The Beach Boys

1958–1962: Formation and first recordings

At the time of his 16th birthday on June 20, 1958, Brian Wilson shared a bedroom with his brothers, Dennis and Carl—aged 13 and 11, respectively—in their family home in Hawthorne. He had watched his father Murry Wilson play piano, and had listened intently to the harmonies of vocal groups such as the Four Freshmen. After dissecting songs such as "Ivory Tower" and "Good News", Brian would teach family members how to sing the background harmonies. For his birthday that year, Brian received a reel-to-reel tape recorder. He learned how to overdub, using his vocals and those of Carl and their mother. Brian played piano, while Carl and David Marks, an eleven-year-old longtime neighbor, played guitars that each had received as Christmas presents.

Early surf- and hot rod-themed period

After being turned down by Dot and Liberty, the Beach Boys signed a seven-year contract with Capitol Records under executive and staff producer Nick Venet. On June 4, 1962, the Beach Boys debuted on Capitol with their second single, "Surfin' Safari" backed with "409". "Surfin' Safari" rose to number 14 and found airplay in New York and Phoenix, a surprise for the label. Their debut album, Surfin' Safari, followed in October 1962 and was different from other rock albums of the time in that it consisted almost entirely of original songs, primarily written by Brian with Mike Love and friend Gary Usher. Another unusual feature of the Beach Boys was that, although they were marketed as "surf music", their repertoire bore little resemblance to...

Carl's death and name litigation

In 1997, Carl was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer. Despite his terminal condition, he performed with the band on its summer tour (a double-bill with Chicago) while undergoing chemotherapy. During performances, he sat on a stool and needed oxygen after each song. When Carl became too unwell to perform in late 1997, David Marks returned as lead guitarist. Carl died on February 6, 1998, aged 51, two months after the death of the Wilsons' mother, Audree.

Musical style and development

In Understanding Rock: Essays in Musical Analysis, musicologist Daniel Harrison writes:

Barbara Ann

"Barbara Ann" is a song written by Fred Fassert that was first recorded by American doo-wop vocal group the Regents as "Barbara-Ann". Their version was released in 1961 and reached No.13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

A more well-known version of the song was recorded by the Beach Boys for their 1965 in-house live album Beach Boys' Party! In December, "Barbara Ann" was issued as a single with the B-side "Girl Don't Tell Me", peaking at No. 2 in the U.S. and No. 3 in the UK.

Be True to Your School

"Be True to Your School" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1963 album Little Deuce Coupe. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was issued as a single on October 28, 1963.

There are two versions of this song: the album version, and the single version, which added cheerleader yells by the girl group The Honeys in between verses. The song features the melody of the University of Wisconsin's fight song, "On, Wisconsin!", although it is a tribute to Hawthorne High School, which the Wilson brothers and Al Jardine attended.

In popular culture

The song is featured in an episode of Gilmore Girls, where the town troubadour (portrayed by Grant-Lee Phillips) is playing it during a pep rally.

California Girls

"California Girls" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album Summer Days . Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the lyrics were partly inspired by the band's experiences touring Europe for the first time, detailing an appreciation for American women.

It was released as a single, backed with "Let Him Run Wild", and reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also a top 10 hit in several other countries, becoming one of the band's most successful songs globally.

Background

Brian Wilson, according to some accounts, was inspired to write "California Girls" during his first time taking the psychedelic drug LSD, an occasion supervised by his friend Loren Schwartz. Wilson corroborated in the 2004 documentary Beautiful Dreamer that he had written the song while on his first acid trip, but in the 2021 documentary Long Promised Road, he stated that he wrote the song during the week after the trip, when he was sober.

Lyrics

The lyrics describe an appreciation for the qualities of girls from different regions of the United States, and the wish that "they all could be" in the narrator's home state of California. Among the qualities that the narrator appreciates are "East Coast girls" for being "hip", "southern girls" for "the way they talk", the "northern girls" for "the way they kiss", and the "Midwest farmer's daughter" for making "you feel all right". After the first chorus, the West Coast is invoked for its "sunshine" and tanned girls, with an additional reference to a "French bikini on Hawaii Island". At the end of the lyric, the singer declares that, having had the experience of seeing "all kinds of girls" from "all around this great big world", the U.S....

Composition

"California Girls" begins with an orchestral prelude and contains a similar chord sequence and call-and-response vocal lines as Wilson's previous song "Don't Hurt My Little Sister" from The Beach Boys Today!. According to writer Maury Dean, "Musically, 'California Girls' is an adventure in chromatics; any garage band trying to follow their bizarre ♭VII tidal wave of dipping and swooping chromatic major chords will have to buy the sheet music, or hire Sherlock Holmes to find the missing chords." Musicologist Walter Everett identifies the use of ♭VII — IV in the chorus to suggest a chromaticized major key with minor pentatonic inflections.

Recording

On April 6, 1965, Wilson produced the backing track of "California Girls" (then given the working title "We Don't Know") with a host of session musicians at Western Studio in Hollywood. It required 44 takes before Wilson could deem a satisfactory performance, with the session concluding after midnight. Problems had arisen from the tempo and guitar part in the introduction, which fatigued Wilson, engineer Chuck Britz, and the dozen-plus session players.

Dance, Dance, Dance

"Dance, Dance, Dance" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album Beach Boys Today! Written by Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, and Mike Love, it was first issued as a single in October 1964, backed with "The Warmth of the Sun".

"Dance, Dance, Dance" marked Carl's first recognized writing contribution to a Beach Boys single, his contribution being the song's primary guitar riff and solo.

Composition

"Dance, Dance, Dance" was composed by Brian and Carl Wilson, while the lyrics were written by Brian and Mike Love. Although many pop songs raise their key at the start of a final chorus, "Dance, Dance, Dance" subverts this convention by modulating in the middle of the verse.

Cover versions

Wilson Phillips – featuring Brian Wilson's daughters Carnie and Wendy – recorded the song for their album California.

Darlin'

"Darlin'" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Wild Honey. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was inspired by singer Danny Hutton and was originally intended to be recorded by an early version of Three Dog Night.

Carl Wilson ultimately sang the lead vocal.

Background and recording

The song interpolates the verse melody and chords of "Thinkin' 'Bout You Baby", an earlier Wilson-Love composition that was first recorded in April 1964 and released as a single two months later by Sharon Marie—a teenager Love met at a June 1963 Beach Boys concert in Sonoma County and helped sign to Capitol Records—with production by Wilson himself. The track was included on the 2004 compilation Pet Projects: The Brian Wilson Productions.

Release

"Darlin'" was released as a single, backed with "Here Today", on December 18, 1967, the same date as the release of the Wild Honey album. It was the second single released from the album, after "Wild Honey". 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. Instant breakout selection."

Reception and legacy

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." Jazz & Pop's Gene Sculatti commented that "a whole lot of soul is used up" on the song.

In popular culture

French rock trio Darlin' took their name from the song. Two of its members later reformed as the electronic music duo Daft Punk, and the third joined pop band Phoenix.

Do It Again

"Do It Again" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was released as a standalone single on July 8, 1968. 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.

Love and Wilson also share the lead vocal on the song.

Background and recording

"Do It Again" is a self-conscious callback to the band's earlier surf-based material. 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. Love then showed the lyrics to his cousin Brian Wilson, who proceeded to write the music to Love's lyrics of nostalgia. Wilson stated that he believes the song was the best collaboration that he and Love ever worked on. Love commented, "He remembers it being at my house. I remember it as being at his house. 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. We created that whole...

Release

Released on July 19, 1968, in the United Kingdom, the single peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart on August 28, 1968, 40 days after its release, and thus became the band's second number-one hit in the UK after "Good Vibrations" two years earlier. Love remembered thinking that the song's success in Britain "was unbelievable. It showed how many fans we had there and how attractive the whole California lifestyle is."

Critical reception

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." Billboard said: "Much in the vein of the earlier Beach hits, this smooth rocker with a summertime smash sound should fast prove one of their all-time biggest hits. Record World said that "the Beach Boys go back to the beach for some of that unadulterated surfing sound '68."

Influence and legacy

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. Eric Carmen credited the "did-its" in this song with being the initial inspiration for his 1977 Top 40 hit, "She Did It". Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys also participated in the production and vocals of Carmen's song. "Did It in a Minute", a 1982 hit by Hall & Oates, was in turn inspired by the 'did-its' in both songs.

Don't Worry Baby

"Don't Worry Baby" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their March 1964 album Shut Down Volume 2. Written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian, Wilson's lead vocal is considered one of his defining performances, and he later referred to the song as one of the band's finest records.

It was issued as the B-side of "I Get Around" in May 1964 and charted separately at number 24.

Background

"Don't Worry Baby" was composed by Brian Wilson at his home in Hawthorne, California. It was conceived as a response to "Be My Baby", a recent hit by the Ronettes that had amazed and inspired Wilson. In his 1991 memoir, Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story, it is stated that Wilson adopted the song title phrase from his then-girlfriend Marilyn Rovell shortly after hearing "Be My Baby" for the first time. In a 2009 interview, he said that he composed "Don't Worry Baby" over the course of two days. "I started out with the verse idea and then wrote the chorus. It was a very simple and beautiful song. It's a really heart and soul song, I really did feel that in my heart."

Lyrics

Like previous songs written by Wilson and Christian, "Don't Worry Baby" portrays a hot-rod themed setting; however, unlike "Shut Down" and "Little Deuce Coupe", the song has a more melancholic mood. The lyrics are told from the perspective of a man who regrets involving himself in a drag race. As he confesses his shame to his girlfriend, she consoles him with the song's title phrase. Biographer Timothy White observed that the song avoids "the darker chill" of "Be My Baby"; rather, "Wilson composed a hapless love token that showed its strength in its sudden, surpassing humility." Catch a Wave author Peter Ames Carlin wrote that Christian drew on Wilson's "stage fright and romantic insecurities" to write the lyrics. Carlin adds,

Composition

Musically, "Don't Worry Baby" is closely similar to "Be My Baby". Both songs start with a standalone drumbeat that is then joined by other instruments. The verses in "Don't Worry Baby" are in E major (the same key as "Be My Baby") and follow a I–IV–V chord progression. The chorus has the same changes as the verses of "Be My Baby" (I–ii–V), and both choruses have the same scale tones in the melody, albeit with a different rhythm.

Recording

The Beach Boys recorded "Don't Worry Baby" as part of two eight-hour sessions at United Western Recorders, Hollywood, on January 7, 1964. All of the band members played their own instruments on the recording. Vocals and guitars were overdubbed on January 8 or 9. Take 12 was used for the master. Former member David Marks, who had left the group several months earlier, may have played at this overdubbing session.

Fun, Fun, Fun

"Fun, Fun, Fun" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1964 album Shut Down Volume 2. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it is one of their early songs that defined the idyllic pop aesthetic later dubbed the "California myth".

It was released as a single in February, backed with "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", and reached number five in the U.S. charts.

Lyrics and inspiration

The song was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. The lyrics are partly inspired by events from Dennis Wilson's life. Love stated that his lyrics were modeled after Chuck Berry's 1964 song "Nadine". Russ Titelman recalled that he visited Brian while he was working on the song, and that its original lyric was "Run, Run, Run".

Composition

The opening electric guitar introduction of the song was based on Berry's "Johnny B. Goode", and the track's punctuated drum fills were inspired by the work of Phil Spector. Musicologist Philip Lambert noted that the initial two phrases of the song are based on almost the same chord progression as the first two phrases of "Da Doo Ron Ron", and are melodically similar.

Recording

The song was recorded on January 1, 1964, at United Western Recorders Studio 3. Vocals and additional overdubs followed on either January 8 or 9. An earlier session was cancelled by band manager Murry Wilson, as he had felt dissatisfied with the song. Brian rescheduled the session after discovering what happened.

Release

The "Fun, Fun, Fun" single backed with "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" was released in the United States in February 1964. Cash Box described it as "a contagious steady rock beat" song with a "great teen arrangement." The single peaked at the number-five spot on the Billboard chart. In the United Kingdom, the single was released in March 1964 through Capitol Records, but failed to chart. In Australia, the single peaked at the number-six position, which was the band's highest charting single in Australia at that time. In West Germany, the single became their first single to chart in the country when it peaked at the number-49 position.

Getcha Back

"Getcha Back" is a song written by Mike Love and Terry Melcher for the American rock band the Beach Boys, on their 1985 album The Beach Boys. It was the band's first release since the drowning death of Dennis Wilson in 1983.

The song peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Reception

Cash Box said the song "so wonderously recalls [the Beach Boys'] earlier times and earlier sounds."

Music video

The music video, directed by Dominic Orlando, was filmed on location in Malibu and Venice, California. It featured a then-unknown Katherine Kelly Lang, who went on to play Brooke Logan on the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.

Cover versions

Mark McGrath, lead singer of the California rock band Sugar Ray, performed a cover of this song for the soundtrack of Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005). The Beach Boys version appears at the beginning, during the flashback of Herbie's racing career and adventures during the opening credits.

God Only Knows

"God Only Knows" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, it is a baroque-style love song distinguished for its harmonic innovation and complexity, unusual instrumentation, and subversion of typical popular music conventions, both lyrically and musically.

It is often praised as one of the greatest songs of all time and as the Beach Boys' finest record.

Inspiration

"God Only Knows" is among the several songs that Brian Wilson and Tony Asher wrote for the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album. Asher felt that it was the pair's most effortless collaboration, remembering that Wilson "spent more time tweaking the instrumental part than we did writing the words!" Recalling "God Only Knows", Wilson acknowledged that he himself had "not written that kind of song" before and explained, "I think Tony had a musical influence on me somehow. After about ten years, I started thinking about it deeper ... And I remember him talking about [the 1944 standard] 'Stella by Starlight' and he had a certain love for classic songs." Asher concurred that he felt he had inspired Wilson to write the song.

Lyrics

At the time the song was written, referencing "God" in a title or lyric was generally considered a taboo for pop music, and there had been at least one recent instance of a record being banned from radio for having words such as "hell" or "damn". Asher said that he and Wilson had "lengthy conversations" about the lyric, "because unless you were Kate Smith and you were singing 'God Bless America', no one thought you could say 'God' in a song. ... He said, 'We'll just never get any air play.'" He believed that Wilson agreed to the title after being told by other people that it was "an opportunity to be really far out [because] it would cause some controversy, which he didn't mind." Dillon wrote that referring to God may have also been viewed...

Release

"God Only Knows" was first released on May 14, 1966, as the opening track of side two on Pet Sounds. In its review of the album, Disc & Music Echo referred to the song as "a standard gem with its hymnal feel." Norman Jopling of Record Mirror decreed that it had "a rollicking salvationist flavour but isn't going to convert anyone." Spencer Davis, frontman of the Spencer Davis Group, praised the song as the album's "most fantastic track" for a contemporaneous survey conducted by Melody Maker. At the suggestion of Johnston, Tony Rivers and the Castaways recorded a version of the song, which was issued about a week before the Beach Boys released their version as a single.

Recognition and legacy

"God Only Knows" is often praised as the Beach Boys' finest record, as Carl's best vocal performance, as Brian's most quintessential work, and as one of the greatest songs ever written. Writing in his book America in the Sixties (2010), historian John Robert Greene identified the song as "one of the most complex—and beautiful—songs in the annals of American popular music" and credited it with remaking "the ideal of the popular love song. Granata deemed "God Only Knows" a musically and technically impressive accomplishment that Wilson and the Beach Boys never repeated on their subsequent records., and as one of the greatest songs ever written. In 2012, music journalist Dan Caffrey argued that the descriptor "teenage symphony to God",...

Good Timin'

"Good Timin'" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys and the second single from their 1979 album L.A. . It is one of the few songs jointly credited to Brian and Carl Wilson.

Recording

"Good Timin'" was recorded during the group's sessions at Brother Studios and Caribou Ranch in April and November 1974, respectively, with Brian contributing piano and harpsichord. The basic track was completed and Carl Wilson recorded the lead vocals. In a 1975 interview, Carl stated that the track had been slated for the group's next album. That album, which became 15 Big Ones, ultimately did not include "Good Timin'". In a 1976 interview, Dennis Wilson bemoaned the track's absence from 15 Big Ones, praising it as "another 'Surfer Girl'".

Release

"Good Timin'" reached No. 40 in the U.S. during a stay of ten weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart; and peaked at No. 33 on the Cash Box sales chart. It was their first single to reach the Top 40 portion of the chart since "It's OK" in October 1976. It also reached No. 12 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.

Good Vibrations

"Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys, produced and composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love and, in some published versions, by Tony Asher. Promoted as a "pocket symphony", it was released as a single on October 10, 1966 and became an immediate critical and commercial success, topping national charts in the United States, United Kingdom, and several other countries.

It is commonly regarded as one of the greatest works of rock, pop, and psychedelia.

Background and authorship

"Good Vibrations" was composed by Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson, who conceived the song while playing piano under the influence of marijuana. The song was essentially a reflection of his fascination with mysticism, spirituality, and recreational drugs. The title phrase ("good vibrations" or "good vibes") had originated as local drug slang. In a 2007 interview, Wilson mentioned that the song, like "California Girls", had been inspired by his use of LSD (or "acid"). However, in a 2012 interview, he attributed its inspiration to marijuana, saying, "I don't accredit it to LSD, I accredit it to marijuana. I smoked marijuana just before I wrote it."

Composition

"Good Vibrations" is a pop, rock, psychedelic, and R&B song. By the mid-2010s, It was more frequently identified as pop rather than rock. Academic Candelaria suggests, "possibly because it comes across relatively innocent compared with the hard-edged rock we have since come to know." Wilson acknowledged, "It's a real funny thing—nobody ever really called 'Good Vibrations' a rock 'n' roll record. But it was a rock 'n' roll record. It really rocked." Biographer Jon Stebbins agreed, noting that the chorus "projects a definite 'rock and roll' energy and feel" unlike Pet Sounds. In his book about Kraftwerk, Steve Tupai Francis cited "Good Vibrations" as an example among pioneering works of electronic music. Other genres attributed to the song...

Lyrics

Mike Love described his "Good Vibrations" lyrics as "just a flowery poem" similar to the later 1967 hit "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)". "Good Vibrations" begins by describing a woman's "colorful clothes", sunlight on her hair, "the sound of a gentle word", and a breeze carrying her perfume's scent. These opening verses center on the material senses, which Wilson said was a deliberate contrast to the extrasensory themes later revealed in the chorus.

Recording process

"Good Vibrations" cemented Wilson's new method of recording and song composition. Instead of working on whole songs with clear large-scale syntactical structures, Wilson limited himself to recording short interchangeable fragments (or "modules"). Through tape splicing, each fragment could then be assembled into a linear sequence, allowing for any number of larger structures and divergent moods to be produced at a later time. It also allowed for sections to be reused within the composition. To conceal tape splices, reverb decays were applied during mixing and sub-mixing stages.

Help Me, Rhonda

"Help Me, Rhonda" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys, appearing first on their 1965 album The Beach Boys Today! and subsequently in re-recorded form on the following 1965 album Summer Days . It was written by Brian Wilson, with additional lyrics by Mike Love.

Band member Al Jardine sings the lead vocal, a rarity for this era in the Beach Boys.

Background

"Help Me, Rhonda" was written by Brian Wilson with additional lyrics by Mike Love. In his memoir, Wilson claimed the song was inspired by Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife", which he was playing on the piano when he came up with the music for "Help Me Rhonda". He has also cited "Fannie Mae" as an inspiration.

Recording

Though Brian Wilson initially intended to perform the lead vocal for the song himself, he instead assigned the part to Al Jardine. Brian Wilson later stated, "I'd heard Al sing a lot and liked his voice and wanted to write a song for him that showed off the quality of his voice and sure enough I did." Jardine, who had only sung one lead vocal for the band up to that point, struggled with his vocal, recalling,

Release

Two versions of "Help Me, Rhonda" were released commercially in 1965. The first version, recorded in January 1965 and featuring a ukulele-driven arrangement, was included on the band's The Beach Boys Today! album under the title "Help Me, Ronda". Jardine characterized this version as "more of a laid-back shuffle" and said it "definitely wasn't a single." Mike Love similarly recalled that he "didn't anticipate" the song would become a "breakout hit". Brian Wilson, however, felt the song had hit potential and the band rerecorded the track in 1965 with a punchier, guitar-led arrangement and some minor lyrical tweaks.

Critical reception

Upon release, Billboard described the single version as "an intriguing off-beat rouser" which "can't miss." Cash Box described it as "a power-packed hard-driving romantic surfin’-rocker with an extremely infectious danceable back-beat." Record World said it "should be big b. o." although it "has less of their surf sound than usual, by the way." Wilson later said of the song, "I would've made a better rhythm — it wasn't in the pocket."

Heroes and Villains

"Heroes and Villains" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Smiley Smile and their unfinished Smile project. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, Wilson envisioned the song as an Old West-themed musical comedy that would surpass the recording and artistic achievements of "Good Vibrations".

The single was Brother Records' first release. While it failed to meet critical and commercial expectations, it was nevertheless a hit record, peaking at number 12 in the U.S. and number 8 in the UK.

Background

Wilson had been working on "Heroes and Villains" for some time before he asked Parks to be his lyricist in mid-July 1966. Al Jardine surmised that the song derived in part from the group's improvised scat singing exercises from early in the band's existence. In a 2000 interview, he stated, "We all became instruments for Brian's barbershop concept. He said, 'Let's all do this, let's sing this idea.' Carl would be one instrument, I'd be another. Mike would be another instrument. [...] With none of us really being players, we would just scat in the car going to a show or something or going to school, anywhere." Musician Al Kooper, writing in his 2008 autobiography, recalled that Wilson played him a rough mix of "Heroes and Villains" shortly...

Lyrics

There are conflicting reports regarding who came up with the title. Wilson credited Parks with naming the song, but Parks denied this, saying that he wrote the lyrics around the title that Wilson had suggested. Wilson's then-wife Marilyn commented: "There are so many screwed-up people in the music industry. The good guys and the bad guys [...] That's one thing Brian had in mind when they did 'Heroes and Villains.'" Biographer Peter Ames Carlin interpreted the song as Wilson projecting "all of the feelings sensed inside of himself [...] into vibrantly colored, abstract glimpses into another parallel world."

Delays and further recording (December 1966 – March 1967)

Smile was first projected for a December 1966 release date. On December 15, Wilson informed Capitol A&R director Karl Engemann that the album and its lead single "Heroes and Villains" would probably be delivered "some time prior to January 15". He attempted to ease Capitol's concerns over the album's delay by delivering a handwritten note that contained an unordered, preliminary track listing. "I'm in Great Shape" and "The Old Master Painter" were both listed as a separate track from "Heroes and Villains". Capitol delayed the release date of Smile and "Heroes and Villains" to March 1967. Possibly due to their insistence on a ready single, Wilson returned to work on "Heroes and Villains" on December 19, 1966, after which he halted work on...

Release

Wilson held onto the final mix of the song for about a month. On the evening of July 11, 1967, he was told by his astrologer (a woman named Genevelyn) that the time was right for the record to be heard by the public. Without informing Capitol, Wilson called his bandmates and, accompanied by producer Terry Melcher, traveled by limo to personally deliver a vinyl cut of the record to KHJ Radio. According to Melcher, as Wilson excitedly offered the record for radio play, the DJ refused, citing program directing protocols. Melcher recalled: "Brian almost fainted! It was all over. He'd been holding onto the record [and] had astrologers figuring out the correct moment. It really killed him. Finally they played it, but only after a few calls to...

I Can Hear Music

"I Can Hear Music" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector for American girl group the Ronettes in 1966. This version spent one week on the Billboard Pop chart at number 100.

In early 1969, the Beach Boys released a cover version as a single from their album 20/20 (1969), peaking at number 24 in the US.

I Get Around

"I Get Around" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys and the opening track from their 1964 album All Summer Long. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the autobiographical lyrics describe the group's reaction to their newfound fame and success, as well as their restlessness concerning the status quo, and their desire to find new places "where the kids are hip".

It was released as a single in May 1964, with the B-side "Don't Worry Baby".

Background

"I Get Around" was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Wilson was originally listed as the sole author of the song. After Love sued Wilson for songwriting credits in the 1990s, he was awarded official co-writing credits on 35 Beach Boys songs, including "I Get Around". Asked about the authorship of "I Get Around" during the court proceedings, Wilson responded, "I [wrote it], with the exception of a possible – possibility that Mike wrote the intro, the 'round 'round.'"

Lyrics

Biographer Jon Stebbins states that the song was one of several that Wilson had based on the life experiences of his brother Dennis. Brian's original lyrics in the first verse had the line "Well there's a million little girls just waitin' around / But there's only so much to do in a little town / I get around from town to town". Love told Wilson that these were "pussy lyrics" and subsequently revised them. He later wrote

Composition

"I Get Around" begins in the key of G major with an a cappella intro section that contains a faster version of the chord progression used in the chorus: I–VI–ii–♭VII–V. Love stated that he had based the intro on the Regents' 1961 hit "Barbara-Ann", a song that the Beach Boys later covered on their 1965 album Beach Boys' Party!.

Recording

Wilson produced the backing track with his bandmates and a selection of session musicians on April 2, 1964, at Western Studios in Hollywood. This date marked the beginning of the All Summer Long sessions. The group performed final overdubs for "I Get Around" eight days later, on April 10.

In My Room

"In My Room" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Gary Usher for the American rock band the Beach Boys. It was released on their 1963 album Surfer Girl.

It was also released as the B-side of the "Be True to Your School" single. The single peaked at number 23 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was eventually inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

Composition

The song is written in the key of B major and features a flat VII A major chord.

Demo version and final release

The 1993 CD box set, Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys, contains an early version of "In My Room" with a number of differences from the eventual official release. It is unclear if this fully developed demo was recorded the same day as the final version on July 16, 1963. The tune features six Beach Boys: both Al Jardine (on vocals) and David Marks (whose guitar strumming backs up Carl Wilson's picked solo notes) are present. This was the last of eight charting songs to include Marks until nearly 50 years later, performing on 2012's That's Why God Made the Radio.

Kokomo

"Kokomo" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from the 1988 film Cocktail and album Still Cruisin'. Written by John Phillips, Scott McKenzie, Mike Love and Terry Melcher, the song was released as a single in July 1988 by Elektra Records and became a number-one hit in the US and Australia.

It was the band's first original top-20 single in 20 years, their first number-one hit in 22 years and their final top-40 hit.

Background

The verse of the song came from a demo by John Phillips (formerly of the Mamas & the Papas) and Scott McKenzie (best known for his 1967 song "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)", which Phillips wrote). The Beach Boys' Mike Love added the chorus which lists the names of islands and suggested that Phillips change the lyrics from past tense to present tense, transforming the tone of the song from melancholic to inviting.

Recording

"Kokomo" was recorded on March 22 and April 5–6, 1988, with production by Terry Melcher, who had previously produced the band's "Rock 'n' Roll to the Rescue" (1986) and "California Dreamin'" (1986). It was created through overdubbing parts onto the band's demo for the song.

Music video

The video for "Kokomo" was filmed at the then-recently opened Grand Floridian Resort at Walt Disney World in Florida. Although they had not played these instruments on the recording, Mike Love is holding a saxophone, Al Jardine is playing tambourine, Carl Wilson is playing guitar, and Bruce Johnston is playing bass, with touring drummer Mike Kowalski in his usual role, and actor and occasional Beach Boys live guest John Stamos is playing steel drum.

Release

After being released as a single in 1988, the song was included on the soundtrack album for the movie Cocktail, as well as the 1989 Beach Boys album Still Cruisin'. The Beach Boys also performed the song on an episode of Full House, as well as an episode of the soap opera One Life to Live.

Little Deuce Coupe

"Little Deuce Coupe" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian. The song first appeared as the B-side to the Beach Boys' 1963 single "Surfer Girl".

The car referred to is the 1932 Ford Model 18. "Little Deuce Coupe" became the Beach Boys' highest charting B-side, peaking on September 28, 1963, at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Composition

The music was written by Brian Wilson with the lyric by local radio station DJ Roger Christian. Its main melody is a twelve-bar blues. The song typified the Beach Boys' car songs which along with surfing, glamorized the teenage 1960s Californian lifestyle later called the California Myth. It was released on the Surfer Girl album and then again as the title track of the album Little Deuce Coupe. A Christmas-themed spin-off, "Little Saint Nick", was released by the group as a single later in the year.

Recording

The song was recorded at Western Studios on June 12, 1963, at the same recording session as "Surfer Girl". The two songs were the first songs recorded for the Beach Boys' third album, Surfer Girl. This was the first Beach Boys recording session where Brian Wilson served as the official producer, and also one of the last sessions before Al Jardine rejoined the band.

Legacy

Frank Zappa was quoted in his autobiography The Real Frank Zappa Book, "One of the most exciting things that ever happened in the world of 'white-person music' was when the Beach Boys used the progression V-ii on "Little Deuce Coupe." An important step forward by going backward."

Shut Down

"Shut Down" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian for the American rock band the Beach Boys. The primary melody is a twelve-bar blues.

On March 4, 1963, it was released as the B-side of the single "Surfin' U.S.A.", three weeks ahead of the album of the same name on which both tracks appeared. Capitol Records released it again later that year on the album Little Deuce Coupe.

Cover versions

The song was recorded and released by Jan & Dean on their 1982 album, One Summer Night/Live.

Surfer Girl

"Surfer Girl" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1963 album Surfer Girl. Written and sung by Brian Wilson, it was released as a single, backed with "Little Deuce Coupe", on July 22, 1963.

The single was the first Beach Boys record to have Brian Wilson officially credited as the producer.

Background

Wilson frequently referred to "Surfer Girl" as his first original composition. However, his closest high school friends disputed this, recalling that Wilson had written numerous songs prior to "Surfer Girl". The lyrics were inspired by Judy Bowles, Wilson's first serious girlfriend, whom he had dated for three and a half years.

Recording

The band first recorded the song at World Pacific Studios on February 8, 1962, at an early recording session. However, the recordings from that session, engineered by Hite Morgan, would not be released until 1969.

Single release

The "Surfer Girl" single, backed with "Little Deuce Coupe", was released on Capitol Records in the United States on July 22, 1963. Cash Box described it as "a lilting soft beat-ballad charmer."

Surfin Safari

"Surfin' Safari" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys, written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Released as a single with "409" on June 4, 1962, it peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song also appeared on the 1962 album of the same name.

Background

The song was inspired by Chuck Berry's method of combining simple chord progressions with lyrical references to place names (for example, in "Back in the U.S.A." and "Sweet Little Sixteen"). "Surfin' Safari" includes several references to Southern California surfing locations (Malibu, Rincon, the Channel Islands, Huntington, and Sunset Beach). It also references Narrabeen, a beach on Australia's east coast. The sites and surfing-related terms featured in the song were provided to Brian and Mike by surfer Jimmy Bowles, brother of Brian's then-new flame Judy Bowles, who he had met one afternoon while helping a buddy coach little league.

Recording

The Beach Boys first recorded the song at World Pacific Studios on February 8, 1962, in what was the band's second ever recording session, along with an early version of "Surfer Girl", the instrumental "Karate", and "Judy". However, the recordings from that session, produced by Hite and Dorinda Morgan, remained unreleased until 1969, when they were released on the compilation album The Beach Boys Biggest Beach Hits. Alan Jardine participated in the session before briefly leaving the group; his name was subsequently crossed out of the AFM paperwork for the session.

Release and reception

The "Surfin' Safari" single backed with "409" was the band's second single and the first single to be released on the band's new label Capitol Records in the United States in June 1962. Murry Wilson claimed that Nick Venet wanted "409" to be the A-side of the single, which Venet disputed. Murphy noted that Capitol's original work order for the single "indicates "Surfin' Safari" was the A side." The Billboard issue of July 14, 1962 cited Detroit as the major market of its national "break out".

Album and alternate releases

The song was first released on a single 45 RPM record and then later, it was released on the band's debut Surfin' Safari album, and on a number of later 'greatest hits' compilations. The song's appearance on the 1993 Good Vibrations box set is sourced from the original demo tape master, lacking the fade-out added before its release as a single.

Surfin' Safari

"Surfin' Safari" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys, written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Released as a single with "409" on June 4, 1962, it peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song also appeared on the 1962 album of the same name.

Background

The song was inspired by Chuck Berry's method of combining simple chord progressions with lyrical references to place names (for example, in "Back in the U.S.A." and "Sweet Little Sixteen"). "Surfin' Safari" includes several references to Southern California surfing locations (Malibu, Rincon, the Channel Islands, Huntington, and Sunset Beach). It also references Narrabeen, a beach on Australia's east coast. The sites and surfing-related terms featured in the song were provided to Brian and Mike by surfer Jimmy Bowles, brother of Brian's then-new flame Judy Bowles, who he had met one afternoon while helping a buddy coach little league.

Recording

The Beach Boys first recorded the song at World Pacific Studios on February 8, 1962, in what was the band's second ever recording session, along with an early version of "Surfer Girl", the instrumental "Karate", and "Judy". However, the recordings from that session, produced by Hite and Dorinda Morgan, remained unreleased until 1969, when they were released on the compilation album The Beach Boys Biggest Beach Hits. Alan Jardine participated in the session before briefly leaving the group; his name was subsequently crossed out of the AFM paperwork for the session.

Release and reception

The "Surfin' Safari" single backed with "409" was the band's second single and the first single to be released on the band's new label Capitol Records in the United States in June 1962. Murry Wilson claimed that Nick Venet wanted "409" to be the A-side of the single, which Venet disputed. Murphy noted that Capitol's original work order for the single "indicates "Surfin' Safari" was the A side." The Billboard issue of July 14, 1962 cited Detroit as the major market of its national "break out".

Album and alternate releases

The song was first released on a single 45 RPM record and then later, it was released on the band's debut Surfin' Safari album, and on a number of later 'greatest hits' compilations. The song's appearance on the 1993 Good Vibrations box set is sourced from the original demo tape master, lacking the fade-out added before its release as a single.

Wild Honey

"Wild Honey" is a song recorded by the American rock band the Beach Boys. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was released as the lead single from their 1967 album Wild Honey, with the B-side of the single being "Wind Chimes".

The single peaked at number 31 in the U.S. and number 29 in the U.K.

Composition

In a 1992 issue of Goldmine, Mike Love explained the idea for the lyrics of the song:

Recording

Recording for the song began on September 26, 1967 at Brian Wilson's home studio in Bel Air, California with Jim Lockert engineering the session. The song would be almost completely recorded in three days. The band started with piano, guitar, bass and drums, followed by a simple organ part and percussion. The band then added an Electro-Theremin and re-did the drums, in which Dennis Wilson's bass drum was recorded in a hallway. The session then concluded with the band doing all vocal overdubs and Bruce Johnston performing the organ solo.

Reception

Billboard described the single as an "easy rocker with a steady and solid dance beat." Cash Box said that it's a "thumping, pulsing ditty."

Wouldn't It Be Nice

"Wouldn't It Be Nice" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys and the opening track from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Written by Brian Wilson, Tony Asher, and Mike Love, it is distinguished for its sophisticated Wall of Sound–style arrangement and refined vocal performances, and is regarded among the band's finest songs.

With its juxtaposition of joyous-sounding music and melancholic lyrics, it is considered a formative work of power pop, and with respect to musical innovation, progressive pop.

Background

"Wouldn't It Be Nice" is one of the eight songs that Brian Wilson and Tony Asher wrote for the Pet Sounds album. Wilson's since-discredited 1991 memoir suggested that he was inspired to write the song after having sexual fantasies about the Honeys' singer Diane Rovell, his sister-in-law. While discussing the song, Asher supported that Wilson was "definitely infatuated by her" and "this innocent aura that she seemed to possess. Brian was really just so naive." Wilson repeatedly brought up the subject while they composed the songs on Pet Sounds, as Asher remembered, "He'd stop in the middle of writing a song or a conversation or whatever and start going on about Diane, about how innocent, sweet, and beautiful she was. I'd be thinking, 'Huh!...

Lyrics

The lyrics describe a young couple fantasizing about the romantic freedom they would earn once married, including the benefits of being able to "hold each other close the whole night through" and to "say goodnight and stay together". Asher explained, "It's a song that people who are young and in love can appreciate and respond to, because it revolves around the things they've always wanted to do: live together, sleep together, wake up together—do everything together."

Composition

"Wouldn't It Be Nice" begins with an eight-beat introduction in the key of A major. Following a single drum hit, the song shifts to the remote flat submediant key of F. Classical composer John Adams called this key change "nothing new in the classical or jazz world, but appearing here in the context of a standard rock-and-roll song, it felt novel and fresh. More than any other songwriter of that era, Brian Wilson understood the value of harmonic surprise."

Critical reception

In his self-described "unbiased" review of the album for Record Mirror, published in July 1966 upon Pet Sounds's British release, Norman Jopling said that the song "starts off prettily, and develops into a complicated ponderous beat number taken at a reasonably fast tempo. It slows down half-way through but brightens up again, and the lyric is pleasant. But not exceptional Beach Boys." Billboard's review highlighted the track for its "strong single potential". Cash Box described the song as a "rhythmic, medium-paced, danceable sincere pledge of devotion".