Lady Lynda
| "Lady Lynda" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by the Beach Boys | ||||
| from the album L.A. (Light Album) | ||||
| B-side | "Full Sail" | |||
| Released | June 1979 | |||
| Recorded | July–November 1978 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:58 | |||
| Label | Brother/Caribou/CBS | |||
| Songwriters | Al Jardine Ron Altbach | |||
| Producers | Bruce Johnston The Beach Boys James William Guercio | |||
| The Beach Boys singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Lady Lynda" is a song written by vocalist/guitarist Al Jardine and touring keyboardist Ron Altbach for American rock band the Beach Boys. It was released on the band's 1979 album L.A. (Light Album). Its melody is based on "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by J. S. Bach.
The opening harpsichord is played by Sterling Smith. The lyrics to the song refer to Jardine's then-wife, Lynda Jardine. After the two divorced, the song was rewritten as "Lady Liberty", a tribute to the Statue of Liberty. It was released as the B-side to the group's 1986 single of "California Dreamin'".
Record World said it has "a big production sound and liberal synthesizer/string textures."
The song peaked at No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart. It also reached No. 39 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart. The song was edited for single release with the single version dropping the harpsichord introduction present on the album version.