ON THIS DATE (48 YEARS AGO) October 10, 1966 - The Beach Boys: Good Vibrations 45 single is released in the US. Good Vibrations is a song by The Beach Boys, released as a single on this date in October 1966. Composed and produced by Brian Wilson, the songs lyrics were written by Wilson and Mike Love. Released as a single on October 10, 1966 (backed with the Pet Sounds instrumental Lets Go Away For Awhile), it was The Beach Boys third U.S. number-one hit after I Get Around and Help Me, Rhonda, reaching the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1966, as well as being their first British chart-topper. Initiated during the sessions for the Pet Sounds album, it was not taken from or issued as a lead single for an album, but as a stand-alone single, although it would be later considered for the ill-fated SMiLE project. It would ultimately be placed on the album Smiley Smile eleven months after its release. Wilsons publicist Derek Taylor described Good Vibrations as a pocket symphony. It featured instruments unusual for a pop song, including prominent use of the cello and an electro-theremin. It is #6 on Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song Good Vibrations is part of the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fames 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list. Wilson recounted the genesis of the title Good Vibrations in his 1995 biopic, I Just Wasnt Made for These Times, and at other times. When he was a child, his mother told him that dogs could pick up vibrations from people, so that the dog would bark at bad vibrations. Wilson turned this into the general idea of vibrations (and Mike Love putting good in front of vibrations), and developed the idea of people being able to do the same with emotions. Originally composed during the Pet Sounds/Smile sessions with original lyrics by Tony Asher, the song was recorded by Wilson in sections at different studios in order to capture the sound he heard in his head. Building upon the layered production approach he had begun to use with the Pet Sounds album, he devoted months of effort to this single track. The instrumental of the first version of the song was recorded on February 17, 1966. It was described in the session log as #1 Untitled (or as Good, Good, Good Vibrations), though on the tape Brian Wilson distinctly says Good Vibrations, Take One. After 26 takes, a rough mono mix completed the session. Rough guide vocals were recorded the following day. By February 25, Wilson had placed the recording on hold in order to devote attention to the Pet Sounds album. The track was revisited on May 24, 1966, and worked on until June 18, at which time he put it aside again until August 24. The various sections of the song were edited together in a sort of musical collage, similar to The Beatles later Strawberry Fields Forever and A Day in the Life records, both inspired by the works of Brian Wilson (according to Paul McCartney). The distinctive high-pitched sliding electronic sound in the choruses and at the end of the track was created with an Electro-Theremin, played by Paul Tanner, and first used by Wilson on the track I Just Wasnt Made for These Times. The production of the song is reported to have spanned seventeen recording sessions at four different recording studios, and used over 90 hours of magnetic recording tape, with an eventual budget of $50,000. According to Wilson, the electro-theremin work itself cost $15,000. Wilson is credited with developing the use of the recording studio as an instrument: he, the Beach Boys, and dozens of top studio musicians, including members of The Wrecking Crew, recorded and re-recorded seemingly unrelated musical and vocal sections for the song, then edited and mixed these sections into a 3:35 track. The recording and production style used on the Good Vibrations single established Wilsons new method of operation: the recording and re-recording of specific sections of music, followed by rough mixes of the sections edited together, further recording as required, and the construction of the final mix from the component elements. This was the modular approach to recording that was next used on Smile. David Leaf, author of the critically acclaimed biography, The Beach Boys and The California Myth, said of the song, Nothing but perfection here. The Beach Boys first million-selling #1 hit...was a major technical breakthrough...the record that showed that anything was possible in the studio. The Beach Boys..
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 09:57:13 +0000
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