Fifty-five years ago (May, 1966), The Beach Boys dazzled the world with their groundbreaking artistic masterpiece, “Pet Sounds” — Rolling Stone magazine ranks it number two on their “Top 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time,” eclipsed only by Marvin Gaye’s classic “What’s Goin’ On.”
In a 2019 interview with the New Hampshire Union Leader Beach Boys vocalist/musician Al Jardine opined that “God Only Knows,” one of “Pet Sounds” most famous singles, is “probably one of the best written songs of all time, you know, one of Paul McCartney’s favorites.
The song, co-written by Brian Wilson and lyricist Tony Asher, has stood the test of time.
Agreed! The ending choruses are stunning. And “God Only Knows” wasn’t even one of their major hits.
But few are aware of the tremendous inspiration provided to Brian Wilson by the Four Freshmen. First, listen to “The Warmth of the Sun,” then cue up the Freshmen’s “It’s a Blue World” from ’52–fourteen years earlier! You’ll be pleasantly surprised. Guaranteed.