Exactly forty years ago this day, december 10th 1966, ‘Good Vibrations’ hit the number one spot on the Billboards Hot 100 singles chart. Realizing this, a little phrase by Thom Yorke came to mind: ‘I wish it was the sixties'. For a moment, I wish it was. Two months after The Beach Boys hit the top of the American singles charts, The Beatles released ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’. It's hard to imagine music this important being this successful. What an exciting time this must have been.
The first version of ‘Good Vibrations’ was recorded in February 1966, during the Pet Sounds sessions. Brian Wilson first enlisted the help of Pet Sounds lyricist Tony Asher for putting words to the idea. Later Brian asked his new writing partner Van Dyke Parks to write lyrics for the song, but Parks declined. Something he’d life to regret, you’d suppose. Mike Love supplied the final version of the lyrics around August. When ‘Good Vibrations’ came out it was - without question - the most technically advanced single ever recorded. It still is one of the most beautiful, most inspiring and most intriguing songs ever made.
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