Good Vibrations

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"Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys, produced and composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. Released as a single on October 10, 1966, it achieved immediate critical and commercial success, topping the charts in several countries, including the United States and United Kingdom. Promoted as a "pocket symphony" for its complexity and episodic structure, the record had an unprecedented production and expanded the boundaries of popular music, elevating its recognition as an art form and revolutionizing standard practices in studio recording. It is considered one of the greatest works of rock, pop, and psychedelia.

Wilson was inspired by the concept of extrasensory perception, Phil Spector's production of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", and recreational drugs, possibly including LSD, in creating the song. He produced dozens of music fragments (or "modules") with his bandmates and over 30 session musicians across four Hollywood studios from February to September 1966. Over 90 hours of tape was consumed, with production costs estimated in the tens of thousands of dollars, making it the costliest and longest-to-record pop single at the time. The resulting track subverted traditional songwriting conventions through its use of development, a process normally associated with classical music, and abrupt shifts in texture and mood.

One of the most influential pop recordings in history, "Good Vibrations" advanced the role of the studio as an instrument and effectively launched the progressive pop genre, heralding a wave of pop experimentation and the onset of psychedelic and progressive rock. The track incorporated a novel mix of instruments, including cello and Electro-Theremin; although the latter is not a true theremin, the song's use of the instrument spurred renewed interest in theremins and synthesizers. The flower power-inspired lyrics reinforced the Beach Boys' association with the 1960s counterculture, while the phrase "good vibes", originally a niche slang term, entered mainstream usage.

"Good Vibrations" received numerous industry awards and accolades and is frequently listed on many "greatest of all time" polls and rankings. Its success emboldened Wilson to pursue increasingly avant-garde directions and create more modularly assembled songs, culminating in the unfinished album Smile and follow-up single "Heroes and Villains". Despite his objections to its inclusion, "Good Vibrations" instead appeared on the 1967 release Smiley Smile. A 1976 cover version by Todd Rundgren reached number 34 on U.S. charts. Template:Toclimit

Background and authorshipEdit

File:Brian Wilson,1960s.jpg

"Good Vibrations" was written mainly by Brian Wilson (pictured 1966)

"Good Vibrations" was composed by Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson, who conceived the song while playing piano under the influence of marijuana.Template:Sfn The song was essentially a reflection of his fascination with mysticism, spirituality, and recreational drugs.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn The title phrase ("good vibrations" or "good vibes") had originated as local drug slang.Template:Sfn Template:Refn In a 2007 interview, Wilson mentioned that the song, like "California Girls", had been inspired by his use of LSD (or "acid").Template:Sfn However, in a 2012 interview, he attributed its inspiration to marijuana, saying, "I don't accredit it to LSD, I accredit it to marijuana. I smoked marijuana just before I wrote it."<ref name="Uncut2012" />

Recorded throughout early 1966 and released that May, the Beach Boys' eleventh album, Pet Sounds, had marked a shift in Wilson's creative process. His 1991 memoir, Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story, states, "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."Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Similarly, he aimed for "Good Vibrations" to surpass Phil Spector's writing and production on the Righteous Brothers' 1964 hit "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'".Template:Sfn Template:Refn His brother Carl Wilson commented that "Good Vibrations" initially had "a much rougher sound", and that, rather than amplifying it as Spector might have, "Brian refined it, and got it more even-sounding."Template:Sfn<ref name=Himes1983>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The bass riff was also inspired by those in Spector's work.<ref name=Uncut2012/> Beach Boys biographer David Leaf linked the song's rapid changes in mood to Wilson's bipolar disorder.Template:Sfn Template:Refn

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Wilson based the song's theme on a remark from his mother about dogs sensing "vibrations" from people.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn He introduced this concept to jingle writer and Pet Sounds lyricist Tony Asher in early 1966, before the album was completed.Template:Sfn Asher recalled, "Brian played for me a bunch of chords that would become "Good Vibrations." He didn't have a title for it [...]".Template:Sfn Initially, Wilson had only the basic chorusTemplate:Sfn and the phrase "I get vibes, I get good vibes".Template:Sfn He proposed the title "Good Vibes", but Asher felt it sounded "trendy" and "lightweight", suggesting "Good Vibrations" instead.Template:Sfn Asher also crafted the chorus lyrics into "Good, good, good, good vibrations" and wrote more words for the verses.Template:Sfn

Due to Wilson's dissatisfaction, Asher's verse lyrics were ultimately discarded in favor of a new set of lyrics penned by bandmate Mike Love.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn After some delay, Love completed the lyrics to "Good Vibrations" on August 24, 1966 during a twenty-minute drive to the studio.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn He contributed lines for the verses and the chorus hook, "I'm picking up good vibrations / she's giving me excitations".Template:Sfn While Love considered the chorus hook his "musical contribution",<ref name="Uncut2012" /> he had adapted its melody from Wilson's existing bass line.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

By then, Wilson had recruited session musician Van Dyke Parks as his lyricist for the Beach Boys' forthcoming album, Smile.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Parks recalled Wilson asking him to revise Love's words because "he was embarrassed with the 'excitation' part Mike Love had insisted on adding." Parks declined, believing "nobody'd be listening to the lyrics anyway once they heard that music."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Love later remarked, "I'll be the first to acknowledge that excitations is not really a word, but it rhymed."Template:Sfn

LyricsEdit

Mike Love described his "Good Vibrations" lyrics as "just a flowery poem" similar to the later 1967 hit "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)".<ref name="PHK">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "Good Vibrations" begins by describing a woman's "colorful clothes", sunlight on her hair, "the sound of a gentle word", and a breeze carrying her perfume's scent.Template:Sfn These opening verses center on the material senses, which Wilson said was a deliberate contrast to the extrasensory themes later revealed in the chorus.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Tony Asher's original lyrics differed, with the first verse stating, "She's already working on my brain / I only looked in her eyes / But I picked up something I just can't explain", and the second verse, "It's weird how she comes in so strong / And I wonder what she's pickin' up from me".Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Discussing these early lyrics, music historian Clinton Heylin surmised that it was "clearly a song about a girl who affects the singer just like a certain drug."Template:Sfn Template:Refn Asher recalled that, when writing the song, he had understood it to be about the "metaphysical, about ESP and picking up non-verbal communication" and, at that early stage, "there was nothing about it that seemed psychedelic; those parts of the thing hadn't been composed yet."Template:Sfn

File:Vietnamdem.jpg

A group of Flower Power demonstrators (October 1967). Mike Love's lyrics were inspired by the peace movement burgeoning in California.

In Love's revision of the second verse, he wrote, "Softly smile, I know she must be kind / When I look in her eyes / She goes with me to a blossom world we find".Template:Sfn Wilson removed the concluding words "we find" during editing.Template:Sfn Love felt that while he preferred the original rhyme, ending on "blossom world" was enough to evoke the burgeoning peace movement and the euphoria of love.Template:Sfn

Alternative interpretations have been offered. Academic Larry M. Starr suggests that, while relatively conventional, the lyrics of "Good Vibrations" possess an otherworldly quality, especially in such lines as "I don't know where, but she sends me there", references to "a blossom world", and the concept of "good vibrations" themselves.Template:Sfn Lorren Daro, a former acquaintance of Wilson's, wrote in a 2012 blog post that the song was "written about my wife, Lynda", explaining that because he had supplied LSD to Wilson, "Brian could not mention my name in public, or to any of them, except in 'regretting' his LSD experience."<ref name="Daro">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During a 1971 concert, Bruce Johnston introduced "Good Vibrations" as a song that "reflects these really fucked up times".Template:Sfn

Style and precursorsEdit

"Good Vibrations" is a pop,<ref name="BB2016" />Template:Sfn Template:Sfn rock,Template:Sfn psychedelic,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn and R&B song.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn It is more frequently identified as pop rather than rock. Academic Lorenzo Candelaria suggested this is "possibly because it comes across relatively innocent compared with the hard-edged rock we have since come to know."Template:Sfn Wilson acknowledged, "It's a real funny thing—nobody ever really called 'Good Vibrations' a rock 'n' roll record. But it was a rock 'n' roll record. It really rocked."<ref name="Martin95"/> Biographer Jon Stebbins agreed, noting that the chorus "projects a definite 'rock and roll' energy and feel" unlike Pet Sounds.Template:Sfn Wilson also described the song as "advanced rhythm and blues" and "modern, avant-garde R&B".Template:Sfn Template:Sfn In his book about Kraftwerk, Steve Tupai Francis cited "Good Vibrations" as an example among pioneering works of electronic music.Template:Sfn Other genres attributed to the song include progressive pop,Template:Sfn<ref name="progpopguide">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> art pop,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> pop art,Template:Sfn psychedelic rock,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn acid rock,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn psychedelic pop,Template:Sfn<ref name="BB2016">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and avant-pop.<ref name="daytoremember">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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An uncredited writer for Sound on Sound argued in 1997 that the song had subverted traditional pop songwriting practices across all eras by eschewing a consistent groove and incorporating exotic instruments, complex vocal arrangements, and "as many dramatic changes in mood as a piece of serious classical music lasting more than half an hour".<ref name=SoundonSound /> AllMusic reviewer John Bush compared the track to the cut-up technique employed by experimental composers such as William S. Burroughs.<ref name=Allmusicreview>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> American Songwriter contributor Tom Rowland described "Good Vibrations" as "a sort of pop version of the classical sonata, consisting of a series of musical movements".<ref name=Roland>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Comparing "Good Vibrations" to Wilson's past work, musicologist John Covach traces the song's "intensely experimental quality" to Wilson's lush, quasi-symphonic production of "California Girls".Template:Sfn Musicologist Philip Lambert writes that the "basic feel" of the verses are similar to the Pet Sounds track "Here Today".Template:Sfn Music historian Luis Sanchez writes, "In its conviction and nuance, there is little that distinguishes 'Good Vibrations' from [...] Pet Sounds."Template:Sfn Mike Love's first impression of "Good Vibrations" was that it sounded like the "very heavy R&B" associated with singer Wilson Pickett.Template:Sfn In a 1978 interview, Love opined that the song was a logical progression after Pet Sounds, which itself "was rather sequential and logical after 'I Get Around'."Template:Sfn However, in 2012, he recalled feeling apprehensive about the track's "avant-garde" quality, wondering how fans in regions like the Midwest or Birmingham would react, given its departure from earlier hits like "Surfin' U.S.A." and "Help Me, Rhonda".<ref name="Uncut2012" />

Music journalist Jon Savage said it was "saturated in heightened perception", citing its abrupt shifts in mood and texture, in addition to its lyrical imagery of color, scent, and phrases such as "blossom" and "perfume", as an LSD-rooted exploration of nonverbal communication, telepathy, and extrasensory perception.Template:Sfn Biographer Peter Ames Carlin believed Wilson viewed the song as "a smaller, psychedelic version" of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.Template:Sfn

ProductionEdit

Recording processEdit

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"Good Vibrations" was largely recorded at Western Studio on Sunset Boulevard (pictured 2019)<ref name="Slowinski2011" />

"Good Vibrations" cemented Wilson's new method of recording and song composition.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Instead of working on whole songs with clear large-scale syntactical structures, Wilson limited himself to recording short interchangeable fragments (or "modules"). Through tape splicing, each fragment could then be assembled into a linear sequence, allowing any number of larger structures and divergent moods to be produced at a later time.<ref name="ARP">Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Refn It also allowed for sections to be reused within the composition. For instance, the instrumental backing for the choruses and the first two verses were identical recordings repeated multiple times.<ref name="SOS04"/> To conceal tape splices, extensive reverb decays were applied during mixing and sub-mixing stages.<ref name="SoundonSound" />

This approach was unprecedented in record production and popular music,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn including jazz, classical recordings, and soundtracks.Template:Sfn Template:Refn Mark Linett, who engineered Wilson's recordings after the 1980s, said that although Wilson was not the first to use editing techniques, it was unusual at the time to record a song in several short sections before assembling it, remarking, "In a way, Brian invented the method of modular recording that we take for granted today."<ref name="SOS04"/>

"Good Vibrations" took longer to record than any previous pop single.Template:Sfn At a time when pop singles were typically recorded in a day or two,Template:Sfn its production spanned approximately 20 recording sessions across four Hollywood studios over seven months.Template:Sfn Wilson explained that this extensive process stemmed from a desire to experiment with different studio sounds, as each facility had its own distinct character, which was crucial to the final sound of the record.Template:Sfn He added that the lengthy production was due to their evolving creative ambitions: "the more we created, the more we wanted to create [...] there was no real set direction we were going in."Template:Sfn<ref name="ARP">Template:Cite journal</ref> Biographer Mark Dillon compared his method to "a film director finding his story in the editing room". He wrote of the range of ideas attempted for the track,

Brian seemed able to conceive limitless variations on the song's main theme, recording wildly disparate fragments in styles from woodwind-based Eastern mysticism to Sunday morning church service to comical Roaring Twenties jazz. [...] The transitions between fragments were sometimes seamless, other times startling in their juxtaposition of tone and tempo.Template:Sfn
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To achieve the desired backing tracks, Wilson transcribed his music parts onto sheet music for his usual circle of Hollywood session musicians, a group later known as "the Wrecking Crew".<ref name=Uncut2012/> Reflecting on the sessions, drummer Hal Blaine remarked that the musicians spent half the year recording "Good Vibrations" without knowing what the finished track would sound like, a stark contrast to their swift two-take recording of the seven-minute "MacArthur Park" (1967).Template:Sfn Carlin writes that Wilson occasionally arrived at a session, considered a few possibilities, and departed without recording.Template:Sfn The project consumed over 90 hours of recording tape.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Wilson reported that some bandmates "had resisting ideas" and "didn't quite understand" his use of different studios or his vision for the final record.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn Similar tensions had arisen during the Pet Sounds sessions earlier that year.Template:Sfn He recounted objections such as, "'Oh, you can't do this, that's too modern' or 'that's going to be too long a record.'"Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn

Pet Sounds sessions (February−March)Edit

Wilson envisioned using a theremin in "Good Vibrations" early in its production. He recalled, "When 'Good Vibrations' was forming itself in my mind, I could hear the theremin on the track. It sounds like a woman's voice or like a violin bow on a carpenter's saw. You make it waver, just like a human voice. It's groovy!"Template:Sfn On February 15, 1966, he recorded the backing track for the Pet Sounds song "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times", marking his first use of the Electro-Theremin, an electronic theremin-soundalike instrument played by its inventor, Paul Tanner.Template:Sfn

On February 17, Wilson recorded the first version of "Good Vibrations" (logged on the AFM contract as "Untitled #1") at Gold Star Studios.Template:Sfn Tanner was again employed on Electro-Theremin; maintaining a consistent volume on the instrument had proved difficult, requiring 26 takes before a rough mono mix was completed.Template:Sfn On March 3, Brian and Carl Wilson overdubbed vocals,<ref name="Slowinski2011" /><ref name="GIGS66">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> along with additional Fender bass in the chorus and jaw harp.<ref name="Slowinski2011" />

A Capitol Records memo dated February 23 indicated plans to include the song, titled "Good Good Good Vibrations", on Pet Sounds.Template:Sfn However, by March 3, the song remained unfinished, and Wilson removed it from the album, to the disappointment of his bandmates.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Al Jardine recalled that Wilson instead delivered "Sloop John B" after Capitol had requested a "hit single" for the album.Template:Sfn Jardine considered it "a big mistake", a view shared by Bruce Johnston, who believed including "Good Vibrations" would have increased sales of Pet Sounds.Template:Sfn

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Many other instruments, including ocarina, were auditioned for the song.

In the following weeks, Wilson concentrated on finishing Pet Sounds.Template:Sfn Later in March, he recorded "Here Today", which biographer Mark Dillon called "the most direct precursor Template:Sic to 'Good Vibrations'".Template:Sfn On April 9, he returned to Gold Star to rerecord "Good Vibrations" from scratch.<ref name="Slowinski2011" /> This version, lasting two minutes and 28 seconds,Template:Sfn featured an ocarina, accordion, 12-string electric guitar, and a prepared piano with its strings taped, among other instruments.<ref name="Slowinski2011"/> By the end of the month, Pet Sounds was completed and mastered without "Good Vibrations" in the running order.Template:Sfn

First modular sessions (May−June)Edit

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Starting on May 4, with a session held at Western Studio, Wilson began recording "Good Vibrations" in sections rather than as a full take, intending to later splice the fragments together.Template:Sfn This session, logged as "First Chorus", "Second Chorus", and "Fade", focused on the song's choruses, bridges, and outro.<ref name="Slowinski2011" /> Music historian Keith Badman described this version as "an R&B number that many of the session musicians present will later recall as being as good as the released record."Template:Sfn Western staff engineer Chuck Britz remarked, "That song was [Brian's] whole life's performance in one song. [...] Basically, it was a hit song the minute he cut it. But at that period of time, he was striving to do something that was totally different than what he'd done before."Template:Sfn

Still dissatisfied, Wilson continued recording "Good Vibrations" fragments between May 24 and June 2 across four sessions at Western and Sunset Sound Recorders.Template:Sfn These sessions yielded multiple choruses, bridges, and codas.<ref name="Slowinski2011" /> By May 25, he had conceived the lyric "gotta keep those lovin' good...".Template:Sfn The late May sessions were labeled "Part C", "Chorus", and "Fade Sequence",<ref name="Slowinski2011" /> while the June 2 tape was logged as "Inspiration".Template:Sfn

David Anderle, then a talent manager formerly employed by MGM Records, recalled, "When I first got in with Brian, it was right around the time of the fourth [attempt at] 'Good Vibrations'. I heard it, and it knocked me out, and I said, "Uh oh, there's something happening here that is unbelievable."Template:Sfn Later, Wilson told Anderle he had scrapped the song and planned to sell it to Warner Brothers Records as an R&B single earmarked for "a colored group".Template:Sfn Template:Refn Anderle proposed that Wilson finish the track for one of his clients, singer Danny Hutton, but Wilson declined and ultimately decided to complete it himself.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn

File:Van Dyke Parks 1967.png

Van Dyke Parks (pictured 1967) said that his input on "Good Vibrations" led to his collaboration with Wilson on Smile

On June 12, session musician Jesse Ehrlich overdubbed a cello onto the June 2 "Inspiration" track.Template:Sfn<ref name="Slowinski2011" /> Reports differ on who had suggested the cello.Template:Sfn Wilson credited himself with the "triplet thing" and his brother Carl for suggesting the instrument,Template:Sfn while Parks claimed he had proposed both the cello and the triplet phrasing.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Parks elaborated that his suggestion impressed Wilson, leading directly to their collaboration on Smile, and provided the piece with a "signature shot" as crucial as the ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz (1939).Template:Sfn On June 16 and 18, Wilson recorded more modules, none of which were included in the final edit.<ref name="Slowinski2011" /> Afterward, he paused work on the song for nine weeks.Template:Sfn

Vocals and final mixdown (August−September)Edit

Carl Wilson told a reporter that "Good Vibrations" had been intended as the Beach Boys' next single, but "didn't turn out the way Brian wanted," leading Capitol to release "Wouldn't It Be Nice" on July 18 instead.Template:Sfn Brian returned to the studio in early August, focusing on "Wind Chimes" and "Look", marking the unofficial start of the Smile sessions.Template:Sfn Though Wilson rarely referenced the Beatles' Revolver,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> music journalist Barry Miles speculated that the album (released in the U.S. on August 8) influenced him to complete "Good Vibrations".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Carlin alternatively suggested that Wilson was galvanized to complete the single after working with Parks on "Wind Chimes".Template:Sfn

Wilson completed at least a dozen versions of "Good Vibrations" before settling on a final edit.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn On August 11, after the touring members of the Beach Boys had played a concert at the Civic Memorial Auditorium in Fargo, North Dakota. Carl received a call from Brian, who played a rough mix over the phone. Carl remembered, "He called me from the recording studio and played this really bizarre sounding music over the phone. There were drums smashing, that kind of stuff, and then it refined itself and got into the cello. It was a real funky track."Template:Sfn

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Columbia Studios, where the song's vocals and final mixdown were produced

At least two group vocal sessions took place at Columbia Studios between August 24 and September 1.<ref name="Slowinski2011" /> Mike Love recalled recording "25 to 30 vocal overdubs" for brief sections of the song, "maybe no more than two, three, four, five seconds long!"Template:Sfn A discarded August 24 edit featured a "fuzz bass bridge" that was nearly included in the final mix.<ref name="Slowinski2011" /> Unsatisfied with the initial recordings, Wilson had the group rerecord their entire vocal performance.Template:Sfn

On September 1, the second (or "church organ") bridge, replacing the earlier "fuzz bass bridge", was recorded at Western.<ref name="Slowinski2011" />Template:Refn That month, the master tapes of "Good Vibrations" briefly went missing before being found in Wilson's home two days later.Template:Sfn The final backing track was compiled from multiple sessions:

verses: February 17 at Gold Star
first and second choruses: June 2 at Western
first bridge: May 4 at Western
'"church organ" bridge: September 1 at Western
third chorus: June 2 at Western
third bridge: May 27 at Western
chorus fade: May 27 at Western<ref name="Slowinski2011" />

Dennis Wilson was originally set to record the lead vocal, but due to laryngitis, Carl took his place shortly before the final vocal sessions.Template:Sfn The group recorded their final vocals on September 12, with an additional overdubbing session, including vocals and an Electro-Theremin part, held on September 21.<ref name="Slowinski2011" /> This seven-hour session, from 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m., also included the final mixdown.Template:Sfn Brian, speaking in a 1976 interview, described finalizing the mix at Columbia as "a feeling of exaltation" and "artistic beauty", recalling that upon playback of the completed mix, he remarked to himself, "Oh my God. Sit back and listen to this!"Template:Sfn

At 3:35, the song exceeded the three-minute limit typically imposed by record executives and radio programmers.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Wilson, later in the 1990s, recalled that he initially had no expectation of "Good Vibrations" becoming a hit, and that the band had considered not releasing it, "because it was so bizarre". Capitol Records executives had expressed concerns about its length and preferred to issue a more conventional track like "Barbara Ann" instead. However, after playing the song for friends at home and seeing their enthusiastic reactions, Wilson was encouraged to push back against Capitol's hesitation.<ref name="Martin95">Template:Cite video</ref>Template:Refn

Total expensesEdit

"Good Vibrations" was the most expensive single ever recorded,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn exceeding the budget of a typical pop album.Template:Sfn Mike Love remarked, "I doubt Brian had any idea about the cost, nor did he care".Template:Sfn Estimates of the total production cost range from $10,000 to $50,000 (equivalent to $Template:Inflation and $Template:Inflation in Template:Inflation-year).Template:Sfn Template:Sfn By comparison, Pet Sounds had cost an unprecedented $70,000 (equivalent to $Template:Inflation in Template:Inflation-year).Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Contemporary advertisements cited a $10,000 cost.Template:Sfn Biographers John Tobler and Timothy White reported $16,000,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn while Domenic Priore estimated between $10,000 and $15,000.Template:Sfn Other reports claimed up to $75,000 (equivalent to $Template:Inflation in Template:Inflation-year).Template:Sfn Template:Sfn<ref name=Uncut2012>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In a 2018 interview, Wilson refuted the $50,000 figure, stating that the actual cost was closer to $25,000 (equivalent to $Template:Inflation in Template:Inflation-year).<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>Template:Refn

Musical structureEdit

Opening verses and refrainsEdit

File:Carl Wilson.jpg

Carl Wilson (pictured 1969) sings lead during the verses and plays electric rhythm guitar during the choruses.<ref name="Slowinski2011"/>

Each section of "Good Vibrations" features a distinct musical texture, partly due to its fragmented recording process.Template:Sfn It starts with a traditional verse-chorus (or verse-refrain) structure in the key of [[E minor|ETemplate:Music minor]].Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The verse chord progression follows i–Template:MusicVII^add6–Template:MusicVI^add6–V,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn a whole-step root movement typical of Wilson's style, as heard in "Lonely Sea" (1963) and "Don't Hurt My Little Sister" (1965).Template:Sfn Despite this minor key, the music does not convey sadness.Template:Sfn Carl Wilson sings the word "I" as a triplet eighth note before the first downbeat.<ref name="SoundonSound">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His introductory lead vocal, described by Dillon as "so airy, it could be floating on cloud of marijuana smoke".Template:Sfn is later doubled by Brian on select lines ("I hear the sound of a ..." and "when I look ...").<ref name="Slowinski2011" />

A repetition of chords on a Hammond organ filtered through a Leslie speaker accompanies Carl's singing, with a two-bar Fender bass melody underneath. This sequence repeats (0:15), adding two piccolos sustaining over a descending flute line.Template:Sfn Percussion includes bongo drums doubling the bass rhythm, while every fourth beat alternates between a tambourine and a bass-drum-and-snare combination.Template:Sfn Though in [[4/4 time|Template:Music]], the rhythm has a triplet feel, often called a "shuffle beat" (or "threes over fours").<ref name="SoundonSound" />

A passing DTemplate:Music (V) chord at the end of the verse prepares for the key modulation to the chorus.Template:Sfn The chorus (0:25) shifts to the relative major key of [[G-flat major|GTemplate:Music major]], functioning as Template:MusicIII in context.Template:Sfn Carlin and Starr describe the theremin's introduction as evoking "vibrations" scattering on another plane.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Adding to this impression, according to Bush, is "another delicious parallel—between the single's theme and its use of an instrument the player never even touched."<ref name=Allmusicreview/> A cello and string bass play a bowed tremolo triplet, an effect Everett calls "exceedingly rare" in pop musicTemplate:Sfn and the first known use of a cello in a rock song.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Musician Jace Lasek commented, "In the 1960s, having the cello chug along like that was shocking. It was an innovative use of a classical instrument, but it still sounded like rock 'n' roll."Template:Sfn Wilson likened the cello triplets to a similar effect in the Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron" (1963).Template:Sfn Meanwhile, the Fender bass maintains a steady beat, with tom drums and tambourine providing a backbeat.<ref name="SoundonSound" />

The chorus unfolds in four 4-bar sections, gradually building its vocal layers. It begins with the couplet, "I'm picking up good vibrations / she's giving me the excitation", sung by Mike Love in his bass-baritone register.<ref name="SoundonSound" /> Wilson likened Love's singing to the bass vocal on the Dell-Vikings' "Come Go with Me",Template:Sfn while Love felt that there were similarities to the work of James Brown and the Famous Flames.Template:Sfn The chorus repeats twice, adding harmonies—first with an "ooo bop bop", then with "good, good, good, good vibrations", each time ascending a whole step from GTemplate:Music to ATemplate:Music to BTemplate:Music.Template:Sfn<ref name="SoundonSound" /> The song then resolves to the verse, forming a perfect cadence back to ETemplate:Music minor.Template:Sfn Unlike typical arrangements, the second verse and chorus repeat unchanged, without additional instrumentation or harmony layers.<ref name="SoundonSound" />

Episodic digressions and codaEdit

File:Good Vibrations structure 2.png

Formal and harmonic structure of "Good Vibrations" (diagram by Daniel Harrison)Template:Sfn

The abstract structure of "Good Vibrations" complicates formal analysis of the next sections.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn In a typical song structure, the sections following the second refrain might function as a single extended bridgeTemplate:Sfn or two distinct bridge sections.<ref name="Slowinski2011" /> Harrison termed it an "episodic digression", arguing that although the first part of the bridge is an unusual but plausible break between the verse and refrain, the second part challenges this interpretation, indicating a structure that evolves independently of standard song forms.Template:Sfn Starr similarly describes its structure as unique and without a definitive classification, calling it as distinctive as the rest of the recording.Template:Sfn He suggests that "development", a term typically associated with classical music, could best describe its form, which he partitions into sections designated as A, B, C, D, and "variations on B".Template:Sfn Template:Refn Covach, using numerical labels in his formal analysis, states that while the song does not conform to conventional pop forms, it broadly follows a pattern in which contrasting material appears after the second chorus.Template:Sfn

The verse section does not recur for the remainder of the song. According to Starr, this is one of the more "surprising" elements of the formal structure, explaining that it "works because of subtle interconnections that are established among the different musical sections", such as overlapping vocal textures in the bridge (C section) that recall the chorus.Template:Sfn The last chord of the second chorus, BTemplate:Music, which functioned as a dominant (V), is retained as a tonic (I) in the first part of the bridge. The harmonic progression is ambiguous, interpretable as either I–IV–I (in BTemplate:Music) or V–I–V (in ETemplate:Music).Template:Sfn A new texture emerges with tack piano, jaw harp, and a bass accenting strong beats. At 1:55, this is expanded with electric organ, bass harmonica, and sleigh bells on every beat.Template:Sfn The only lyric, aside from non-lexical harmonies, is "I don't know where, but she sends me there," sung in Love's upper-register baritone. This section spans ten measures (6 + 2 + 2), an unusually extended phrase given the song's earlier patterns.Template:Sfn Lambert characterized this passage as the song's "ascent" and "dream sequence", followed by a "meditation" in the next section.Template:Sfn

File:Hammond B3, Museum of Making Music.jpg

A Hammond organ similar to the one heard in "Good Vibrations"

At 2:13, the song shifts to sustained electric organ chords in F,Template:Sfn with a maraca shaking on each beat,Template:Sfn recalling the organ and percussion featured prominently in the verses.Template:Sfn Sound on Sound describes this cut as the track's "most savage edit" for its unexpected slowdown into a 23-bar "church organ" section. The writer explains, "most people would go straight into a big splash hook-line section. Brian Wilson decided to slow the track even further [...] Most arrangers would steer clear of this kind of drop in pace, on the grounds that it would be chart suicide, but not Brian."<ref name="SoundonSound" /> Carl Wilson recalled their father's concern over the tempo shift, noting, "He was worried about the bridge section. You know, the time change, 'They can't dance to it.'"Template:Sfn Brian later credited Foster as "a big influence on me, especially the sound of ‘Gotta keep those lovin' good vibrations happenin' with her'".<ref name=Uncut2012/>Template:Refn The sequence concludes with a choral "ah" sustaining an ETemplate:Music/F chord, followed by a brief general pause.Template:Sfn This moment of silence creates tension, leading into the final section.Template:Sfn

Following the break, the chorus returns for five measures, moving through a transpositional structure that starts in BTemplate:Music, shifts to ATemplate:Music, and concludes with a brief measure in GTemplate:Music.Template:Sfn This descending progression contrasts with the previous ascending refrains. A short, three-part vocal counterpoint, referenced by Lambert as a fugato,Template:Sfn overlays the refrain's upward transposition before settling in ATemplate:Music, the song's final key.Template:Sfn This section of the song shares melodic elements with Wilson's "Look", written in the same period, specifically in the march-like pattern and descending line (mostly in whole steps for "Good Vibrations", compressed into half steps in "Look").Template:Sfn Wilson recalled, "As soon as we got to [singing] that [ending choir] part I said, 'This is a masterpiece record.'"Template:Sfn By the song's end, all seven scale degrees of the opening ETemplate:Music minor tonic have been engagedTemplate:Sfn while the key remains destabilized.Template:Sfn

Single releaseEdit

Publicity and lead-up to releaseEdit

Template:Further Template:Quote box

Band publicist Derek Taylor, who had promoted Pet Sounds in the UK, played a key role in marketing "Good Vibrations".Template:Sfn Template:Sfn He coined the term "pocket symphony", which Wilson felt "encapsulated the record perfectly".Template:Sfn A Billboard ad on July 2, 1966, thanking the industry for Pet Sounds' sales, included an early reference to the single: "We're moved over the fact that our Pet Sounds brought on nothing but Good Vibrations."Template:Sfn That summer, Wilson told journalist Tom Nolan: "Our new single, Good Vibrations, is gonna be a monster. [...] Of course, it's still sticking pretty close to that same boy-girl thing, you know, but with a difference. And it's a start. It's definitely a start."Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

On August 26, Brian and Carl Wilson met Paul McCartney and George Harrison at Taylor's home,Template:Sfn where Brian played an acetate of the song. Taylor recalled that McCartney was impressed and requested a copy, but Wilson declined, saying he was still unhappy with the mix.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="TaylorMacca">Template:Cite magazine</ref> After the record's completion, Wilson and his assistant Michael Vosse appeared on a local TV show, possibly It's Boss with Sam Riddle Template:Sfn or Lloyd Thaxton's dance program.Template:Sfn Wilson brought out a large basket of vegetables and spoke about the benefits of roughage, confusing the host.Template:Sfn In Anderle's recollection, Wilson previewed the record while eating carrots, embracing his "vegetable thing" with Riddle.Template:Sfn Wilson also appeared on KHJ-TV's Teen Rock and Roll Dance Program, introducing the song to the show's in-studio audience and presenting an exclusive preview of the completed record.Template:Sfn Van Dyke Parks recalled watching the record's television debut on one of these programs, and that when the song slowed in tempo, the teenagers paused their dancing, prompting a nearby A&R executive to remark, "A promotion man's nightmare!"Template:Sfn

File:Good Vibrations Single Advertisement - October 1966.jpg

Advertisement for "Good Vibrations" published in Billboard magazine in October 1966

The "Good Vibrations" single, backed with the Pet Sounds instrumental "Let's Go Away for Awhile", was released in the U.S. on October 10, 1966.Template:Sfn In Britain, it was issued on November 2 with "Wendy" from All Summer Long as the B-side.Template:Sfn Shortly afterward, Wilson told a reporter, "I'm most proud of "Good Vibrations". It exemplifies a whole era. It's a whole, involved piece of music that says something."Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

First live performancesEdit

On October 21, 1966, eleven days after its release, the Beach Boys performed "Good Vibrations" live for the first time at the University of Michigan in Lansing. Wilson supervised rehearsals and attended both shows as an audience member.Template:Sfn At the second performance, he joined the band onstage for the encore, "Johnny B. Goode", earning a standing ovation.Template:Sfn Returning to Los Angeles, he instructed his wife to gather as many friends as possible for an impromptu photoshoot at LAX.Template:Sfn The resulting images became notable among fans for their perceived symbolic significance.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Without Wilson, the group embarked on a three-week European tour, marking their first performances in the United Kingdom.Template:Sfn On October 26, they mimed "Good Vibrations" for the French television program Tilt Magazine, which aired in January—their only European TV appearance during the tour.Template:Sfn Reviewing their late October concert in Paris, Melody MakerTemplate:'s Mike Hennesy wrote that the Beach Boys had struggled to replicate their studio sound live, and that "Good Vibrations" sounded "a little thin" compared to the record.Template:Sfn Concerned about their performance quality, the group canceled scheduled appearances on Ready Steady Go! and Top of the Pops in November.Template:Sfn

As "Good Vibrations" climbed the charts, the band's touring revenue neared $2 million annually (equivalent to $Template:Format price in Template:Inflation-year).Template:Sfn Capitol promoted the song with a two-page magazine ad declaring, "'Good Vibrations'—No. 1 in the USA, No. 1 in England."Template:Sfn On November 6, the Beach Boys played their first UK concerts at the Finsbury Park Astoria in London, with attendees including Brian Epstein, Spencer Davis, John Walker, the Shadows, and Cathy McGowan.Template:Sfn Ray Coleman of Disc & Music Echo wrote that "Good Vibrations" was less successful live than their other songs, adding, "nobody expected them to sound as good 'live' as on record. And this was where they fell down. Their stage act was nil."Template:Sfn

Promotional filmsEdit

Four promotional films were produced for "Good Vibrations".Template:Sfn The first, filmed on October 23, 1966, depicts the band asleep at a fire station before sliding down poles and chasing a moving firetruck through Los Angeles.Template:Sfn It aired on Top of the Pops on November 24.Template:Sfn The second, showing the group recording in the studio, aired on the French news program Cinq Colonnes à La Une in February 1967.Template:Sfn

The third and fourth films were edited from footage originally shot for Peter Whitehead's documentary The Beach Boys in London. Both feature candid moments from the band's November UK tour. A shorter edit aired on Top of the Pops on November 10 and Beat Club in Germany on December 31. The extended version includes scenes of Al Jardine and Dennis Wilson visiting Portabello Road, the band traveling to an EMI press conference on November 7, and clips from their November 14 concert at the Hammersmith Odeon. This version aired on Top of the Pops on November 17.Template:Sfn

Commercial performanceEdit

File:The Beach Boys September 16 1967 Billboard.png

The Beach Boys (with Voyle Gilmore on far left) accepting a gold record certification for "Good Vibrations" at the Capitol Tower (December 1966)Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

"Good Vibrations" sold over 293,000 copies within its first four days.Template:Sfn It debuted at number 62 on Cash Box (October 22)Template:Sfn and number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 (October 28).Template:Sfn By late November, it had become the Beach Boys' first million-selling singleTemplate:Sfn Template:Sfn and topped the UK charts for two weeks.Template:Sfn On December 3, it was certified silver by the BPI.Template:Sfn The single also peaked at number 1 in France, number 2 in Canada and Australia, and number 4 in Germany.Template:Sfn

On December 10, 1966, "Good Vibrations" reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, replacing the New Vaudeville Band's "Winchester Cathedral" and becoming the Beach Boys' third U.S. number-one hit after "I Get Around" and "Help Me, Rhonda".Template:Sfn It was their first single to top both the U.S. and UK charts.Template:Sfn On December 21, it was certified gold by the RIAA.Template:Sfn Template:Refn The song spent seven weeks in the top ten (two at number one) before being displaced by the Monkees' "I'm a Believer".Template:Sfn With over two million copies sold, it began dropping from the charts in January 1967.Template:Sfn

In June 1976, Capitol reissued "Good Vibrations" with "Wouldn't It Be Nice" as the B-side, peaking at number 18.Template:Sfn As of 1997, it remained the Beach Boys' best-selling UK single.Template:Sfn It was also Wilson's last composition to reach the U.S. top 10.Template:Sfn Template:Refn

Initial reactionsEdit

Music journalist Peter Doggett described "Good Vibrations" as "universally" hailed upon its release as the most adventurous pop recording yet.Template:Sfn Conversely, biographer Steven Gaines suggested that U.S. reactions were mixed.Template:Sfn The record elicited few detractors, one being San Francisco jazz critic Ralph J. Gleason.Template:Sfn Template:Refn According to David Leaf, some radio programmers initially hesitated to play the song, considering it "too long and too progressive".Template:Sfn Bruce Morrow, a prominent disc jockey in New York, reportedly disliked it. Mike Love said that Morrow "hated" the record "because it was so different. He wanted to hear 'I Get Around' or 'Surfin' U.S.A.' one more time, or 'California Girls Part Two'."Template:Sfn White noted skepticism among some Los Angeles disc jockeys, though they "immediately made it the Pick Hit of the Week".Template:Sfn

On October 15, 1966, five days after the single's U.S. release, Billboard predicted a top 20 placement, calling it "a sure-fire hit" with an "off-beat and intriguing rhythm".<ref name="Billboard1066">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Cash Box praised its "catchy, easy-driving" sound,<ref name=cb>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Record World described it as "highly imaginative",<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and Teen Set deemed it "the most fantastic pop single to date".Template:Sfn Ahead of the band's November 18 concert in Indianapolis, Variety reported that the song was the most popular among local high school students.Template:Sfn Jon Stebbins, then a teenager, initially mistook the song for a new psychedelic band, later realizing it was the Beach Boys and concluding, "Man, those guys have really freaked out."Template:Sfn James B. Murphy, author of the 2015 biography Becoming the Beach Boys, recalled listening to the record with his older brother as a ten-year-old in The Bronx: "We didn't speak [as we listened together]. It was like a sacred experience. [...] We must have played ‘Good Vibrations' fifty times in a row."Template:Sfn

Among the early rock journalists in America, Crawdaddy! founder Paul Williams raved in his magazine, "No matter what you've heard, all the BEACH BOYS sing on 'GV'; the instrumental work, however is done by studio musicians. Some of the stranger sounds are from a theremin Template:Sic; now Brian wants a cathedral organ for the next album."Template:Sfn In Britain, reviews were overwhelmingly positive. New Musical Express (NME) called the record "technically brilliant" and "impeccably performed",Template:Sfn Template:Sfn while The Sunday Express proclaimed, "They've Found the New Sound at Last!"Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Melody Maker also gave it a favorable review.Template:Sfn

File:Phil Spector in 1965.jpg

Phil Spector (pictured in 1965) later compared "Good Vibrations" unfavorably to Alfred Hitchcock's work, explaining that the record, like Psycho, was a "great" production that lacked the emotional depth of a narrative such as Rebecca.<ref name="BB2016" />

Some contemporaries offered tempered praise.<ref name="BB2016" /> The Who frontman Pete Townshend feared that the single would lead to a trend of overproduction, telling a Disc & Music Echo reporter, "'Good Vibrations' was probably a good record but who's to know? You had to play it about 90 bloody times to even hear what they were singing about."Template:Sfn Record producer and singer Jonathan King called it "computerized pop" and opined, "With justification, comments are being passed that 'Good Vibrations' is an inhuman work of art [...] impressive, fantastic, commercial—yes. Emotional, soul-destroying, shattering—no."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Asked about "Good Vibrations" in a 1990 interview, Paul McCartney said it was "a great record" before adding, "it didn't quite have the emotional thing that Pet Sounds had for me".<ref name="McCartney97">Template:Cite AV media notes</ref><ref name="BB2016" />

In 1967, one month after Jann Wenner had launched Rolling Stone magazine, he praised "Good Vibrations" as "an honest-to-God monster" and "a song you can bathe in".Template:Sfn That year, Cheetah contributor Jules Siegel wrote that the song had "marked the beginning of a new era in pop music", however, among the majority of American music critics, "everybody agreed that Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys were still too square. It would take more than 'Good Vibrations' and Pet Sounds to erase three and a half years of 'Little Deuce Coupe'".Template:Sfn Template:Refn

Year-end polls and accoladesEdit

In December 1966, "Good Vibrations" was voted the best single of the year by readers of Disc & Music Echo and Valentine.Template:Sfn The Beach Boys also topped the NME readers' poll as the world's number one band, ahead of the Beatles, the Walker Brothers, the Rolling Stones, and the Four Tops.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Billboard said that the NMETemplate:'s result was probably influenced by the success of "Good Vibrations" when the votes were cast, together with the band's recent tour, whereas the Beatles had neither a recent single nor had they toured the UK throughout 1966; the reporter added that "The sensational success of the Beach Boys, however, is being taken as a portent that the popularity of the top British groups of the last three years is past its peak."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>Template:Refn The Beach Boys were also voted the top vocal group in polls across Russia, Western Europe, Japan, and the Philippines.Template:Sfn In Denmark, Brian Wilson became the first American to win "Best Foreign-Produced Recording" in a national newspaper poll.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

At the 9th Annual Grammy Awards, "Good Vibrations" was nominated in four categories: "Best Performance by a Vocal Group", "Best Contemporary (R&R) Group Performance, Vocal or Instrumental", "Best Contemporary (R&R) Recording", and "Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist(s) or Instrumentalist(s)".<ref name="Grammy Award"/> It lost "Best Rock Song" to "Winchester Cathedral", despite the latter not being a rock song.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn

Planned follow-ups and the collapse of SmileEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:Quote box

Following "Good Vibrations", Wilson faced a personal and professional decline.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn Harrison writes that Wilson had felt compelled to outdo himself and, given the scope of his ambitions, "an extremely dangerous phase" was inevitable to follow.Template:Sfn He planned to apply his modular recording techniques to an entire album, Smile, which was to include "Good Vibrations".<ref name=Uncut2012/>Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn Capitol designed the LP sleeve with "Good Vibrations" inscribed three times on the front coverTemplate:Sfn and their advance advertisements promised "other new and fantastic Beach Boys songs" consistent with its sound.Template:Sfn Band publisher Murry Wilson, father of the Wilson brothers, told a reporter in late 1967 that Brian had "lost a lot of confidence" after "Good Vibrations", fearing he could never write anything better. Template:Sfn Template:Refn Anderle's account differed, saying that Brian saw "Good Vibrations" as a beginning rather than a peak.Template:Sfn

From late 1966 through mid-1967, "Heroes and Villains" and "Vegetables" were planned follow-up singles, with Wilson aiming to surpass "Good Vibrations".Template:Sfn However, delays stretched to eight months due to Wilson's indecision and other issues.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Refn Some Smile sessions included improvisational comedy sketch recordings, including one premise involving Wilson's colleagues ordering from a psychedelic ice cream truck playing a "Good Vibrations" jingle, simulated by Wilson on piano.Template:Sfn In Stebbins' description, "Brian was given carte blanche for a short time. He exploited the opportunity by moving full speed ahead into the avant garde."Template:Sfn Heylin echoes, "Wilson no longer knew when to stop, the success of 'Good Vibrations' having turned any largesse from the label into a license to never let go."Template:Sfn

Ultimately, "Heroes and Villains" was released in July 1967 and failed to match "Good Vibrations" in critical and commercial success.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Smile remained unfinished, and in September, the Beach Boys released Smiley Smile, which included "Good Vibrations" at Capitol's insistence.Template:Sfn Wilson opposed its inclusion but was outvoted by his bandmates for the first time.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Anderle explained, "[S]omething [Brian] never wanted to do is put a single onto the album, but he was forced to do that. For sales. That was another, I'm sure, a minor tragedy for him."Template:Sfn The Beach Boys would not enjoy another number-one hit until 1988's "Kokomo", created without Wilson's involvement.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Cultural impactEdit

1960s countercultureEdit

Template:Further

File:Beach Boys 1967 (cropped).jpg

The Beach Boys at Zuma Beach in July 1967

"Good Vibrations" had an immediate and lasting impact on popular culture.Template:Sfn The song became closely associated with the youth culture and its surrounding movements of the era,Template:Sfn anticipating the Summer of Love<ref name=Uncut2012/> and the flower child movement by several months.Template:Sfn Template:Refn It also popularized the slang term "vibes" in the context of intuitive feelings or atmosphere.<ref name="Vibes23">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Refn

Jon Savage, in his book 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded (2015), wrote that the single's international success briefly positioned Los Angeles as "the centre of pop", superseding London, until the city's cultural prominence was itself challenged by San Francisco's music scene.Template:Sfn Carlin wrote that while the Beach Boys had found themselves "near the leading edge" of the youth movement, most critics were ultimately hesitant to place them in the same artistic realm as figures such as Bob Dylan, viewing them as "candy-striped tools of consumerism."Template:Sfn Leaf writes that while the song had encapsulated the "almost-acid generation", the title phrase "soon became a cliched byword."Template:Sfn

Record production and popular musicEdit

Template:Further Template:See also

"Good Vibrations" revolutionized pop music production, especially for singles,Template:Sfn and Wilson's unorthodox recording methods soon became standard practice.Template:Sfn<ref name="ARP" /> Alongside the Beatles' Revolver, "Good Vibrations" was a prime proponent in shifting rock music from live performances to studio creations that could not be recreated in a natural acoustic setting.Template:Sfn Musicologist Marshall Heiser explains that it had set a precedent by challenging listeners to accept the recording as its own unique sonic reality.<ref name="ARP" /> Similarly, musicologist Charlie Gillett called it "one of the first records to flaunt studio production as a quality in its own right, rather than as a means of presenting a performance".Template:Sfn Mark Brend, in Strange Sounds: Offbeat Instruments and Sonic Experiments in Pop (2005), writes:

Other artists and producers, notably the Beatles and Phil Spector, had used varied instrumentation and multi-tracking to create complex studio productions before. And others, like Roy Orbison, had written complicated pop songs before. But "Good Vibrations" eclipsed all that came before it, in both its complexity as a production and the liberties it took with conventional notions of how to structure a pop song. Crammed into its three and a half minutes are previously untried mixes of instruments, unexpected jumps from one section to another, and of course, unparalleled harmony pop vocals. Yet in all of this, the real triumph of the recording is that it fits together as a catchy, hummable, radio-friendly pop song.Template:Sfn {{#if:|{{#if:|}}
— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries
}}

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The 2004 book Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer describes it as "one of the most influential pop singles of all time",Template:Sfn while Rikky Rooksby's Inside Classic Rock Tracks (2001) calls it "a landmark in the development of popular music" particularly for its "unpredictable transitions and exotic instrumentation".Template:Sfn Larry Starr, in his 2006 book American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MP3, argues it "may well be the most thoroughly innovative single" of the 1960s and marked "an important milestone" in music production. Starr elaborates, "Virtually every aspect of the record is unusual, from the vocal arrangement to the instrumentation, from the chordal vocabulary to the overall form."Template:Sfn Template:Refn

Template:Quote box

According to White, "every producer in town was talking about the 45" upon its release due to its multi-part structure and novel production.Template:Sfn Among the musicians who felt its influence was Blood, Sweat and Tears founder Al Kooper, who said, "I stole millions of things from that song. It just changed my whole outlook of what you could do."Template:Sfn Singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb credited "Good Vibrations" with redefining the scope of the three-minute record, proving that songs could seamlessly incorporate shifts in tempo, instrumentation, and vocal arrangements.Template:Sfn Ambient musician Max Eastley described it as a revelatory experience that ended his folk career, likening its impact to being struck by lightning.Template:Sfn The Mamas and the Papas, who were among the many musicians who moved to California partly due to the Beach Boys' romanticized portrayal of the region, referenced "Good Vibrations" in their autobiographical 1967 single "Creeque Alley".Template:Sfn

Many musicians and groups created songs that attempted to match "Good Vibrations" in the late 1960s.Template:Sfn Gene Sculatti declared in 1968 that it was the "ultimate in-studio production trip" and "a primary influential piece for all producing rock artists".<ref name="Scalluti1968"/> Mark Prendergast, author of The Ambient Century: From Mahler to Moby (2003), acknowledges that the single had "changed the course of rock and popular music" and earned Wilson the reputation of being "one of the great sound-shapers of the century, influencing The Beatles and the whole production of rock and pop from then on."Template:Sfn Template:Refn Further to the single's impact on the Beach Boys' rivals, Beatles biographer Clinton Heylin suggests that the band's 1967 double A-sided single "Strawberry Fields Forever" / "Penny Lane" was a direct response to "Good Vibrations".Template:Sfn Template:Refn

"Good Vibrations" positioned the Beach Boys as one of the few bands besides the Beatles to achieve mainstream success with a psychedelic rock song in 1966, when the genre was still emerging.Template:Sfn Template:Refn It contributed significantly to the development of the progressive rock Template:Sfn and progressive pop genres, and effectively launched the latter style.<ref name="progpopguide"/> PopMatters contributor Scott Interrante decreed that the single's impact on psychedelic and progressive rock "can't be overstated".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Bill Martin, author of books about progressive rock, suggested that the Beach Boys had cleared a pathway toward the genre, writing, "The fact is, the same reasons why much progressive rock is difficult to dance to apply just as much to 'Good Vibrations' and 'A Day in the Life.'"Template:Sfn John Covach, in his book What's That Sound? An Introduction to Rock and Its History (2006), writes that "Good Vibrations", together with the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever" and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), demonstrated that rock could be viewed as serious art.Template:Sfn Template:Refn

Author and Saint Etienne founder Bob Stanley said it was "modern pop's first multi-movement single",Template:Sfn an influence, Rowland felt, was apparent on "A Day in the Life", McCartney's "Band on the Run" (1973), and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" (1975).<ref name=Roland/> Priore wrote that the song anticipated the multi-textured soul music exemplified by the 1971 releases What's Going On by Marvin Gaye and "Theme from Shaft" by Isaac Hayes, both of which he identified as among "the most historically important R&B music ever pressed."Template:Sfn

Theremins and synthesizersEdit

File:Paul Tanner with Electro-Theremin.jpg

Paul Tanner with the Electro-Theremin

Although "Good Vibrations" does not contain a theremin, it is the most frequently cited example of the instrument in pop music.Template:Sfn Template:Refn Authors Trevor Pinch and Frank Trocco credited "Good Vibrations" with linking "far-out, electronic sounds" to rock music in the public consciousness.Template:Sfn Template:Refn

The song revived interest in theremins and increased awareness of analog synthesizers.Template:Sfn To replicate its sound live, Wilson first asked Paul Tanner to perform with the Beach Boys, but Tanner declined due to other commitments.Template:Sfn The band then approached Walter Sear, who worked with Robert Moog to develop a ribbon controller that mimicked a guitar fretboard. Sear recalled marking fret-like lines on the ribbon "so they could play the damn thing." Moog later mass-produced theremins, and demand from pop music fans quickly depleted his inventory.Template:Sfn

In Steven M. Martin's 1993 documentary Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey, in which Wilson makes an appearance, it was revealed that the attention being paid to the theremin due to "Good Vibrations" caused Russian authorities to exile its inventor, Leon Theremin.Template:Sfn

Live performances, remakes, and alternate releasesEdit

"Good Vibrations" was frequently performed live by the band, with the arrangement simplified due to practical constraints on instruments and voices. The organ-based midsection was repeatedly lengthened and embellished in concert and rehearsal recordings, adding extra vocal lines and an audience sing-along feel. They stretched the singalong section from six to seven phrases by mid-1967, and to ten phrases by the early 1970s.Template:Sfn On November 26, 1976, Wilson appeared as the musical guest on NBC's Saturday Night (later Saturday Night Live) and performed "Good Vibrations" alone on a piano set in a giant sandbox.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Off-screen, his psychologist, Eugene Landy, held cue cards reading "Template:Smallcaps2" and "Template:Smallcaps2".Template:Sfn White characterized the performance as "less a performance than a pointedly exploitative skit about a singer suffering from clinical stage fright", calling it "live television at its most distressing" and part of a series of ill-conceived media events orchestrated by Landy.Template:Sfn

Additional alternate mixes and live performances of the song have been released across several of the band's albums. The 1973 live album The Beach Boys in Concert featured a performance from November 1972.Template:Sfn The 1983 compilation Rarities included an alternate mix from 1966.Template:Sfn The 1993 box set Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys contained a recording of the band's second public performance of the songTemplate:Sfn alongside several outtakes from the original studio sessions.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The song was also the opening track in the box set's attempt to approximate a completed version of Smile.Template:Sfn The 1998 compilation Endless Harmony included a rehearsal take from the band's December 8, 1968, concert at the Astoria Theatre in London.Template:Sfn A version from the scrapped 1967 live album Lei'd in Hawaii appeared on the 2003 compilation Hawthorne, CA.Template:Sfn

File:Brian Wilson.jpg

Wilson leading a 2005 performance of Brian Wilson Presents Smile, which included "Good Vibrations" as its closing song.

As a solo artist, Wilson rerecorded "Good Vibrations" as the closing track on his 2004 album Brian Wilson Presents Smile.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn This extended version included lyrics by Tony Asher and a different bridge section, both originally written in 1966.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Asher was initially uncredited for his contributions.Template:Sfn According to Carlin, using a different lyric set publicly slighted Mike Love and led to a dispute between Wilson's wife and manager, Melinda, and Asher, who had never signed a publishing contract for his share of the song.Template:Sfn Asher's credit was later restored.Template:Sfn

To commemorate its 40th anniversary, the Good Vibrations: 40th Anniversary Edition EP was released. It contained "Good Vibrations", four alternate versions, and a stereo mix of "Let's Go Away for Awhile".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The artwork replicated the original single sleeve. In 2016, the EP was reissued as a 12" record for the song's 50th anniversary.Template:Cn

The eight-track master tape of "Good Vibrations" has remained lost since the 1980s, preventing the creation of a true stereo mix.<ref name="SOS04"/> The first official stereo mix, created with approval from Brian Wilson and Mark Linett, was included in the 2012 reissue of Smiley Smile. It used digital technology developed by Derry Fitzgerald to extract individual instrumental and vocal elements from the mono master.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref>

Use in mediaEdit

"Good Vibrations" became widely used in commercial jingles, television and film.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Stebbins opined that the "duplicated, cloned, commercialized, and re-fabricated" usages of the song had the ultimate effect of "completely diluting the genius of the original".Template:Sfn

In 1978, Sunkist licensed the song for a U.S. advertising campaign promoting its orange soda.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Badman stated that since the Beach Boys had sold their publishing rights in 1969, they had no control over how "Good Vibrations" was used in advertisements.Template:Sfn In his 2016 memoir, Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy, Love wrote that the band had "an agreement with Sunkist Orange Soda, in which the company paid us $1.5 million to use 'Good Vibrations' in its commercials and to put the phrase on its packaging and in-store displays."Template:Sfn By 1980, the campaign had made Sunkist the best-selling orange soda in the U.S.Template:Sfn Love enjoyed the campaign but disliked the product, reportedly telling a Sunkist executive, "If I was driving my Range Rover through the Mojave Desert, and it broke down, I would first drain my radiator fluid and drink that before I had a Sunkist."Template:Sfn

The lyric "I'm picking up good vibrations" is quoted in Cyndi Lauper's 1984 single "She Bop".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1996, experimental rock group His Name Is Alive released an homage titled "Universal Frequencies" on their album Stars on E.S.P.; frontman Warren Defever reportedly listened to "Good Vibrations" repeatedly for a week before deciding that the song "needed a sequel".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2001, the song was used prominently in a scene with Tom Cruise, Tilda Swinton, and Kurt Russell in the psychological thriller Vanilla Sky.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A live version of the song, from the album Live in London, appears as a playable track in the 2010 video game Rock Band 3.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2019, the song was used prominently in a scene for Jordan Peele's psychological horror thriller film Us.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Cover versionsEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Despite its popularity, relatively few artists have covered "Good Vibrations" due to the intricacies of its arrangement.<ref name=Allmusicreview/> Versions of the song range from faithful recreations to reimaginings in the style of punk, synth-pop, electronic, jazz, hip-hop, doo-wop, Latin, orchestral, bluegrass, and country.Template:Sfn Artists who have covered the song include Groove Holmes, the Troggs, Charlie McCoy, Psychic TV,<ref name=Allmusicreview/> the Cowsills, Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, the Shadows, the King's Singers, Nina Hagen, Aika Ohno, the Chambers Brothers, and the Langley Schools Music Project.Template:Sfn

File:Todd Rundgren 1978 (cropped).jpg

"Good Vibrations" returned to the top 40 charts with Todd Rundgren's version in 1976

In 1976, Todd Rundgren recorded a nearly identical cover version for his album Faithful. Released as a single, it peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100.<ref name="Rundgrenchart"/> Wilson praised Rundgren's version, stating, "Oh, he did a marvelous job, he did a great job. I was very proud of his version."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Rundgren explained that while he had always appreciated the Beach Boys' sound, he became especially interested with Pet Sounds and "Good Vibrations". He aimed to replicate the record as accurately as possible, "because in the intervening 10 years, radio had changed so much. Radio had become so formatted and so structured that that whole experience was already gone."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2012, Wilson Phillips, a trio featuring Wilson's daughters Carnie and Wendy along with John Phillips' daughter Chynna, released an album of Beach Boys and the Mamas & the Papas covers titled Dedicated.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Their version of "Good Vibrations", with Carnie on lead vocals, was released as a single and reached number 25 on BillboardTemplate:'s A/C chart.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Retrospective assessments and legacyEdit

Regularly featured on "greatest-of-all-time" critics' rankings, "Good Vibrations" is widely recognized as one of the most important compositions and recordings of the rock era.Template:Sfn It is commonly regarded as one of rock's greatest "masterpieces"Template:Sfn and among the finest pop records in history,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn as well as Brian Wilson's magnum opus.Template:Sfn In 1997, a panel of artists, producers, and music industry figures, surveyed by Mojo magazine, voted it the greatest single of all time.Template:Sfn

Walter Everett, author of The Foundations of Rock (2008), decreed that Wilson is "rightly praised" for his "monumental" achievements with "Good Vibrations".Template:Sfn In Waiting for the Sun: A Rock 'n' Roll History of Los Angeles (2009), Barney Hoskyns described it as the city's ultimate 1960s psychedelic pop record, pushing pop production to its limits while remaining accessible.Template:Sfn In Understanding Rock (1997), Daniel Harrison stated that it represented the "most successful" convergence of the Beach Boys' commercial appeal with Wilson's artistic ambitions.Template:Sfn The Pleasure of Modernist Music (2004) stated that it was Wilson's first and "unquestionably most brilliantly successful" work under heavy drug influence.Template:Sfn Template:Refn Template:Quote box Creem editor Ben Edmonds viewed the song as proof that "fun could be art".Template:Sfn On the single's fiftieth anniversary, Billboard contributor Andrew Unterberger praised "Good Vibrations" for its pervasive brilliance, "essentially unprecedented for a Top 40 hit at the time", and compared it favorably to "the Fallingwater of pop music", though he felt that its perceived lack of emotional depth, in contrast to the "proto-emo anthems" of Pet Sounds, kept some rock fans at a distance. He concluded, "That's kind of the point, though: "Good Vibrations" finds its power through communicating love's elemental inarticulateness."<ref name="BB2016" />Template:Refn In his 2014 33⅓ book on Smile, Luis Sanchez observed that its massive success propelled the Beach Boys "into an ambit of pop beyond any obvious explanation of how such an event should have happened."Template:Sfn

Among the band members, Jardine remarked, "Brian was absolutely at his peak back then. God, he was just like a freight train. We were hanging on for dear life."<ref name=Uncut2012/> Brian, in a 1970 interview, indicated that "Good Vibrations" had remained his favorite song in their catalogue, solely for its use of cello.Template:Sfn

PersonnelEdit

The details in this section are adapted from The Smile Sessions liner notes, which includes a sessionography compiled by band archivist Craig Slowinski,<ref name="Slowinski2011">Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> and the website Bellagio 10452, maintained by music historian Andrew G. Doe.<ref name="GIGS66" />

Single editEdit

The Beach Boys

Al Jardine – backing vocals
Bruce Johnston – backing vocals
Mike Love – lead and backing vocals
Brian Wilson – lead and backing vocals, tack piano (choruses), overdubbed tambourine (choruses)
Carl Wilson – lead and backing vocals, electric rhythm guitar (choruses and chorus fade), shaker (second bridge)
Dennis Wilson – backing vocals, Hammond organ (second bridge)

Additional players Template:Div col

Hal Blaine – drums (verses and choruses), timpani (choruses), shaker (second bridge)
Jimmy Bond – upright bass (first bridge)
Frank Capp – bongos with sticks
Al Casey – electric rhythm guitar (verses and first bridge)
Jerry Cole – electric rhythm guitar (first bridge)
Gary Coleman – sleigh bells (third bridge and chorus fade)
Steve Douglas – tenor flute (verses and first bridge)
Jesse Ehrlich – cello
Jim Gordon – drums (third bridge and chorus fade)
Bill Green – contra-clarinet, bass saxophone
Jim Horn – piccolo (first bridge)
Larry Knechtel – Hammond organ (verses)
Plas Johnson – piccolo (verses and chorus fade), flutes (chorus fade)
Al de Lory – tack piano
Mike Melvoin – upright piano (chorus fade)
Jay Migliori – flutes (verses and chorus fade)
Tommy Morgan – bass harmonica, overdubbed jaw harp, harmonica
Bill Pitman – Danelectro bass (first bridge, third bridge, and chorus fade)
Ray Pohlman – Fender bass (verses and first bridge)
Don Randi – electric harpsichord
Lyle Ritz – upright bass (verses and second bridge), Fender bass (choruses)
Billy Strange – 12-string electric rhythm guitar (verses)
Paul Tanner – Electro-Theremin
Terry (surname unknown, possibly Terry Melcher) – tambourine (verses)
Arthur Wright – Fender bass (third bridge and chorus fade)
unknown (possibly Hal Blaine) – tambourine (first bridge)

Template:Div col end

Technical staff

Chuck Britz – engineer
Cal Harris – engineer
Jim Lockert – engineer

Partial sessionographyEdit

Template:Div col

February 17 – Gold Star (this session produced the verses heard in the final master)
- Hal Blaine – drums
- Frank Capp – bongos with sticks (cups instead of bongos on some takes)
- Al Casey – electric rhythm guitar
- Steve Douglas – tenor flute
- Bill Green – contra-clarinet
- Larry Knechtel – Hammond organ
- Plas Johnson – piccolo
- Jay Migliori – flute (verses and first bridge)
- Ray Pohlman – Fender bass (fuzz bass in chorus)
- Don Randi – grand piano (piano with taped strings on earlier takes)
- Lyle Ritz – upright bass
- Billy Strange – 12-string electric rhythm guitar (lead on earlier takes)
- Paul Tanner – Electro-Theremin
- Terry (surname unknown, possibly Terry Melcher) – tambourine
- Tony (surname unknown, possibly Tony Asher) – sleigh bells

March 3 – Gold Star (discarded overdubs recorded on February 17 backing track)
- Brian Wilson – vocals
- Carl Wilson – vocals
- unknown (possibly Carl Wilson) – Fender bass (choruses)
- unknown (possibly Tony Asher) – jaw harp

April 9 – Gold Star (discarded alternate version)
- Hal Blaine – drums
- Frank Capp – bongos with sticks
- Steve Douglas – tenor flute
- Carl Fortina – accordion
- Bill Green – contra-clarinet
- Carol Kaye – 12-string electric guitar
- Larry Knechtel – Hammond organ
- Al de Lory – piano with taped strings
- Mike Melvoin – tack piano
- Jay Migliori – flute
- Tommy Morgan – bass harmonica
- Ray Pohlman – Fender bass (fuzz bass in chorus)
- Lyle Ritz – upright bass
- Arthur C. Smith – piccolo, ocarina
- Paul Tanner – Electro-Theremin

May 4 – Western ["First Chorus", "Second Chorus", and "Fade"] (this session produced the first bridge heard in the final master)
- Jimmy Bond – upright bass
- Frank Capp – bongos with sticks, tambourine, overdubbed sleigh bells
- Al Casey – electric guitar
- Jerry Cole – electric guitar
- Jim Gordon – overdubbed sleigh bells
- Bill Green – bass saxophone
- Jim Horn – piccolo
- Al de Lory – tack pianos (including overdub)
- Tommy Morgan – bass harmonica, overdubbed jaw harp
- Ray Pohlman – Fender bass
- Bill Pitman – Danelectro bass (with fuzz tone)
- Paul Tanner – Electro-Theremin
- unknown (possibly Hal Blaine) – tambourine

May 24 – Sunset Sound ["Part 1", "Part 2", "Part 3", and "Part 4"] (discarded bridge and choruses)
- Gary Coleman – castanets, sleigh bells, clavs
- Steve Douglas – tambourine
- Jim Gordon – drums, timpani
- Bill Green – alto flute
- Jim Horn – flute, piccolo (bridge)
- Carol Kaye – Danelectro bass
- Al de Lory – pianos with taped strings (including overdub)
- Jay Migliori – flute (bridge), kazoos (including overdub)
- Lyle Ritz – upright bass
- Paul Tanner – Electro-Theremin
- Carl Wilson – Fender bass

May 25 – Sunset Sound ["Part 1", "Part 2", "Part 3", and "Part 4"] (discarded overdubs recorded on May 24 backing tracks)
- Arthur "Skeets" Herfurt – clarinet
- Jim Horn – piccolo
- Abe Most – clarinet

May 27 – Western ["Part C", "Chorus", and "Fade Sequence"] (this session produced the third bridge and chorus fade heard in the final master)
- Gary Coleman – timpanis ("Part C"), sleigh bells ("Chorus")
- Steve Douglas – tambourine
- Jim Gordon – drums
- Jim Horn – piccolos, flutes
- Plas Johnson – piccolos, flutes
- Mike Melvoin – upright piano, overdubbed piano with taped strings
- Bill Pitman – Danelectro bass (including fuzz tone)
- Emil Richards – overdubbed vibraphones
- Lyle Ritz – upright bass (arco in "Part C")
- Paul Tanner – Electro-Theremin
- Carl Wilson – electric rhythm guitar (chorus fade)
- Arthur Wright – Fender bass

June 2 – Western ["Inspiration"] (this session produced the first, second and third choruses heard in the final master, as well as a discarded bridge)
- Hal Blaine – drums, overdubbed tambourine (bridge), timpani, cups (bridge)
- Bill Pitman – Danelectro bass (with fuzz tone)
- Don Randi – electric harpsichord
- Lyle Ritz – Fender bass
- Brian Wilson – tack piano (choruses), overdubbed tambourine (choruses)
- Carl Wilson – electric rhythm guitar

June 12 – Western ["Inspiration"] (overdubs recorded on June 2 backing tracks)
- Hal Blaine – tambourine (bridge)
- Jesse Ehrlich – cello (choruses)
- Paul Tanner – Electro-Theremin (bridge)

June 16 – Western ["Part 1", "Part 2", "Verse", and "Part 3"] (discarded alternate verse, chorus, and bridge)
- Hal Blaine – overdubbed drums ("Part 1"), drums with sticks ("Part 2")
- Steve Douglas – grand piano, overdubbed soprano saxophone ("Part 1" and "Part 2")
- Jim Horn – overdubbed clarinet ("Part 1" and "Part 2")
- Al de Lory – electric harpsichord
- Mike Melvoin – Hammond organ
- Jay Migliori – overdubbed bass clarinet ("Part 1" and "Part 2")
- Tommy Morgan – overdubbed bass harmonica ("Part 1"), overdubbed harmonica ("Part 2")
- Bill Pitman – Danelectro bass (with fuzz tone in chorus and bridge)
- Lyle Ritz – upright bass
- Paul Tanner – Electro-Theremin
- Carl Wilson – Fender bass
- unknown (possibly Brian Wilson) – tambourine ("Part 1")

June 18 – Western ["Part 1" and "Part 2"] (as above)
- Bill Green – clarinet
- Plas Johnson – clarinet
- Carol Kaye – Fender bass
- Al de Lory – tack piano ("Part 1"), Hammond organ ("Part 2")
- Jay Migliori – clarinet
- Tommy Morgan – bass harmonica ("Part 1"), harmonica ("Part 2")
- Bill Pitman – Danelectro bass (with fuzz tone in bridge)
- Paul Tanner – Electro-Theremin
- Brian Wilson – upright bass
- Carl Wilson – electric guitar

Template:Circa – Columbia (two vocal sessions; incomplete documentation due to missing tape)
- Dennis Wilson – lead vocal

September 1 – Western ["Inspiration" and "Persuasion"] (this session produced the second bridge heard in the final master)
- Hal Blaine – shaker
- Tommy Morgan – harmonica, overdubbed bass harmonica
- Lyle Ritz – upright bass
- Carl Wilson – shaker
- Dennis Wilson – Hammond organ

September 12 – Columbia (this session produced part of the vocals heard in the final master)
- Al Jardine – backing vocals
- Bruce Johnston – backing vocals
- Mike Love – lead and backing vocals
- Brian Wilson – lead and backing vocals
- Carl Wilson – lead and backing vocals
- Dennis Wilson – backing vocals

September 21 – Columbia (this session produced part of the vocals and part of the Electro-Theremin heard in the final master)
- Al Jardine – backing vocals
- Bruce Johnston – backing vocals
- Mike Love – lead and backing vocals
- Paul Tanner – Electro-Theremin
- Brian Wilson – lead and backing vocals
- Carl Wilson – lead and backing vocals
- Dennis Wilson – backing vocals

Template:Div col end

Charts and certificationsEdit

Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2

Weekly chartsEdit

Template:Singlechart Template:Singlechart Template:Singlechart Template:Singlechart Template:Singlechart Template:Singlechart Template:Singlechart

Original release
Chart (1966–1967)	Peak position
Australia Go-Set National Top 40Template:Sfn	2
Canadian RPM Top Singles Template:Sfn	2
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)<ref> Template:Cite magazine</ref>	3
France Music Media MonthlyTemplate:Sfn	1
Irish Singles Chart<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }} 2nd result when searching "Good vibrations"</ref>	3
Malaysian Singles ChartTemplate:Sfn Template:Sfn	1
New Zealand (Listener)	1
Singaporean Singles Chart<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	2
South African Chart<ref name="Billboard Hits of the World">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	3
Spanish Chart<ref name="Billboard Hits of the World"/>	1
UK Disc & Music EchoTemplate:Sfn	1
UK NME Top 30Template:Sfn	1
UK Record RetailerTemplate:Sfn	1
US Billboard Hot 100<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	1

Template:Col-2

1976 reissue
Chart (1976)	Peak position
UK (Official Charts Company)<ref name="UK">{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	18

Todd Rundgren version
Chart (1976)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100<ref name="Rundgrenchart">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	34

Year-end chartsEdit

Chart (1966)	Rank
UK<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	10
US Billboard Hot 100<ref>Billboard Top 100 Songs of 1966</ref>	33

CertificationsEdit

Template:Certification Table Top Template:Certification Table Entry Template:Certification Table Entry Template:Certification Table Bottom Template:Col-end

Awards and accoladesEdit

Awards for "Good Vibrations"
Year	Organization	Accolade	Result
1967	National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences	Best Performance by a Vocal Group<ref name="Grammy Award">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	Template:Nom
		Best Contemporary (R&R) Group Performance, Vocal or Instrumental<ref name="Grammy Award"/>	Template:Nom
		Best Contemporary (R&R) Recording<ref name="Grammy Award"/>	Template:Nom
		Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist(s) or Instrumentalist(s)<ref name="Grammy Award"/>	Template:Nom
1994		Grammy Hall of Fame Award Template:Cn	Template:Won
2006	Rock and Roll Hall of Fame	Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll<ref name="Shaped">{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Included

Rankings for "Good Vibrations"
Year	Publication	Accolade	Rank
1988	Rolling Stone	100 Best Singles of the Last 25 YearsTemplate:Sfn	11
2010	Rolling Stone	500 Greatest Songs of All Time Template:Sfn	6

NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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BibliographyEdit

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External linksEdit

Greg Panfile's Musical Analysis of "Good Vibrations"
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Template:Smiley Smile Template:The Smile Sessions Template:The Beach Boys singles Template:Brian Wilson Template:Todd Rundgren Template:Electronic rock

Template:Authority control

Good Vibrations

Background and authorshipEdit

LyricsEdit

Style and precursorsEdit

ProductionEdit

Recording processEdit

Pet Sounds sessions (February−March)Edit

First modular sessions (May−June)Edit

Vocals and final mixdown (August−September)Edit

Total expensesEdit

Musical structureEdit

Opening verses and refrainsEdit

Episodic digressions and codaEdit

Single releaseEdit

Publicity and lead-up to releaseEdit

First live performancesEdit

Promotional filmsEdit

Commercial performanceEdit

Initial reactionsEdit

Year-end polls and accoladesEdit

Planned follow-ups and the collapse of SmileEdit

Cultural impactEdit

1960s countercultureEdit

Record production and popular musicEdit

Theremins and synthesizersEdit

Live performances, remakes, and alternate releasesEdit

Use in mediaEdit

Cover versionsEdit

Retrospective assessments and legacyEdit

PersonnelEdit

Single editEdit

Partial sessionographyEdit

Charts and certificationsEdit

Weekly chartsEdit

Year-end chartsEdit

CertificationsEdit

Awards and accoladesEdit

See alsoEdit

NotesEdit

ReferencesEdit

BibliographyEdit

Further readingEdit

External linksEdit