| "Let's Go to Heaven in My Car" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Brian Wilson | ||||
| B-side | "Too Much Sugar" | |||
| Released | March 1987 | |||
| Recorded | 1986 | |||
| Length | 3:38 | |||
| Label | Sire | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Brian Wilson, Gary Usher | |||
| Producer(s) | Brian Wilson, Gary Usher | |||
| Brian Wilson singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Let's Go to Heaven in My Car" is a song by American musician Brian Wilson from the 1987 film Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol . It was written by Wilson and Gary Usher.
"Let's Go to Heaven in My Car" was written by Brian Wilson and Gary Usher. It is a reworked version of one of Wilson's unreleased songs, "Water Builds Up", which shares similar verses. Wilson later said that he preferred "Water Builds Up", remarking that "Let's Go to Heaven in My Car" was only good for its title. [1]
Sire Records producer Andy Paley, who had been recruited as the co-producer of Wilson's first solo album, played on "Let's Go to Heaven in My Car" and another song from around the same period. He remembered of the recording,
I played piano and drums and sang on both [songs]. Brian did tons of vocals and stuff on synthesizers. And Dick Dale was there to. Gary Usher was producing. Brian and Gary were definitely checking me out. Trying to see what I was capable of. Very soon after that, work began on the Sire album. [2]
Released as a single in March 1987, "Let's Go to Heaven in My Car" (backed with "Too Much Sugar") was Wilson's first solo record since 1966. [3] An alternate mix of the song appeared on the Police Academy 4 soundtrack album. [3]
In 2000, the song was included as a bonus track on a reissue of Wilson's first solo album, Brian Wilson (1988). [1]
"Let's Go to Heaven in My Car" was nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song for its inclusion in Police Academy 4. [4] Biographer David Leaf wrote, "To this fan, both the 1986 Usher-era demo of 'Let’s Go To Heaven' and the 1990 unreleased recording of 'Water Builds Up' are superior to this single, a result that is unfortunately very typical of much of Brian Wilson’s recording career of the past quarter century." [1]
"Let's Go to Heaven in My Car" was covered and can be heard at Linnstrumental Studios on ReverbNation.
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and mastery of recording techniques, he is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and significant songwriters of the 20th century. His best-known work is distinguished for its high production values, complex harmonies and orchestrations, layered vocals, and introspective or ingenuous themes. Wilson is also known for his formerly high-ranged singing and lifelong struggles with mental illness.
Bruce Arthur Johnston is an American singer, musician, and songwriter who is a member of the Beach Boys. He also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher and composed the 1975 Barry Manilow hit, "I Write the Songs".
Dennis Carl Wilson was an American musician who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best remembered as their drummer and as the middle brother of bandmates Brian and Carl Wilson. Dennis was the only true surfer in the Beach Boys, and his personal life exemplified the "California Myth" that the band's early songs often celebrated. He was also known for his association with the Manson Family and for co-starring in the 1971 film Two-Lane Blacktop.
Surfin' Safari is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released October 1, 1962 on Capitol Records. The official production credit went to Nick Venet, though it was Brian Wilson with his father Murry who contributed substantially to the album's production; Brian also wrote or co-wrote nine of its 12 tracks. The album reached number 32 in the US during a chart stay of 37 weeks.
20/20 is the 15th studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released February 10, 1969 on Capitol Records. The LP was named for being their 20th overall release when factoring in live albums and compilations. Much of 20/20 consists of outtakes from earlier albums. It reached number 3 on UK record charts and number 68 in the U.S. Brian Wilson was absent during most of the album's recording after admitting himself into a psychiatric hospital, requiring brothers Carl and Dennis to retrieve several outtakes he had recorded years earlier. While Brian does not appear on the front cover, the inner gatefold of the original vinyl release features him alone, behind an eye examination chart.
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Curtis Roy Boettcher, sometimes credited as Curt Boetcher or Curt Becher, was an American singer, songwriter, arranger, musician, and record producer from Wisconsin. He was a pivotal figure in what is now termed "sunshine pop", working with the Association, the Millennium, Sagittarius, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Tommy Roe, Elton John, Gene Clark, Emitt Rhodes, Tandyn Almer, the Beach Boys, and others.
Still Cruisin' is the twenty-sixth studio album by the Beach Boys, their thirty-fifth official album, and their last release of the 1980s. It is also the last album of new material released during a brief return to Capitol Records.
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The Honeys were an American girl group, formed in Los Angeles in 1958, that initially comprised sisters Marilyn, Diane, and Barbara Rovell. Barbara was later replaced by their cousin, Ginger Blake. After 1962, the Rovell Sisters were rechristened "the Honeys" by the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, who envisioned the group as a female counterpart to his band. Wilson served as the Honeys' record producer and chief songwriter, and later married Marilyn in late 1964.
Gary Lee Usher was an American rock musician, songwriter, and record producer, who worked with numerous California acts in the 1960s, including the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and Dick Dale. Usher also produced fictitious surf groups or hot rod groups, mixing studio session musicians with his own troops. These bands included the Super Stocks ; the Kickstands; the Hondells with their No. 9 US pop single "Little Honda"; and others.
Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford is an American singer who is best known as the first wife of Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson. She was also a member of two girl groups, the Honeys in the 1960s and American Spring in the 1970s.
"In My Room" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Gary Usher for the American rock band the Beach Boys. It was released on their 1963 album Surfer Girl. It was also released as the B-side of the "Be True to Your School" single. The single peaked at number 23 in the U.S. and was eventually inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. "In My Room" was ranked number 212 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
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The California sound is a popular music aesthetic that originates with American pop and rock recording artists from Southern California in the early 1960s. At first, it was conflated with the California myth, an idyllic setting inspired by the state's beach culture that commonly appeared in the lyrics of commercial pop songs. Later, the sound was expanded outside its initial geography and subject matter and was developed to be more sophisticated, often featuring studio experimentation.
California Music was an American rock supergroup that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1974. It was originally a loose collective of studio musicians, with participation from Bruce Johnston, Terry Melcher, Gary Usher, Curt Boettcher, Dean Torrence, and Brian Wilson. Equinox Records released three singles by the group from 1974 to 1976, after which the band went inactive. In 2021, the group was reformed by members of the Beach Boys and their children. Omnivore Recordings released their first album: California Music Presents Add Some Music.
Many recordings and performances by the Beach Boys have attained some level of public circulation without being available as a legal release, and several albums by the band or its members were fully assembled or near completion, before being shelved, rejected, or revised as an entirely new project. Since the early 1980s, numerous rarities compilations and album reissues have been released with studio outtakes included as bonus tracks.
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