"Good Vibrations" is a song composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love for the American rock band the Beach Boys, of which both were members.

Released on October 10, 1966, the single was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record charts in several countries including the US and UK.

Characterized by its complex soundscapes, episodic structure and subversions of pop music formula, it was the costliest single ever recorded at the time of its release. "Good Vibrations" later became widely acclaimed as one of the finest and most important works of the rock era

Also produced by Wilson, the title derived from his fascination with cosmic vibrations, as his mother would tell him as a child that dogs sometimes bark at people in response to their "bad vibrations".

He used the concept to suggest extrasensory perception, while Love's lyrics were inspired by the nascent Flower Power movement. It was written as it was recorded and in a similar fashion to other compositions from the band's 1966-1967 period, such as the album Pet Sounds (which was recorded during the same time period) and the aborted album Smile.

The song was not originally issued as a track from an album, but rather as a standalone single, with the Pet Sounds instrumental "Let's Go Away for Awhile" as the B-side. "Good Vibrations" was to be included on Smile before the project's collapse and instead appeared on the substitute LP Smiley Smile (1967).

The making of "Good Vibrations" was unprecedented for any kind of recording.

Over 90 hours of tape was consumed in the sessions, with the total cost of production estimated to be in the tens of thousands.

Building upon his approach for Pet Sounds, Brian recorded a surplus of short, interchangeable musical fragments with his bandmates and a host of session musicians at four different Hollywood studios from February to September 1966, a process reflected in the song's several dramatic shifts in key, texture, instrumentation and mood.

Band publicist Derek Taylor dubbed the unusual work a "pocket symphony".

It heralded a wave of pop experimentation and the onset of psychedelic and progressive rock, and helped develop the use of the recording studio as an instrument.

The track featured previously untried mixes of instruments, including jaw harp and Electro-Theremin, and although the latter is not a true theremin, the song's success led to a renewed interest and sales of theremins and synthesizers.

Comments:

Glenn W Love

Any footage of Brian working from this era is pure GOLD!!!

George Andrews

Hal Blaine -- the drummer shown in this clip and a founding member of famed Los Angeles session musicians The Wrecking Crew -- died Monday March 11, 2019. Rest in Peace Hal...

mateuszmattias

At 0:20 when Brian says: "Hal, Let's go Man! Here we go, play hard and strong all the way!" and you can hear how excited Brian is about the whole thing! Fantastic to hear that part.

Glenn W Love

I put this video up 6 years ago, I can’t believe it’s had over a million views, and over 1,000 comments. Thank you everyone. Be warned political, ignorant or nasty comments will be removed. Also any comments about The Beach Boys not playing on their records. Ok they weren’t playing on this record, but they played on most of their earlier and later albums, with the assistance of the wrecking crew. Carl Wilson was an excellent guitarist that was always underrated. Love and Mercy!

legomaestro

That intense look he has when directing everything. He was truly engrossed in everything. 

Jonathan O'Mara

They did some great stuff but this one, above all, is the very best. Unbelievably good song! The harmonies and musicianship are simply superb.

The Interstellar Bam

I think this is the greatest Beach Boys song ever created, even if you like other songs better, this is the greatest one. Not only was Brian at the height of his musical genius, but unlike Pet Sounds and SMiLE, all the other Beach Boys were completely supportive of it. The result is a musically complex and over all fun as hell song.