The Beach Boys' Christmas Album is the seventh studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released November 9, 1964 on Capitol Records. It contains five original songs and seven standards on a Christmas theme. The album proved to be a long-running success during subsequent Christmas seasons, initially reaching No. 6 on Billboard's Christmas LP's chart in its initial release and eventually going gold. Music historian James Perone wrote that it is "regarded as one of the finest holiday albums of the rock era".
The Beach Boys Today! is the eighth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released March 8, 1965, by Capitol Records. It signaled a departure from their previous records with its orchestral sound, intimate subject matter, and abandonment of car or surf songs. Side one features an uptempo sound, while side two consists mostly of introspective ballads. Supported by this thematic approach, the record established the group as album artists rather than just a singles band. It has since become regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time.
All Summer Long is the sixth album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released July 13, 1964 on Capitol Records. Regarded as their first artistically unified collection of songs, as well as one of the first true concept albums, it marked the Beach Boys' first LP that was not focused on themes of cars or surfing. Instead, the songs are semi-autobiographical and relate to the experiences of a typical Southern Californian teenager, a theme encapsulated by the title track, "All Summer Long", and the often-imitated front cover, a modernist style photo collage depicting the band members fraternizing with young women on a beach.
"Wouldn't It Be Nice" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys and the opening track from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Written by Brian Wilson, Tony Asher, and Mike Love, it is distinguished for its sophisticated Wall of Sound-style arrangement and refined vocal performances, and is regarded among the band's finest songs. With its juxtaposition of joyous-sounding music and melancholic lyrics, it is considered a formative work of power pop, and with respect to musical innovation, progressive pop.
"I Know There's an Answer" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Written by Brian Wilson, Terry Sachen, and Mike Love, the song was inspired by Wilson's experience with the drug LSD and his struggle with ego death. Musically, it is distinguished for its colorful arrangement, unorthodox structure, and bass harmonica solo. The instrumentation also includes guitars, tambourine, tack piano, banjo, clarinets, flutes, electric keyboards, and timpani. Wilson, Love, and Al Jardine trade the lead vocal, for which the melody spans two octaves.
"You Still Believe in Me" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Initially conceived as "In My Childhood", it was the first songwriting collaboration between Brian Wilson, the group's de facto leader, and songwriter Tony Asher. Wilson sang the lead vocal.
"Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, it is a ballad about nonverbal communication between lovers. Musically, the song is distinguished for its chromaticism, the use of a string sextet, and its key ambiguity. It is among the most harmonically complex songs that Wilson ever composed.
"That's Not Me" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, it is distinguished for its sophisticated harmonic structure and its sudden shifts in mood and instrumental textures. Owing to its relatively sparse orchestration, it is the track on Pet Sounds that most closely resembles a conventional rock song.
"Don't Worry Baby" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their March 1964 album Shut Down Volume 2. Written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian, Wilson's lead vocal on the track is considered one of his defining performances, and he later referred to "Don't Worry Baby" as perhaps the Beach Boys' finest record. It was issued in May 1964 as the B-side of "I Get Around", and charted separately at number 24.
"Here Today" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, the lyric warns the listener of inevitable heartbreak before the narrator reveals himself to be the ex-boyfriend of the listener's newfound love. Musically, the song features an uncommon formal structure, the use of electric bass guitar as a lead instrument, and a 20-bar length instrumental break.
"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.
"When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album The Beach Boys Today!. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was first issued as a single on August 24, 1964, paired with the B-side "She Knows Me Too Well". It peaked at number 9 in the U.S., number 27 in the UK, and number 1 in Canada.
"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, it was their only collaboration that resulted in a love song, telling the story of a young girl's sexual awakening and its disruption of her devotion to God and her parents.
"All I Wanna Do" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1970 album Sunflower. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the dreamlike production quality was created through liberal use of overdubbing, reverb and delay effects. It was influential to the development of lo-fi music and pioneered sounds that became associated with the shoegaze, dream pop, and chillwave music genres.
"Good to My Baby" is a song composed by Brian Wilson with words by Mike Love for the American rock band The Beach Boys.
"Had to Phone Ya" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1976 album 15 Big Ones. It was written by Brian Wilson, his sister-in-law Diane Rovell, and Mike Love. The song was issued as the B-side to their single "It's O.K.". An earlier recording by the group American Spring was included as a bonus track on a later reissue of the album Spring (1972).
"I Get Around" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys and the opening track from their 1964 album All Summer Long. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the autobiographical lyrics describe the group's reaction to their newfound fame and success, as well as their restlessness concerning the status quo, and their desire to find new places "where the kids are hip". It was released as a single on May 11, 1964, with the B-side "Don't Worry Baby".
"Look" is an incomplete musical piece that was composed by American musician Brian Wilson for the Beach Boys' aborted Smile album. Wilson produced the backing track at the start of the Smile sessions in August 1966. It is theorized that a missing session tape may have contained a vocal track that he recorded with his bandmates in October.
"Guess I'm Dumb" is a song recorded by American singer Glen Campbell that was released as his seventh single on Capitol Records on June 7, 1965. Written by Brian Wilson and Russ Titelman, it is a love song that describes a man who regrets ending a relationship after he realizes he still harbors deep feelings for his former lover. The single failed to chart.
"I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, the lyrics describe the disillusionment of someone who struggles to fit into society. Musically, it is distinguished for its melodic bass guitar, layered vocals, and Electro-Theremin solo, marking the first time the instrument was used in popular music and the first time theremin-like sounds were used on a rock record.
