THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

180-Beach Boys-Good Vibrations.

1966-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 0.26. When writing the lyrics Mike Love said that he actually didn’t know if there was such a word in the dictionary as ‘excitation’s,’, but there is.

‘Good Vibrations’ was co-written by Brian Wilson, (see also best songs 930-811 and 74) and his cousin Mike Love, who provided the majority of the lyrics. ‘Good Vibrations’ is considered by many music critics to be one of the most important songs in the development of Rock Music. It is said that the overall production expenses for making the record was something between $50,000, to $75,000, which in 2022 is equivalent to between $420,000 to $630,000, which made it the most expensive song ever recorded at that time. The song was recorded between February to September 1966 in several different studios, using members of the ‘Wrecking Crew,’ (see also best songs 192) and the Beach Boys themselves.

During the recording of the Beach Boys Album ‘Pet Sounds,’ in 1966, Brian Wilson began changing his writing process, he has said,’I had a lot of unfinished ideas, fragments of music I called ‘feels.’ Each feel represented a mood or an emotion I’d felt, and I planned to fit them together like a mosaic. I was an energetic 23 year-old, I said, this is going to be better than “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ (see also best songs 782.) The engineer Chuck Britz (1927-2000) who worked on the song said that Wilson considered the song to be ‘His whole life performance in one track.’

Brian Wilson has said that ‘Good Vibrations’ was inspired by his mother,’She used to tell me about vibrations. I didn’t really understand too much of what it meant when I was just a boy. It scared me, the word ‘vibrations.’ She told me about dogs that would bark at people and then not bark at others, that a dog would pick up vibrations from these people, that you can’t see, but you can feel.”

Wilson has admitted writing the music for ‘Good Vibrations while taking Marijuana, and he states that he has made his best music while under the influence of drugs. Some of the unique sounds on the track are made by Wilson experimenting with an electronic musical instrument called the ‘Theremin,’ which was invented in 1920 by Leon Theremin (1896-1993.) The sound of the instrument is often associated with eerie situations, and has often been heard in horror movies. After it’s use in ‘Good Vibrations’ the ‘Theremin’ was used more and more by the ‘Progressive Rock’ acts of the day such as Led Zeppelin (‘Whole Lotta Love,’) (see also best songs 135) and the Rolling Stones on their 1967 Albums ‘Between the Buttons,’ and ‘Their Satanic Majesties Request.’

Mike Love who wrote the majority of the songs lyrics has described them as ‘Basically a flowery poem.’ He has gone on to say,’The song seems to describe a really good acid trip. and while there is nothing specifically in the lyrics about drugs, it was this flowery power type of thing. Scott McKenzie wrote “If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair,” and there were love-ins, and all that kind of thing starting to go on.’

The reason why ‘Good Vibrations’ is considered to be one of the most important recordings in Pop Music history is the immediate influence it had on the Beach Boys contemporaries, such as the Beatles who took on board the ideas of Brian Wilson and developed their own Progressive Rock’ songs.

‘I-I love the colourful clothes she wears, and the way the sunlight plays upon her hair. I hear the sound of a gentle word, on the wind that lifts her perfume through the air.’