[2][3] It was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love as a self-conscious callback to the group's earlier surf image, which they had not embraced since 1964.

A slightly edited version of the song, using an excerpt from the Smile outtake "Workshop", subsequently appeared as the opening track on the Beach Boys' 1969 album 20/20.

The song was an influence on Neil Sedaka's "Love Will Keep Us Together" (1973), Eric Carmen's "She Did It" (1977), Gary Numan's "Metal" (1979), ABBA's "On and on and On" (1980), and Hall & Oates' "Did It in a Minute" (1982).

Originally titled "Rendezvous", the lyrics to the song were inspired after a day Mike Love had spent at the beach in which he had gone surfing with an old friend named Bill Jackson.

He starts pounding at the piano, I was summoning up the words and we got a chorus together, which was basically a bunch of doo-wop inspired harmonies.

He explained that he had "commissioned Philips, in Holland, to build two tape delay units for use on the road (to double live vocals).

[he] moved four of the Philips PB heads very close together so that one drum strike was repeated four times about 10 milliseconds apart, and blended it with the original to give the effect you hear.

[3] An alternate promotional film for "Do It Again" was planned with the idea to feature special guest, Beatles member Paul McCartney, as a clerk.

[9] In the US, Cash Box said: "Overtones of their current interest in electronic innovation are almost over-lookable in this surfin’ return by the Beach Boys" and that the song "couples their old summer sound with the ingenius production.

[citation needed] Neil Sedaka borrowed the main riff from "Do It Again" for his own song "Love Will Keep Us Together," a hit for the Captain and Tennille.

[19] The opening drum line of "Do It Again" was sampled for "Remember" by French electronic duo Air on their album Moon Safari (1997).

This version added a fade which consists of hammering and drilling sound effects originating from the Smile "Workshop" session recorded on November 29, 1966.

The tape was retrieved thirty years later; the first true stereo mix was released on the Made in California box set.

Brian Wilson, who sings falsetto on the studio track, had retired from touring by this time and in concert his part was replaced by horns as evident on the Live In London album version.

[citation needed] In 2011 the surviving Beach Boys; Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks came together in the studio to re-record "Do It Again" as part of their 50th anniversary celebration.

[22] Other Beach Boys sidemen who play on the re-recording include Cowsill (drums), Darian Sahanaja, Nick Walusko (guitar), Scott Bennett, Gary Griffin, and Brett Simons (bass).

[23] In 1995, Brian Wilson rerecorded the song for his album I Just Wasn't Made for These Times and released the track as a single in Britain, although it did not chart.

The single also featured his rerecording of "'Til I Die", which was also from I Just Wasn't Made for These Times, and a rare B-side "This Song Wants to Sleep with You Tonight".