Brian Wilson Interview

The Beatles were the original “boy band.” With their mop top hairdos and buttoned-up suits, they were putting out catchy songs that drove throngs of screaming young girls into a frenzy. However, on their December 1965 album Rubber Soul, the Beatles began challenging themselves both lyrically and musically. The new sound was more mature, and Wilson took notice. The Beatles were getting away from simple love songs and becoming more diverse and experimental, with both their words and music. Songs like “In My Life,” “Norwegian Wood,” and “Drive My Car,” were the types of things Brian Wilson found interesting. The Beatles were growing artistically; Wilson saw it, and was inspired by it. Rubber Soul was, as he observed, “a complete album.” He said, "I listened to it, and the songs all sounded like they had come from the same place.

It blew my mind, and I said I've got to do that with the Beach Boys,” He was one of the first people to recognize that rock and roll albums could be both thematic, and entertaining. He took that intriguing idea to his piano, and began writing songs for the album that would eventually be called Pet Sounds.  

Having toured, written, and recorded nearly continuously since 1962, Brian Wilson reached his breaking point in December of '64. The Beach Boys were on a plane heading to Hawaii, when Wilson suddenly complained of chest pains and shortness of breath. The plane immediately returned to Los Angeles, and the 22-year-old was rushed to the hospital where he was treated and released for what has been described as a probable panic attack. It was assumed that Brian would get back to touring after he rested, but that wasn't his plan.

After meeting initial resistance from the band, and the record company, with the help of Murray, Brian’s overbearing father, the band, and Capitol acquiesced. The agreement was Brian would stay home and work in the studio writing and recording. The caveat was the Beach Boys would continue producing the hits the label required. Wilson said, “I came off touring because I had the feeling that I was going to record Pet Sounds.” However, before he got to that project, he needed to finish up and release The Beach Boys Today album, as well as the next one, called Summer Days and Summer Nights. Brian wrote the music, and recorded it with a group of studio session players collectively called The Wrecking Crew. With the orchestration completed, when the band returned from their near-constant touring, Brian would rush them into the studio and lay down the vocal tracks for his new songs.     Both Today, and Summer Days, showcased Wilson’s evolution as a writer, composer, and arranger.

Until then, the band's best music had been Chuck Berry knock-offs like “Surfin USA'' and “Fun, Fun, Fun,” or romantic ballads like “Surfer Girl” and “Warmth of the Sun.” The fun and sun theme dominated their early music, as did their songs about hot rods. It was a highly successful formula, and to Capitol records, Murray Wilson, and the rest of the band, the formula meant success as measured in dollars.  

Whether it was the revving engines in “409,” a great song about a mediocre Chevy motor, or harps and cymbals approximating crashing waves in “Catch a Wave,” Wilson was never afraid to try new, and innovative sounds.