NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The musical world lost a giant with news Wednesday that Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys鈥� visionary and fragile leader, He was 82.
Attempting to distill in a few short songs is an impossibility; even just focusing on a few select cuts from 1966 album 鈥淧et Sounds," routinely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, would feel shortsighted. (Lest we forget, there is no Beatles' without it, and countless other classics past and present.) Instead, to celebrate Wilson's life and legacy, we've decided to identify just a few songs that made the man, from the fiercely familiar to a few unexpected selections.
Read on and then listen to all of the tracks on
1963: The Beach Boys
The song of the summer in 1963 鈥� heck, ever 鈥� 鈥淪urfin' USA鈥� at least partially introduced the group that would forever become synonymous with an image of eternal California bliss, where the sun always shines, the waves are always pristine, and paradise is a place on Earth. It's hard to imagine the beach existing before these wake-up riffs, the guitars that sparked a surf rock movement and then some. (Though it is important to mention that the song borrows heavily from 鈥淪weet Little Sixteen.") It's hard to think that surf music was once mostly just instrumental 鈥� even when Wilson and his cousin, fellow Beach Boy hastily wrote up their first single, 鈥淪urfin,鈥欌�� a minor hit released in 1961.
1964: The Beach Boys
Think of it as a response to 鈥淏e My Baby.鈥� The hot-rod hit 鈥淒on't Worry Baby鈥� is the cheery B-side to 鈥淚 Get Around," and has one of the most transformative key shifts in pop music history, from the man's perspective in the verse to the woman's response in the chorus. Brilliant!
1965: The Beach Boys
Headphones on, stereo up. The Beach Boys' 鈥淐alifornia Girls鈥� sounds massive. It is no doubt the result of Wilson's love and admiration for 鈥淲all of Sound," which lead to the song's use of guitar, horns, percussion and organ as its overture. The song is a sunshine-y good time 鈥� and would later inspire 鈥淐alifornia Gurls,鈥� among countless others. But most importantly, the song establishes the band 鈥� and Wilson's own 鈥� larger-than-life aspirations, where pop music could be both avant-garde and built of earworms.
1966: The Beach Boys
Wilson's voice is the first one heard on the Beach Boys' unimpeachable 鈥淧et Sounds.鈥� 鈥淲ouldn鈥檛 it be nice if we were older? / Then we wouldn鈥檛 have to wait so long,鈥� he sweetly sings on the album's opener. 鈥淎nd wouldn鈥檛 it be nice to live together / In the kind of world where we belong?鈥� Optimism and innocence are the name of the game, and the listener is the winner.
1966: The Beach Boys
If Wilson must be known for one thing, let it be his inimitable sense of harmony, perfected across his craft and completely unignorable on 鈥淕od Only Knows,鈥� a masterclass in vocals, love, emotional depth, harpsichord and the intersection of all such forces.
鈥淕od Only Knows鈥� is also one of favorite songs of all time, one known to bring him to tears.
1967: The Beach Boys
What kind of vibrations? Good, good, GOOD vibrations. And at a cost. As the story goes, one of the Beach Boys鈥� best-known hits 鈥� and, arguably, one of the most immediately recognizable songs in rock 鈥檔鈥� roll history 鈥� was recorded over seven months, in four different studios, reportedly costing up to $75,000. And it is an absolute masterpiece of theremin, cello, harmonica and so much more. Pop music has never been so ambitious 鈥� and successful.
1967: The Beach Boys
鈥淗eroes and Villains鈥� might be one of the most complex songs in the Beach Boys' discography, and with good reason. It is the opener of 鈥淪mile,鈥� what Wilson called a 鈥渢eenage symphony to God,鈥� a whimsical cycle of songs on nature and American folklore written with lyricist Van Dyke Parks. It was delayed, then canceled, then rerecorded and issued in September 1967 on 鈥淪miley Smile,鈥� dismissed by Carl Wilson as a 鈥渂unt instead of a grand slam.鈥� In moments, 鈥淗eroes and Villains鈥� is psychedelic, in others, it embodies an otherworldly barbershop quartet. It is off-kilter and clever, as Wilson's band so often proved to be.
1967: The Beach Boys
The late '60s are an undercelebrated time in Wilson's creative oeuvre 鈥� no doubt an effect of his declining mental health 鈥� but there are many rich songs to dig into. Particularly, the soulful, R&B, harmonies of 鈥淒arlin'.鈥�
2004: 鈥淒on鈥檛 Let Her Know She鈥檚 an Angel,鈥� Brian Wilson
As the story goes, 鈥淒on't Let Her Know She's an Angel鈥� was originally record for his 1991 unreleased album 鈥淪weet Insanity,鈥� but did not officially appear until it was rerecorded for his 2004 album 鈥淕ettin鈥� in Over My Head.鈥� The song features a bunch of programming, synths and percussion, which might strike Beach Boys fans as odd. But trust us, it works here.
2012: The Beach Boys
This pick might come as a surprise for many fans. 鈥淚sn't It Time鈥� is a cut from 鈥淭hat鈥檚 Why God Made the Radio," the album the legendary group put out to celebrate their 50th anniversary and left a lot to be desired. But within its filler, this song is undoubtedly catchy, with its ukulele and handclap percussion.
___
AP National Writer Hillel Italie contributed to this report.
Maria Sherman, The Associated Press
