Editing The Beach Boys (section)

==Musical style and development==
{{See also|Brian Wilson#Artistry}}
In ''Understanding Rock: Essays in Musical Analysis'', musicologist Daniel Harrison writes:
{{blockquote|Even from their inception, the Beach Boys were an [[experimental music|experimental]] group. They combined, as Jim Miller has put it, "the instrumental sleekness of [[the Ventures]], the lyric sophistication of Chuck Berry, and the vocal expertise of some weird cross between [[the Lettermen]] and [[Frankie Lymon]] and [[the Teenagers]]" with lyrics whose images, idioms, and concerns were drawn from the rarefied world of the middle-class white male southern California teenager.&nbsp;... [But] it was the profound vocal virtuosity of the group, coupled with the obsessional drive and compositional ambitions of their leader, Brian Wilson, that promised their survival after the eventual breaking of fad fever.&nbsp;... Comparison to other vocally oriented rock groups, such as [[the Association]], shows the Beach Boys' technique to be far superior, almost embarrassingly so. They were so confident of their ability, and of Brian's skill as a producer to enhance it, that they were unafraid of doing sophisticated, [[a cappella]] glee-club arrangements containing multiple [[suspension (music)|suspensions]], passing [[musical form|formations]], complex chords, and both [[chromatic]] and [[enharmonic]] [[modulation (music)|modulations]].{{sfn|Harrison|1997|p=34}}}}

The Beach Boys began as a [[garage band]] playing 1950s style [[rock and roll]],{{sfn|Priore|2005|p=15}} reassembling styles of music such as surf to include [[vocal jazz]] [[jazz harmony|harmony]], which created their unique sound.{{sfn|Zager|2011|p=216}} In addition, they introduced their signature approach to common genres such as the [[pop ballad]] by applying harmonic or formal twists not native to rock and roll.{{sfn|Harrison|1997|p=35}} Among the distinct elements of the Beach Boys' style were the nasal quality of their singing voices, their use of a falsetto harmony over a driving, locomotive-like melody, and the sudden chiming in of the whole group on a key line.<ref name="nasal">{{cite journal|last=Davis|first=Jonathan|title=The Influence of the Beatles on the Music of Rock & Roll|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kgoYAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Columbia College, Columbia University|date=1966|journal=King's Crown Essays|access-date=April 25, 2016|archive-date=June 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619070433/https://books.google.com/books?id=kgoYAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> Brian Wilson handled most stages of the group's recording process from the beginning, even though he was not properly credited on most of the early recordings.{{sfn|Schinder|2007|p=105}}{{sfn|Sanchez|2014|p=26}}

[[File:1967 Rickenbacker 360-12 12 string electric guitar owned and photographed by Greg Field.jpg|thumb|upright|right|A [[Rickenbacker 360/12]] identical to the 12-string guitar used by Carl Wilson in the early to mid-1960s]]
Early on, Mike Love sang lead vocals in the rock-oriented songs, while Carl contributed guitar lines on the group's ballads.{{sfn|Miller|1992|p=194}} Jim Miller commented: "On straight rockers they sang tight harmonies behind Love's lead&nbsp;... on ballads, Brian played his [[falsetto]] off against lush, [[jazz]]-tinged voicings, often using (for rock) unorthodox harmonic structures."{{sfn|Miller|1992|p=194}} Harrison adds that "even the least distinguished of the Beach Boys' early uptempo rock 'n' roll songs show traces of structural complexity at some level; Brian was simply too curious and experimental to leave convention alone".{{sfn|Harrison|1997|p=34}} Although Brian was often dubbed a perfectionist, he was an inexperienced musician, and his understanding of music was mostly self-taught.{{sfn|Schinder|2007|pp=105, 114}} At the lyric stage, he usually worked with Love,{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=73}} whose assertive persona provided youthful swagger that contrasted Brian's explorations in romanticism and sensitivity.{{sfn|Schinder|2007|p=108}} Luis Sanchez noted a pattern where Brian would spare surfing imagery when working with collaborators outside of his band's circle, in the examples "[[Lonely Sea]]" and "[[In My Room]]".{{sfn|Sanchez|2014|p=27}}

Brian's bandmates resented the notion that he was the sole creative force in the group.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=110}} In a 1966 article that asked if "the Beach Boys rely too much on sound genius Brian", Carl said that although Brian was the most responsible for their music, every member of the group contributed ideas.{{sfn|Love|2016|pp=146–147}} Mike Love wrote: "As far as I was concerned, Brian ''was'' a genius, deserving of that recognition. But the rest of us were seen as nameless components in Brian's music machine&nbsp;... It didn't feel to us as if we were just riding on Brian's coattails."{{sfn|Love|2016|pp=145–147}} Conversely, Dennis defended Brian's stature in the band, stating: "Brian Wilson ''is'' the Beach Boys. He is the band. We're his fucking messengers. He is all of it. Period. We're nothing. He's everything."{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=316}}

===Influences===
{{Further|List of songs covered by the Beach Boys}}
The band's earliest influences came primarily from the work of Chuck Berry and the Four Freshmen.{{sfn|Priore|2005|p=16}} Performed by the Four Freshmen, "[[Their Hearts Were Full of Spring]]" (1961) was a particular favorite of the group.{{sfn|Harrison|1997|pp=34, 54}} By analyzing their arrangements of [[pop standards]], Brian educated himself on [[jazz harmony]].{{sfn|Lambert|2007|p=5}} Bearing this in mind, Philip Lambert noted: "If [[Bob Flanigan (singer)|Bob Flanigan]] helped teach Brian how to sing, then [[George Gershwin|Gershwin]], [[Jerome Kern|Kern]], [[Cole Porter|Porter]], and the other members of this pantheon helped him learn how to craft a song."{{sfn|Lambert|2007|p=6}} Other general influences on the group included [[the Hi-Los]],{{sfn|Priore|2005|p=16}} [[the Penguins]], [[the Robins]], [[Bill Haley & His Comets]], [[Otis Williams]], [[the Cadets (doo wop)|the Cadets]], [[the Everly Brothers]], [[the Shirelles]], [[The Regents (doo-wop band)|the Regents]], and [[the Crystals]].{{sfn|Lambert|2007|pp=14–15}}

{{Quote box
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|quote=Though the Beach Boys are often caricatured as the ultimate white, suburban act, black [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] was crucial to their sound.
|source= — [[Geoffrey Himes]]<ref name=HimesSurf />}}
The eclectic mix of white and black vocal group influences – ranging from the rock and roll of Berry, the jazz harmonies of the Four Freshmen, the pop of [[the Four Preps]], the folk of [[the Kingston Trio]], the R&B of groups like [[the Coasters]] and [[the Five Satins]], and the doo wop of [[Dion and the Belmonts]] – helped contribute to the Beach Boys' uniqueness in American popular music.{{sfn|Murphy|2015|p=58}} Carl remembered that Love was "really immersed in doo-wop" and likely "influenced Brian to listen to it", adding that the "black artists were so much better in terms of rock records in those days that the white records almost sounded like put-ons".<ref name=HimesSurf />

Another significant influence on Brian's work was [[Burt Bacharach]].{{sfn|Matijas-Mecca|2017|p=37}} He said in the 1960s: "Burt Bacharach and [[Hal David]] are more like me. They're also the best pop team – per se – today. As a producer, Bacharach has a very fresh, new approach."{{sfn|Priore|2005|p=64}} Regarding surf rock pioneer [[Dick Dale]], Brian said that his influence on the group was limited to Carl and his style of guitar playing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaquarian.com/2005/08/10/brian-wilson-interview-with-brian-wilson/|title=Interview with Brian Wilson|publisher=theaquarian.com|access-date=November 22, 2009|archive-date=October 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002160721/http://www.theaquarian.com/2005/08/10/brian-wilson-interview-with-brian-wilson/|url-status=live}}</ref> Carl credited Chuck Berry, [[the Ventures]], and [[John Walker (musician)|John Walker]] with shaping his guitar style, and that the Beach Boys had learned to play all of the Ventures' songs by ear early in their career.<ref name="Hinsche">{{cite magazine|last1=Hinsche|first1=Billy|author-link1=Billy Hinsche|title=Carl Wilson Interview|magazine=[[Guitar One]]|url=http://www.billyhinsche.com/story4.html|date=November 2001|access-date=May 18, 2015|archive-date=August 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150824230014/http://www.billyhinsche.com/story4.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1967, [[Lou Reed]] wrote in ''[[Aspen (magazine)|Aspen]]'' that the Beach Boys created a "hybrid sound" out of old rock and the Four Freshmen, explaining that such songs as "Let Him Run Wild", "Don't Worry Baby", "I Get Around", and "Fun, Fun, Fun" were not unlike "Peppermint Stick" by the Elchords.{{sfn|Unterberger|2009|p=122}} Similarly, [[John Sebastian]] of [[the Lovin' Spoonful]] noted: "Brian had control of this vocal palette of which we had no idea. We had never paid attention to the Four Freshmen or doo-wop combos like [[the Crew Cuts]]. Look what gold he mined out of that."{{sfn|Dillon|2012|p=16}}

===Vocals===
Brian identified each member individually for their [[vocal range]], once detailing the ranges for Carl, Dennis, Jardine ("[they] progress upwards through G, A, and B"), Love ("can go from bass to the E above middle C"), and himself ("I can take the second D in the [[treble clef]]").<ref name="PopGenius"/>{{refn|group=nb|Starting with the 1970 sessions for the ''Surf's Up'' album, Stephen Desper remembers the emerging corrosive effects of Brian's incessant [[chain smoking]] and [[cocaine]] use: "He could still do falsettos and stuff, but he'd need Carl to help him. Either that or I'd modify the tape speed-wise to make it artificially higher, so it sounded like the old days."{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=160}}}} He declared in 1966 that his greatest interest was to expand modern vocal harmony, owing to his fascination with a voice to the Four Freshmen, which he considered a "groovy sectional sound".<ref name="PopGenius">{{cite magazine|title=Brian Pop Genius!|magazine=Melody Maker|date=May 21, 1966|url=http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd420/kwan_dk/MMMay211966.jpg|access-date=August 17, 2014|archive-date=December 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212161705/http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd420/kwan_dk/MMMay211966.jpg|url-status=live}}</ref> He added: "The harmonies that we are able to produce give us a uniqueness which is really the only important thing you can put into records – some quality that no one else has got. I love peaks in a song – and enhancing them on the control panel. Most of all, I love the human voice for its own sake."{{sfn|Moorefield|2010|p=17}}<ref name="PopGenius"/> For a period, Brian avoided singing falsetto for the group, saying: "I thought people thought I was a [[fairy (gay slang)|fairy]]&nbsp;... the band told me, 'If that's the way you sing, don't worry about it.'"<ref name=RCMSharp>{{cite magazine|last1=Sharp|first1=Ken|title=Christmas with Brian Wilson|magazine=[[Record Collector]]|date=January 2006|pages=72–76|location=United Kingdom}}</ref>

In the group's early recordings, from lowest [[interval (music)|intervals]] to highest, the group's vocal harmony stack usually began with Love or Dennis, followed by Jardine or Carl, and finally Brian on top, according to Jardine,<ref name=Sharp2013>{{cite web|last1=Sharp|first1=Ken|title=Al Jardine of the Beach Boys: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About "SMiLE" (Interview)|url=http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2013/04/02/al-jardine-smile-beach-boys-interview/|website=Rock Cellar Magazine|access-date=July 2, 2014|date=April 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714111352/http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2013/04/02/al-jardine-smile-beach-boys-interview/|archive-date=July 14, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> while Carl said that the blend was Love on bottom, Carl above, followed by Dennis or Jardine, and then Brian on top.<ref name="HimesSurf">{{cite web|last1=Himes|first1=Geoffrey|author-link=Geoffrey Himes|title=Surf Music|url=http://teachrock.org/media/essays/surf_himes_with_maia_edits_2.pdf|website=teachrock.org|publisher=Rock and Roll: An American History|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125223127/http://teachrock.org/media/essays/surf_himes_with_maia_edits_2.pdf|archive-date=November 25, 2015}}</ref> Jardine explains: "We always sang the same vocal intervals.&nbsp;... As soon as we heard the chords on the piano we'd figure it out pretty easily. If there was a vocal move [Brian] envisioned, he'd show that particular singer that move. We had somewhat photographic memory as far as the vocal parts were concerned so that [was] never a problem for us."<ref name=Sharp2013/> Striving for perfection, Brian insured that his intricate vocal arrangements exercised the group's calculated blend of [[intonation (music)|intonation]], [[attack (music)|attack]], [[phrase (music)|phrasing]], and [[musical expression|expression]].{{sfn|Moorefield|2010|pp=17–19}} Sometimes, he would sing each vocal harmony part alone through multi-track tape.{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=106}}

{{Quote box
|width=25em
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|quote=[Love] had a hand in a lot of the arrangements. He would bring out the funkier approaches, whether to go ''shoo-boo-bop'' or ''bom-bom-did-di-did-did''. It makes a big difference, because it can change the whole rhythm, the whole color and tone of it.
|source= — Carl Wilson{{sfn|McKeen|2017|p=131}}
}}
On the group's blend, Carl said: "[Love] has a beautifully rich, very full-sounding bass voice. Yet his lead singing is real nasal, real punk. [Jardine]'s voice has a bright timbre to it; it really cuts. My voice has a kind of calm sound. We're big oooh-ers; we love to oooh. It's a big, full sound, that's very pleasing to us; it opens up the heart."<ref name=HimesSurf/> Rock critic [[Erik Davis]] wrote: "The 'purity' of tone and genetic proximity that smoothed their voices was almost creepy, pseudo-[[castrato]], [and] a '[[barbershop music|barbershop]]' sound."<ref name="Davis1990">{{cite news|last=Davis |first=Erik |title=Look! Listen! Vibrate! SMILE! The Apollonian Shimmer of the Beach Boys |url=http://www.techgnosis.com/index_beach.html |access-date=January 14, 2014 |newspaper=LA Weekly |date=November 9, 1990 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204153729/http://www.techgnosis.com/index_beach.html |archive-date=December 4, 2014 }}</ref> [[Jimmy Webb]] said: "They used very little [[vibrato]] and sing in very straight tones. The voices all lie down beside each other very easily – there's no bumping between them because the pitch is very precise."{{sfn|Hoskyns|2009|p=65}} According to Brian, "[[Jack Good (producer)|Jack Good]] once told us, 'You sing like [[eunuch]]s in a [[Sistine Chapel]]', which was a pretty good quote."<ref name="PopGenius"/> Writer [[Richard Goldstein (writer born 1944)|Richard Goldstein]] reported that, according to a fellow journalist who asked Brian about the black roots of his music, Brian's response was: "We're white and we sing white." Goldstein added that when he asked where his approach to vocal harmonies had derived from, Wilson answered: 'Barbershop'."<ref name=GoldsteinSalon>{{cite web|last1=Goldstein|first1=Richard|author-link=Richard Goldstein (writer born 1944)|title=I got high with the Beach Boys: "If I survive this I promise never to do drugs again"|url=http://www.salon.com/2015/04/26/i_got_high_with_the_beach_boys_if_i_survive_this_i_promise_never_to_do_drugs_again/|website=[[Salon (magazine)|Salon]]|date=April 26, 2015|access-date=October 18, 2015|archive-date=November 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151110040136/http://www.salon.com/2015/04/26/i_got_high_with_the_beach_boys_if_i_survive_this_i_promise_never_to_do_drugs_again/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Use of studio musicians===
[[File:The Beach Boys TV.jpg|thumb|The Beach Boys performing in 1964]]
Biographer James Murphy said: "By most contemporary accounts, they were not a very good live band when they started.&nbsp;... The Beach Boys learned to play as a band in front of live audiences", eventually to become "one of the best and enduring live bands".<ref name=RCMMurphy>{{cite web|last1=Sharp|first1=Ken|date=November 6, 2011|title=Catch A Wave: A Chat with Beach Boys Author James B. Murphy|url=http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2015/11/06/becoming-the-beach-boys-author-james-b-murphy-interview/|work=Rock Cellar Magazine|access-date=October 17, 2019|archive-date=August 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802162621/https://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2015/11/06/becoming-the-beach-boys-author-james-b-murphy-interview/|url-status=live}}</ref> With only a few exceptions, the Beach Boys played every instrument heard on their first four albums and first five singles.{{sfn|Stebbins|2011}} It is the belief of [[Richie Unterberger]] that "Before session musicians took over most of the parts, the Beach Boys could play respectably gutsy surf rock as a self-contained unit."{{sfn|Bogdanov|Woodstra|Erlewine|2002|p=71}}

As Wilson's arrangements increased in complexity, he began employing a group of professional studio musicians, later known as "[[the Wrecking Crew (music)|the Wrecking Crew]]", to assist with recording the instrumentation on select tracks.{{sfn|Trynka|Bacon|1996|p=127}} According to some reports, these musicians then completely replaced the Beach Boys on the backing tracks to their records.{{sfn|Stebbins|2011}}<ref name="wong">{{cite web |last1=Wong |first1=Grant |date=January 3, 2022 |title=Brian Wilson Isn't the Type of Genius You Think He Is |url=https://slate.com/culture/2022/01/the-beach-boys-brian-wilson-documentary-genius-pet-sounds.html |website=Slate}}</ref> Much of the relevant documentation, while accounting for the attendance of unionized session players, had failed to record the presence of the Beach Boys themselves.<ref name="wong"/><ref name="SlowinskiMyth"/> These documents, along with the full unedited studio session tapes, were not available for public scrutiny until the 1990s.<ref name="SlowinskiMyth"/>

Wilson started occasionally employing members of the Wrecking Crew for certain Beach Boys tracks during the 1963 ''Surfer Girl'' sessions – specifically, on two songs, "Hawaii" and "Our Car Club".{{sfn|Dillon|2012|p=24}}{{sfn|Stebbins|2011}} The 1964 albums ''Shut Down Volume 2'' and ''All Summer Long'' featured the Beach Boys themselves playing the vast majority of the instruments while occasionally being augmented by outside musicians.{{sfn|Stebbins|2011}} It is commonly misreported that Dennis in particular was replaced by [[Hal Blaine]] on drums.<ref name="SlowinskiMyth"/><ref name=P4K2008>{{cite web|last1=Orme|first1=Mike|title=Pacific Ocean Blue: Legacy Edition|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11943-pacific-ocean-blue-legacy-edition/|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|date=July 8, 2008|access-date=April 21, 2020|archive-date=October 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029161757/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11943-pacific-ocean-blue-legacy-edition/|url-status=live}}</ref> Dennis's drumming is documented on a number of the group's singles, including 1964's "I Get Around", "Fun, Fun, Fun", and "Don't Worry Baby".<ref name="Slowinski2014b">{{cite AV media notes| title = Keep an Eye on Summer 1964 | others= The Beach Boys| year = 2014|first1=Alan|last1=Boyd|first2=Mark|last2=Linette|first3=Craig|last3=Slowinski|author-link1=Alan Boyd|author-link2=Mark Linett|publisher=[[Capitol Records]]|type=Digital Liner|url=http://www.thebeachboys.com/#?news=4111}} ([http://fridaynightboys300.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/the-beach-boys-1964-keep-eye-on-summer.html Mirror])</ref> Starting with the 1965 albums ''Today!'' and ''Summer Days'', Brian used the Wrecking Crew with greater frequency, "but still", Stebbins writes, "the Beach Boys continued to play the instruments on many of the key tracks and single releases".{{sfn|Stebbins|2011}}

Overall, the Beach Boys played the instruments on the majority of their recordings from the decade,<ref name="SlowinskiMyth"/> with 1966 and 1967 being the only years when Wilson used the Wrecking Crew almost exclusively.{{sfn|Stebbins|2011}}<ref name="SlowinskiMyth"/> ''Pet Sounds'' and ''Smile'' are their only albums in which the backing tracks were largely played by studio musicians.{{sfn|Stebbins|2011|pp=}}{{sfn|Dillon|2012|p=25}} After 1967, the band's use of studio musicians was considerably reduced.{{sfn|Stebbins|2011}} Wrecking Crew biographer [[Kent Hartman]] supported in [[The Wrecking Crew: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Best-Kept Secret|his 2012 book about the musicians]]: "Though [Brian Wilson] had for several months brought in various session players on a sporadic, potluck basis to supplement things, the other Beach Boys generally played on the earliest songs, too."{{sfn|Hartman|2012|p=59}}

The source of the longstanding controversy regarding the Beach Boys' use of studio musicians largely derives from a misinterpreted statement in David Leaf's 1978 biography ''[[The Beach Boys and the California Myth]]'', later bolstered by erroneous recollections from participants of the recording sessions.<ref name="SlowinskiMyth"/>{{refn|group=nb|The statement in question was: "from 1963 through 1966 Brian used studio musicians on the instrumental tracks".{{sfn|Leaf|1978|p=73}}<ref name="SlowinskiMyth"/>}} Starting in the 1990s, unedited studio session tapes, along with [[American Federation of Musicians]] (AFM) sheets and tape logs, were leaked to the public. Music historian Craig Slowinski, who contributes musician credits to the liner notes of the band's reissues and compilations, wrote in 2006: "[O]nce the vaults were opened up and the tapes were studied, the true situation became clear: the Boys themselves played ''most'' of the instruments on their records until the ''Beach Boys Today!'' album in early 1965."<ref name="SlowinskiMyth">{{cite web |last1=Slowinski |first1=Craig |title=Introduction |url=http://www.beachboysarchives.com/page2 |website=beachboysarchives.com |publisher=Endless Summer Quarterly |access-date=May 14, 2022 |date=2006}}</ref> Slowinski goes on to note: "when painting a picture of a Beach Boys recording session, it's important to examine ''both'' the AFM contracts and the session tapes, either of which may be incomplete on their own".<ref name="SlowinskiMyth"/>

During the period when Brian relied heavily on studio musicians, Carl was an exception among the Beach Boys in that he played alongside the studio musicians whenever he was available to attend sessions.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=114}} In Slowinski's view, "One should not sell short Carl's own contributions; the youngest Wilson had developed as a musician sufficiently to play alongside the horde of high-dollar session pros that big brother was now bringing into the studio. Carl's guitar playing [was] a key ingredient."<ref name="slowtoday">{{cite web |url=http://www.tiptopwebsite.com/custommusic2/craigslowinskicom.pdf#page=42 |title=The Beach Boys – The Beach Boys Today! |first=Craig |last=Slowinski |year=2007 |access-date=October 27, 2012 |archive-date=May 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504001719/http://www.tiptopwebsite.com/custommusic2/craigslowinskicom.pdf#page=42 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|Carl's lead and rhythm guitar playing is featured on several of the band's singles, including "I Get Around", "Fun, Fun, Fun", "Don't Worry Baby",<ref name="Slowinski2014">{{cite AV media notes|title=Keep an Eye on Summer 1964|others=The Beach Boys|year=2014|first1=Alan|last1=Boyd|first2=Mark|last2=Linette|first3=Craig|last3=Slowinski|author-link1=Alan Boyd|author-link2=Mark Linett|publisher=[[Capitol Records]]|type=Digital Liner|url=http://www.thebeachboys.com/#?news=4111|access-date=August 4, 2007|archive-date=April 30, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430192013/http://www.thebeachboys.com/discography.aspx#?news=4111|url-status=live}} ([http://fridaynightboys300.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/the-beach-boys-1964-keep-eye-on-summer.html Mirror] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304121004/http://fridaynightboys300.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/the-beach-boys-1964-keep-eye-on-summer.html |date=March 4, 2016 }})</ref> "When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)", "Do You Wanna Dance?", and "Dance, Dance, Dance".<ref name="slowtoday"/>}}

===Spirituality===
The band members often reflected on the spiritual nature of their music (and music in general), particularly for the recording of ''Pet Sounds'' and ''Smile''.{{sfn|Sellars|2015|pp=8–9}} Even though the Wilsons did not grow up in a particularly religious household,{{sfn|Sellars|2015|p=8}} Carl was described as "the most truly religious person I know" by Brian, and Carl was forthcoming about the group's spiritual beliefs stating: "We believe in God as a kind of [[universal consciousness]]. God is love. God is you. God is me. God is everything right here in this room. It's a spiritual concept which inspires a great deal of our music."{{sfn|Priore|2005|p=85}} Carl told ''Rave'' magazine in 1967 that the group's influences are of a "religious nature", but not any religion in specific, only "an idea based upon that of Universal Consciousness.&nbsp;... The spiritual concept of happiness and doing good to others is extremely important to the lyric of our songs, and the religious element of some of the better [[church music]] is also contained within some of our new work."<ref name=Rave1967>{{cite news|last1=Grant|first1=Mike|title='Our influences are of a religious nature': the Beach Boys on Smile|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/oct/11/beach-boys-smile-brian-wilson|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=October 11, 2011|access-date=December 13, 2016|archive-date=May 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170507035916/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/oct/11/beach-boys-smile-brian-wilson|url-status=live}}</ref>

Brian is quoted during the ''Smile'' era: "I'm very religious. Not in the sense of churches, going to church; but like the essence of ''all'' religion."{{sfn|Sellars|2015|p=8}} During the recording of ''Pet Sounds'', Brian held [[prayer meeting]]s, later reflecting that "God was with us the whole time we were doing this record&nbsp;... I could feel that feeling in my brain."{{sfn|Fusilli|2005|p=97}} In 1966, he explained that he wanted to move into a [[religious music|white spiritual sound]], and predicted that the rest of the music industry would follow suit.{{sfn|Sanchez|2014|p=94}} In 2011, Brian maintained the spirituality was important to his music, and that he did not follow any particular religion.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Yakas|first1=Ben|title=Our Ten Minutes With Beach Boys Legend Brian Wilson|url=http://gothamist.com/2011/10/27/brian_wilson.php|date=October 27, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725054715/http://gothamist.com/2011/10/27/brian_wilson.php|archive-date=July 25, 2015}}</ref>

Carl said that ''Smile'' was chosen as an album title because of its connection to the group's spiritual beliefs.<ref name=Rave1967/> Brian referred to ''Smile'' as his "teenage symphony to God",{{sfn|Sanchez|2014|p=4}} composing a [[hymn]], "[[Our Prayer]]", as the album's opening spiritual invocation.{{sfn|Lambert|2007|pp=41, 270}} Experimentation with [[psychotropic]] substances also proved pivotal to the group's development as artists.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Griffiths|first1=David|title=Dennis Wilson: "I Live With 17 Girls"|magazine=Record Mirror|date=December 21, 1968}}</ref>{{sfn|Howard|2004|p=58}} He spoke of his LSD trips as a "religious experience", and during a session for "Our Prayer", Brian can be heard asking the other Beach Boys: "Do you guys feel any acid yet?".{{sfn|Sanchez|2014|pp=94, 116}} In 1968, the group's interest in [[transcendental meditation]] led them to record the original song, "[[Transcendental Meditation (song)|Transcendental Meditation]]".{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=215}}