The only Beach Boys single I actually bought was Darlin’ from 1967. God Only Knows and Good Vibrations were before my singles-buying days.
The Beach Boys: Darlin’
Their Wiki singles discography page says its B-side was a song called Here Today from Pet Sounds. Well not in the UK it wasn’t, as I remember it very well. That was instead Country Air from the later album Wild Honey. As this video displaying the record label shows. (The murky sound quality was apparently due to a problem with the master tape.)
The Beach Boys: Country Air
Still brilliant as always.
Brian Douglas Wilson: 20/6/1942 – 11/6/2025. So it goes.
I was very much saddened by the news of Brian Wilson’s death. As the musical driving force behind the Beach Boys he was one of the most influential figures in popular music of the mid to late twentieth century: right up there with Lennon and McCartney.
But there are so many more. Too many to be confined to one post.
This track was the main follow up to Good Vibrations (the release of Then I Kissed Her was a stopgap.) Many people were disappointed with it but it has all the Wilson hallmarks.
The Beach Boys: Heroes and Villains
Then there’s this track, striking a more melancholy note. The title song from the Surf’s Up album.
The Beach Boys: Surf’s Up
Brian Wilson’s star continues to shine long after his heyday. His songs leave a legacy to be revered.
Brian Douglas Wilson: 20/6/1942 – 11/6/2025. So it goes.
The Turtles were one of those male vocal groups the US seemed to produce so easily in the mid-60s. The Association and The Cowsills also spring to mind along with The Happenings. The Beach Boys, however, were always a cut above the rest.
The Turtles’ name had an unfortunate resonance with the US label they signed for, White Whale, and they feared they might be thought of as a novelty group as a result. There were no such problems in the UK on London American.
The single of Happy Together seemed to hang about the lower reaches of the British charts for weeks before finally climbing into the top twenty, during which time I bought it, but it’s one of those which has had an extensive after-life, unlike its successors She’d Rather Be With Me and Elenore – both bigger hits in the UK (or at least higher chart placings.)
