How The Beach Boys’ 1967 masterpiece started with Brian Wilson’s childhood
While The Beatles may be responsible for dominating the music of the 1960s, there’s a case to be made for The Beach Boys being the band that perfected it, or more specifically, Brian Wilson did.
The ignorant bliss of sunshine living in the liberal world was captured in his songwriting, which platformed sun-kissed harmonies simply better than anyone in the world. Everything about them was as aspiration as this great cultural decade, from their look, their sound and the general idea that they lived in one of the most beautiful places on the planet.
There might not be a better example of this than the ‘67 track ‘Good Vibrations’. A truly vintage Beach Boys song that captures the sunny essence of California and shines it all over a track that Wilson defined as a “pocket symphony”, perfectly blending the lines between pop and artistic experimentation.
But ever since its release, ‘Good Vibrations’ became this ubiquitous idea for positivity. You hear every day in the modern world, people describing things as purely ‘good vibes’, and that all came from Wilson and The Beach Boys, who made it more than just a phrase, but a feeling with the sound that performed it. But while the phrase feels almost innate in its description, it actually came from Wilson’s mother, who believed strongly in the power of vibrations as a form of spiritual living.
“My mother used to tell me about vibrations,” Wilson explained, “I didn’t really understand too much of what she meant when I was a boy. It scared me, the word ‘vibrations’, to think that invisible feelings existed. She also told me about dogs that would bark at some people, but wouldn’t bark at others, and so it came to pass that we talked about good vibrations.”
That fear of the world never really left Wilson and, if anything, it was heightened in ‘67 when The Beach Boys were experiencing the very height of their success after Pet Sounds. They had literally summited the musical mountain, and now the world was watching them like visitors at a zoo; suddenly, Wilson’s receptors for vibrations were at an all-time high.
The only way he could combat it was in music, the very best way he knew how. It’s why the song’s instrumental arrangement seems to align so well with the idea of ‘Good Vibrations’ with the harmonies, piano and especially the tannerin, which gave the song this reverberated feel to ward off any sort of negativity.
“He said he’d always thought that it would be fun to write a song about vibes and picking them up from other people,” producer Tony Asher explained, “So as we started to work, he played this little rhythmic pattern, a riff on the piano, the thing that goes under the chorus.”
With the core idea of harnessing ‘Good Vibrations’ running through every creative decision Wilson made, he penned one of the most iconic pop tracks in history, a flawless execution of textural ideas bundled together to make something truly remarkable. While they may not have warded off the oncoming troubles for the frontman, the track remained a beacon of positivity for the rest of the world.
Never Miss A Tale
The Far Out Classic Rock Newsletter
All the latest Classic Rock content from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.