The Beach
Boys were, unequivocally, one of the best known and most successful bands of
the 1960s. In a time when rock and
popular music became dominated by British Invasion bands like The Beatles, The
Rolling Stones and The Who (among many others), The Beach Boys and their sunny
music managed to keep America on the charts.
Between 1963 and 1966, the band had 19 Top 20 hits, 13 of which made it
into the Top 10, 8 of which made it into the Top 5 and 3 of which hit #1. The band was known for its songs about
surfing and cars and became emblematic of the popular vision of Southern
California and the so-called “California sound.”
Similar to
other groups from the 1960s, their early material was light and focused on
young people, surfing, cars and girls.
However, as the 1960s progressed and moved toward being more
experimental and progressive, so did the band’s music.
The driving
force behind The Beach Boys was Brian Wilson.
He was one of their primary lead vocalists (known for his falsetto
vocals) and the creative mind that wrote and produced most of the band’s
output. He coordinated and arranged the
band’s trademark vocal arrangements and was at the forefront of the record
producers who used the studio as an instrument unto itself. His impact on popular music from the 1960s
cannot be overstated. Sadly, drug use and mental illness negatively impacted
him in the late 1960s and into the 1970s, which likewise resulted in the
declining fortunes of the band. In his
later years, he managed to conquer his personal demons and make additional
music.
As most of
you probably know, Brian Wilson recently passed away at the age of 82, just
days away from his 83rd birthday.
In his memory, I present my list of Brian Wilson’s (and, by extension,
The Beach Boys) best songs.
10. “Help
Me, Rhonda” (1965) –
Written primarily by Wilson with some lyrical assistance from Mike Love, the
song was a #1 smash, the band’s second. The chorus with the repetitions of
“Help me, Rhonda, help help me, Rhonda” is instantly recognizable. It was also a #1 hit in Canada and made it
into the Top 5 in Sweden.
9. “Fun,
Fun, Fun” (1964) –
One of the band’s songs that touches the California ethos of hot-rods and
hamburger stands. The song was inspired
by an actual incident involving the daughter of a manager of a radio station in
Utah. It peaked at #5 on the charts in the U.S., while also cracking the Top 10
in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. “And she’ll have fun, fun, fun ‘til her
daddy takes the t-bird away…”
8. “I Get
Around” (1964) – Another
hot-rod and girls song, it is primarily focused on the doo-wop vocals with
Wilson’s voice soaring over those of his band mates. It was the band’s first #1
hit in the U.S. and it also topped the charts in Canada while reaching the Top
10 in the UK and New Zealand. “Round
round get around, I get around…”
7. “Don’t
Worry Baby” (1964) –
This one was originally released as the B-side of “I Get Around.” While it also deals with car racing, it deals
with it from a different angle. Instead of bragging about his car or his
prowess as a driver, it instead has the protagonist worrying that he has taken
things too far and then being reassured by his girlfriend – “Don’t worry,
baby.” Wilson wrote the song with Roger Christian and the former’s lead vocal
is one of his most acclaimed and praised in the entire Beach Boys canon. In a 2011 interview, Wilson himself cited it
as the best vocal he has ever done. It only peaked at #24 in the U.S. but it
has grown to be considered one of the band’s (and Brian Wilson’s) finest songs.
6.
“Surfin’ U.S.A.” (1963)
– The Beach Boys’ first Top 10 hit, this song peaked at #3 in the U.S, while
also charting in Canada, Japan and the UK. It is a rewritten version of Chuck
Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen” with new lyrics that were evoked the
stereotypical surfing culture of California. Wilson’s lyrics focus on surfing
and include a list of 15 surfing spots, most of which are in the band’s native
Southern California. It remains one of the band’s and Wilson’s most well-known
songs. “If everybody had an ocean, across the U.S.A…”
5. “Surfer
Girl” (1963) – This
was the first song on which Brian Wilson was credited as the producer. Wilson cited it as one of the first song he
ever wrote. It is a sweet plea to be loved by the titular character. It is much slower and more of a ballad than
most of band’s early work, which helped this song stand out, as did the doo-wop
vocals and Wilson’s own soaring lead vocal. It peaked at #7 in the U.S., while
actually cracking the Top 5 in Canada and New Zealand.
4.
“California Girls” (1965)
– One of the band’s most well-known songs, Wilson himself cites it as his
favorite song The Beach Boys ever did.
Its iconic first verse extolls the virtues of the girls in various parts
of the U.S. (East Coast girls are hip, Southern girls have great accents,
Midwest farmer’s daughter make you feel alright, and Northern girls’ kisses
keep their boyfriends warm) while still wishing that they could all be
California girls. The song was an
international smash, charting in 10 countries worldwide, peaking at #3 in the
U.S. but reaching #2 in Canada and topping the charts in South Africa. The song was famously covered by erstwhile Van
Halen frontman David Lee Roth 20 years later as his first solo release, once
again peaking at #3 in the U.S. Roth’s
version featured Brian Wilson’s youngest brother Carl on background vocals,
joined by none other than Christopher Cross.
3. “God
Only Knows” (1966) –
1966’s Pet Sounds is The Beach Boys’ most acclaimed album and this song
was one of the singles from that album. (It was actually the B-side of our #2
song.) The album is an early example of a
concept album and focused on youth from a largely more introspective
perspective than most of their earlier songs.
This particular song was groundbreaking both in its musical complexity
and inverted chords as well as its use of God in the chorus and title, things
that were essentially unheard of in popular music at the time. The lyrics convey a seriousness and
moroseness uncommon to most love songs as the narrator says that without his
lover, life would not worth living and only God knows what would happen. Wilson
cited The Beatles’ “Rubber Soul” as his inspiration for both the Pet Sounds
record as a whole and this song in particular.
As may be predicted based upon the foregoing explanation, the song was
only a minor hit at the time in the U.S., peaking at only #39. However, it was more successful overseas,
where it reached the Top 10 in Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK. Over time, it has become one of Wilson’s most
acclaimed works, ranking at #25 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500
Greatest Songs of All Time.
2. “Wouldn’t
It Be Nice” (1966) – Another
track from Pet Sounds, this song is deceptively catchy. It juxtaposes upbeat, joyous-sounding music
with melancholic lyrics. The lyrics tell of a young couple in love who
fantasize about getting older and being married and being able to live together,
fall asleep together and wake up together every day. Instead of focusing on the pleasures of youth
like much of the band’s repertoire, it takes a more mature, introspective
approach and instead shows a yearning to be older. Longtime readers of this blog are well aware
of my affinity for sad songs and wistful, melancholic lyrics and this song (as
well as our #3 selection above) check those boxes. The song peaked at #8 in the U.S., while also
reaching the Top 10 in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
1. “Good
Vibrations” (1966) – Anyone
who is a fan of The Beach Boys and has been reading this list probably could
have already figured out what #1 was. This track is, in many ways, the culmination
of all of Brian Wilson’s skills in the studio and as a vocal arranger. It melds
a catchy chorus with overlayed and overlapping vocals, as well as a wide variety
of musical instruments. In addition to
the six members of the band, there were more than 20 other musicians who took
part in the recording process, which was spread over an unheard of (at the time)
7 months and cost the modern equivalent of a quarter of a million dollars.
Again, this is just for ONE song less than 4 minutes in length! The result was both a commercial and critical
smash that hit #1 in six countries and reached the Top 20 in 18 countries
around the globe. Sadly, the success of this single also became the undoing of
Brian Wilson, both personally and professionally. His perfectionism and his desire to outdo what
he accomplished with this song, coupled with his increasing drug use and mental
illness, became debilitating. He soon retreated from public view and often spent
days on end within his house and room, not going outside at all. As a result, this was the last #1 and last
Top 10 hit that Wilson was involved with.
The Beach Boys themselves did not have another Top 20 hit until 22 years
later, when “Kokomo” topped the charts in 1988.
However, Brian Wilson had no involvement in that song, so “Good Vibrations”
remains the pinnacle of the career of a uniquely talented but tortured artist.
Honorable
Mention:
“In My Room”
(1963)
“Surfin’
Safari (1962)
“Little Saint
Nick” (1963)