Smiley Smile is the twelfth studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on September 18, 1967. It reached number 9 on UK record charts, but sold poorly in the US, peaking at number 41—the band's lowest chart placement to that point. Critics and fans generally received the album and its lead single, "Heroes and Villains", with confusion and disappointment. "Good Vibrations" and "Gettin' Hungry" were also released as singles, but the former was issued a year earlier, while the latter was not credited to the band.
Wild Honey is the thirteenth studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released December 18, 1967 on Capitol Records. It was the group's first foray into soul music and was heavily influenced by the R&B of artists such as Stevie Wonder. The album was the band's worst-selling at that point, charting at number 24 in the US. Lead single "Wild Honey" peaked at number 31, while its follow-up "Darlin'" reached number 19. In the UK, the album peaked at number seven.
Friends is the fourteenth studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on June 24, 1968, through Capitol Records. The album is characterized by its calm and peaceful atmosphere, which contrasted the prevailing music trends of the time, and for its brevity, with five of its 12 tracks running less than two minutes long. It sold poorly, peaking at number 126 on the Billboard charts, the group's lowest U.S. chart performance to date, although it reached number 13 in the UK. Fans generally came to regard the album as one of the band's finest.
"Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966 and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record charts in several countries including the United States and the United Kingdom. Characterized by its complex soundscapes, episodic structure and subversions of pop music formula, it was the most expensive single ever recorded. "Good Vibrations" later became widely acclaimed as one of the finest and most important works of the rock era.
"Heroes and Villains" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Smiley Smile and their unfinished Smile project. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, Wilson envisioned the song as an Old West-themed musical comedy that would surpass the recording and artistic achievements of "Good Vibrations". The single was Brother Records' first release and failed to meet critical and commercial expectations, although it was a hit record, peaking at number 12 in the U.S. and number 8 in the UK.
"Surf's Up" is a song recorded by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks. It was originally intended for Smile, an unfinished Beach Boys album that was scrapped in 1967. The song was later completed by Brian and Carl Wilson as the closing track of the band's 1971 album Surf's Up.
"Wonderful" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Smiley Smile and their unfinished Smile project. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, the song tells the story of a young girl's sexual awakening and its disruption of her devotion to God and her parents. It was the only "boy-girl" song they wrote for Smile.
"Darlin'" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Wild Honey. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was inspired by singer Danny Hutton and was originally intended to be recorded by an early version of Three Dog Night. Carl Wilson ultimately sang the lead vocal.
"Do You Remember?" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on their 1964 album All Summer Long. The song is a minor rewrite of "The Big Beat", an earlier composition Wilson had written for Bob & Sheri in 1963. Both songs are tributes to 1950s rock and roll, referencing performers such as Buddy Holly and Hank Ballard.
"Wind Chimes" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Smiley Smile and their unfinished Smile project. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, it was inspired by wind chimes hanging outside Wilson's home and was one of the first pieces tracked for the Smile sessions.
"Honkin' Down the Highway" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1977 album The Beach Boys Love You. It was written by Brian Wilson and sung by Al Jardine. The lyrics describe a man driving to a woman, at her father's behest, for an engagement that the narrator states will conclude with himself "Takin' one little inch at a time, now / 'Til we're feelin' fine, now".
"The Little Girl I Once Knew" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was issued as a standalone single on November 22, 1965. Written and produced by Brian Wilson, it was recorded during the making of the band's 1966 album Pet Sounds.
"Can't Wait Too Long" is a song written by Brian Wilson for the American rock band the Beach Boys. The song dates from 1967, and remains unfinished by the group. In 2008, a newly recorded "Can't Wait Too Long" was released for Wilson's solo album That Lucky Old Sun.
"Fire" is an instrumental by American musician Brian Wilson that he originally composed for the Beach Boys' never-finished album Smile. Named after Catherine O'Leary and the Great Chicago Fire, the track was originally conceptualized as part of "The Elements", a four-part movement based on the four classical elements: Air, Fire, Earth, and Water. Wilson's friends, family, and colleagues later referred to its recording as heralding his period of psychosis and the unraveling of the Smile project.
"Do You Like Worms?" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their never-finished album Smile. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, the song is about the recolonization of the American continent and contains lyrical references to the Sandwich Islands and "Bicycle Rider Back" playing cards. None of the lyrics appear to mention worms; asked about the title, Parks said he could not remember where it came from.
"Love to Say Dada" is an unfinished song that was written by American musician Brian Wilson for the Beach Boys' Smile project. It spells LSD in its initials and was one of the last tracks recorded for the album. The song subsequently evolved into "Cool, Cool Water" from Sunflower (1970).
Beach Boys Studio was a private recording studio owned by the Beach Boys. It was located within Brian Wilson's home at 10452 Bellagio Road in Los Angeles. Six of the band's albums were recorded there in addition to his "Bedroom Tapes". In 1972, the studio was dismantled and later succeeded by Brother Studios in Santa Monica, California.
Smile is an unfinished album by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was planned to follow their 11th studio album, Pet Sounds (1966). It was to be a 12-track LP, with each track edited together from interchangeable fragments, similar to the group's 1966 single "Good Vibrations". Instead, after a year of recording, the album was shelved and the group released a downscaled version, Smiley Smile, in September 1967. Over the next four decades, few of the original Smile tracks were officially released, and the project came to be regarded as the most legendary unreleased album in popular music history.
Lei'd in Hawaii is an unfinished live album by American rock band the Beach Boys that was produced shortly after the completion of their 1967 studio album Smiley Smile. It was initially planned to include the band's first live concert performances since their tour of Europe in May 1967.
