Good Vibrations

Brian Wilson composed it and Mike Love wrote the lyrics. Wilson had brought the idea to Tony Asher, who suggested the title Good Vibrations in place of Good Vibes, but Wilson set Asher's verses aside, and Love finished the words on 24 August 1966 during a twenty-minute drive to the studio. Wilson's mother had once remarked that dogs sense vibrations from people. Derek Taylor, the band's publicist, coined the phrase pocket symphony for it.

The recording took about 20 sessions in four Hollywood studios over seven months, February to September 1966, and used over 90 hours of tape. Instead of cutting whole takes, Wilson recorded short sections and spliced them together. Estimates of the cost run from 10,000 to 50,000 dollars, and Wilson said in 2018 that it was nearer 25,000. The first version, on 17 February at Gold Star, used Paul Tanner on the Electro-Theremin, and the verses on the single come from that session. Jesse Ehrlich overdubbed the cello on 12 June, and the church organ bridge was recorded on 1 September. The final vocals were recorded on 12 September and the mixdown took place on 21 September at Columbia. Love recalled doing 25 to 30 vocal overdubs for sections only a few seconds long. At 3:35 it ran over the usual three-minute limit.

It was left off Pet Sounds despite objections from the band. The single came out in the US on 10 October 1966 backed with Let's Go Away for Awhile, and in Britain on 28 October. It reached number 1 on the Hot 100 on 10 December, replacing Winchester Cathedral, and it was their first single to top both the US and UK charts. Mojo's panel voted it the greatest single of all time in 1997.

Live and covers

The band played it live for the first time on 21 October 1966 at Michigan State University in East Lansing, and 2,647 logged setlists include it. Four promotional films were made, the first shot on 23 October 1966 at a fire station. Todd Rundgren's close copy reached number 34 in 1976. Wilson rerecorded it in 2004 for Brian Wilson Presents Smile, with lyrics by Asher, and The Smile Sessions of 2011 devotes a disc to its sessions.