	Elliott	1:47

Chart performance

Chart (1965)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[7]	52
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 Singles[8]	53
Canadian Singles Chart[3]	16

References

1. "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Vol. 77, no. 47. 1965-06-02. p. 22.
2. Dean, Maury (2003). Rock N Roll Gold Rush: A Singles Un-Cyclopedia (8th ed.). New York: Algora Publishing. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-87586-207-1.
3. "RPM 100". RPM. 4 (12). RPM Music Publications Ltd. 1965-11-15. Archived from the original on 2012-10-11. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
4. Selvin, Joel (1996). San Francisco: The Musical History Tour: A Guide to Over 200 of the Bay Area's Most Memorable Music Sites (8th ed.). San Francisco: Chronicle Books. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-8118-1007-4.
5. Unterberger, Richie (2003). Eight Miles High: Folk-Rock's Flight from Haight-Ashbury to Woodstock. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. pp. 14. ISBN 978-0-87930-743-1.
6. Eder, Bruce. "Live! - Overview". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 2009-10-26.
7. Whitburn, Joel (2007). Joel Whitburn's Billboard Top Pop Singles 1955-2006 (11th ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisc.: Record Research. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-89820-172-7.
8. "Cash Box Top 100 11/20/65". cashboxmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2009-11-11. Retrieved 2009-08-24.