The Beach Boys are another in a long line of bands featured here on FNJ whose bio is a bit long for a blog post. Nonetheless...they (original lineup: brothers Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine) had their beginnings in the late 50's, had a great run from the early to late 60's, pretty much became a nostalgia act by the mid 70's, and are still together today, though Jardine and Love run separate versions of the band on the oldies circuit. The band has had numerous internal squabbles through the years. Brian Wilson is generally credited as being the genius behind the band, though the rest of the band played crucial roles. Brian had massive mental health issues for a number of years (somewhat coinciding with the band's commercial and critical decline), but in recent times seems to have gained something of a foothold on his problems. The Beach Boys are the most successful American band in history, with thirty-six top 40 hits and over 100 million records sold. They were #12 on Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time." Sadly, Dennis Wilson drowned drunkenly in 1983 and Carl Wilson succumbed to lung cancer in 1998. Still, though their fortunes have waxed and waned through the years, they will always be one of a handful of rock and roll artists whose catalog represents much of the best of what rock and roll has to offer, and their influence on the music and on other artists is immeasurable.
Released in 1966 on their seminal LP, Pet Sounds, "God Only Knows" was only released as a B-side (to "Wouldn't It Be Nice") here in the states and only reached #39 (though still with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100. Overseas it was released as an A-side (so many cool kids overseas), and was much more commercially successful (it hit #2 on the UK Singles Chart). Surprisingly, as it's considered one of the greatest albums ever and it's from a very commercially successful band, Pet Sounds only reached #10 on the Billboard 200 and sold a mere 500,000 copies (which is merely 500,000 more copies than I've ever sold).
Fun Fact: Believe it or not, there was much internal consternation over the use of the word "God"--in the 1966 pop world, God was as unthinkable as an expletive. Eventually the band decided the word was being used in the more secular way (i.e., "My God, what the hell is that?"), rather than with any religious connotation and the lyrics were left intact.
This one is a little hard to write about--it's musical structure is way above my meager musical knowledge (Wikipedia gives a nice run down if that's your cup of tea). And Brian Wilson used instruments that aren't exactly your run of the mill rock and roll instruments (French horns, violas, cellos, harpsichords, a sleigh bell). Some have compared it to classical pieces--again, not exactly my forte. So suffice it to say that it has harmonies that the Gods of Rock and Roll personally oversaw, that it's theme of a love that leaves one wondering where one would be without it is one muses would fight over, and that in the annals of pop songwriting I'm not sure there has ever been a better song written and composed. And when Paul McCartney says it's his favorite song of all time...well you know you are listening to something very, very special.
Lyric Sheet: (One of the finest ultra short choruses ever written) "God only knows what I'd be without you..."
Enjoy:
Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee
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