[5] Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was inspired by singer Danny Hutton (the title word featured heavily in his vocabulary) and was originally intended to be recorded by an early version of Three Dog Night.

Artists who have covered the song include David Cassidy, Paul Davis, Yipes!, Tatsuro Yamashita, Sweet Trip, and Darlin', the band that later evolved into Daft Punk.

Redwood only got as far as recording a guide vocal before Carl Wilson and Mike Love insisted that Brian focus his attention on producing work for the Beach Boys, according to various accounts.

Upon its release, Cash Box said that the song represented "a shift in sound from the Beach Boys into a less elaborate but extra-commercial teen beat right between mid-and-up tempo.

The deck's hard-throb rhythm and very fine group sound is complemented by a good set of teen-oriented lyrics to catch a maximum of exposure on the top pop programs.

Upon release, Rolling Stone wrote in a review of the album, "Darlin'" is the song in which the Beach Boys really take R&B styling and make it work in an original way.

"[18] Matthew Greenwald of AllMusic wrote of the song, "Loaded with simple emotions and sentimentality, it's a luscious piece of late-'60s pop, and not unlike the finer efforts of groups like the Turtles' 'Happy Together' and Buffalo Springfield's 'On the Way Home'.