Understanding why The Beach Boys song ‘God Only Knows’ was banned from the radio
In the 1960s, radio stations were trigger-happy and frequently banned songs for the slightest reason. Nobody was safe, and on one occasion, The Beach Boys were censored by broadcasters across the United States despite the song being one of the most loved in history.
When The Beach Boys released Pet Sounds, they asserted themselves as pioneers and were competing with The Beatles. Although there wasn’t the same level of hysteria following the Californian group, creatively, they were hitting the exact dizzying heights. However, their greatness didn’t successfully keep them sheltered from the wrath of radio, who took umbrage with their track, ‘God Only Knows’.
It’s a personal favourite of Paul McCartney, who once said: “‘God Only Knows’ is one of the few songs that reduces me to tears every time I hear it. It’s really just a love song, but it’s brilliantly done. It shows the genius of Brian.”
He added: “I’ve actually performed it with him and I’m afraid to say that during the soundcheck I broke down. It was just too much to stand there singing this song that does my head in and to stand there singing it with Brian.”
Despite the glowing review from McCartney, ‘God Only Knows’ was deemed unsavoury by many radio stations in the United States because of the title. In liberal states, there were little to no issues with the song, but broadcasters refused to play it on air, mainly in Southern territories, where people are generally more religious.
Brian Wilson knew censorship was likely and felt the title meant the song would be banned universally from the radio. To his surprise, only a select few refused to play it. Perhaps, if ‘God Only Knows’ wasn’t such a stroke of genius by Wilson, radio stations would have ignored it, but he left most of them with no choice apart from playing it on air.
The song was co-written with Tony Asher, who was also aware of the fire they were playing with on ‘God Only Knows’. Although they had no doubts about the quality of the song, both writers were apprehensive the effort would become a hit. Asher later explained to Goldmine: “I really thought it was going to be everything it was, and yet we were taking some real chances with it. First of all, the lyric opens by saying, ‘I may not always love you,’ which is a very unusual way to start a love song.”
Remarkably, Wilson considered changing the title to ‘Fred Only Knows’ from ‘God Only Knows’ because it would have been more palatable for a mainstream audience. Thankfully, he stuck to his guns, and in the long run, Wilson was right to be uncompromising, even if a few radio stations banned the track.
