“Nobody could believe it”: The one song Brian Wilson wishes he had written
Any rock musician would be lucky to have at least one great song under their belt throughout their career. It’s not easy getting a tune at the top of the hit parade, but whenever someone pulls that signature magic out of themselves, it’s easy for people to relate to that kind of vulnerability. While bands like The Beatles practically trademarked what a phenomenal pop song was supposed to sound like, there wasn’t a single person more in tune with his emotions in the 1960s than Brian Wilson.
That is, of course, when he was actually able to write about his feelings. Although a lot of Brian’s greatest work involved him making music beyond anyone’s comprehension, there was always that lingering feeling in the background that it wasn’t exactly in line with The Beach Boys’ surf roots of having fun in the sun and driving along the Pacific Coast Highway in the coolest car they could find.
But that hardly mattered to Brian by the late 1960s. He had that phase of his career, and while many other people would be scared not to mess with the formula, Pet Sounds was the kind of masterpiece that only comes once every generation. By taking a step back and using The Wrecking Crew as an instrument on their own, Brian finally got the opportunity to say what was on his mind, even if he had to play down the psychedelic aspects of the album so Mike Love wouldn’t be upset.
Brian could make the kind of music that sounded perfect coming out of the speakers, but he was only one of the many voices coming out around that time. He had already been brough up by acts like The Four Freshmen, but listening to everything coming out of the rock scene at the time, he also had competition based on the kind lyrics Bob Dylan was writing on Blonde on Blonde, the studio techniques of The Beatles’ Revolver, and the guitar prowess of Jimi Hendrix.
There was a lot to keep up with, but Brian never saw his music as a competition. As far as he was concerned, everyone had their own voice for a reason, and that comes from the kind of music that touches someone’s soul before it’s pressed on vinyl. And while ‘Be My Baby’ and ‘Shortenin’ Bread’ were songs that Brian obsessed over, hearing the Righteous Brothers sing in harmony with each other was enough to take him to musical nirvana.
Outside of the countless Beach Boys tunes, Brian felt that ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’ was one of the few songs he regretted not getting to first, saying, “I wish I had written ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’. It was such a great record, nobody could believe it. I think what makes that a great song is the background track, the chord pattern, the melody, the lyrics, and The Righteous Brothers voices. I liked Bill Medley better than Bobby Hatfield. I did a version of ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’ with The Beach Boys, but we never released it.”
Despite an entire generation of kids knowing this as the song from Top Gun, it works because of how well both of them work off each other in the studio. Even when someone like Hall and Oates tried their hand at the tune in the 1980s, there’s a certain magic coming off of the original version, especially when Medley and Hatfield are going back and forth in the breakdown of the tune before hitting the final chorus.
Although The Beach Boys never reached the booming baritone that The Righteous Brothers reached during their prime, Brian was given a lesson in what a good song has to have. Anyone can create a tune that someone can hum along to, but if it doesn’t have that moment that moves something in your heart, it’s time to start over again.
