5 Songs From The Beach Boys That Take You Back To The 1960s

5 Songs From The Beach Boys That Take You Back To The 1960s | Society Of Rock Videos

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Formed in 1961, The Beach Boys are one of the most influential rock acts of the 1960s. With their immaculate vocal harmonies and groundbreaking music, it wasn’t long before they were catapulted to legendary status – inspiring not just the next generation of musicians but also their peers particularly The Beatles.

They have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and influenced various genres and subgenres like psychedelia, punk, power pop, and prog-rock. Here are five of their best songs from the ’60s.

Good Vibrations (1966)

At the time, it was the most expensive single ever recorded costing $50,000 but it was all worth it because Good Vibrations was an instant hit in the US, UK, and several countries. Brian Wilson worked on it almost obsessively, experimenting with the sounds over the course of more than a dozen recording sessions. Interestingly, Capitol Records initially didn’t want to release it as a single but Wilson fought for it. Imagine their surprise when it dominated the charts.

God Only Knows (1966)

One of the band’s finest musical moments, it’s a sophisticated piece that showcased Brian Wilson’s genius. Lyrically, it was a departure from their other tracks which mostly dealt with surfing, girls, and cars. With God Only Knows, it touched on Wilson’s interest on spirituality. It then went on to inspire The Beatles’ Here, There And Everywhere. And in fact, Paul McCartney called it “The greatest song ever written.”

Wouldn’t It Be Nice (1966)

Like the other tracks on Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson didn’t stop experimenting until he was satisfied with everything. So the band members recorded and re-recorded until they got Brian’s approval. And so this one took a lot longer than the other songs to record. It has been featured in films and commercials and it remains one of their most enduring songs.

California Girls (1965)

Brian Wilson got the idea for the song during his first acid trip. Though he’s dissatisfied with the vocal performance, he admitted that it’s his favorite Beach Boys record. He told Rolling Stone, “I sit at the piano and try, but all I want to do is rewrite ‘California Girls.’ How am I gonna do something better than that?”

I Get Around (1964)

Their first #1 hit, it’s an innovative song that showed they were ahead of their time. It featured fuzz and reverb guitar and it would still be a few years before guitar titans like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton make them a huge part of their sound.

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