"Solar System" | ||||
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Single by the Beach Boys | ||||
from the album The Beach Boys Love You | ||||
A-side | "Honkin' Down the Highway" | |||
Released | May 30, 1977 | |||
Recorded | October 1976 – January 1977 | |||
Length | 2:47 | |||
Label | Brother | |||
Songwriter(s) | Brian Wilson | |||
Producer(s) | Brian Wilson | |||
The Beach Boys singles chronology | ||||
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"Solar System" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1977 album The Beach Boys Love You . It was written and sung by Brian Wilson. [1] [2] The lyrics discuss the Solar System in a similar vein as the band's 1965 hit "California Girls". [3] In "Solar System", the narrator asks, "What do the planets mean? / And have you ever seen / sunrise in the mornin'? / It shined when you were born". [3]
Wilson stated in a 1977 interview that he conceived some of the lyrics while driving to a parents' meeting at his daughters' school. He explained that he had looked up at the sky and started thinking about the Solar System. "It's just something that came into my mind. Later on, I developed it into the song; I didn't come up with the title that night but I wrote the words in the car." [4] In 1995, he gave a similar account and added that, when he got home, he finished the song on his piano, exclaiming, "This is a gr-eat song! These lyrics are great. This melody is great. (whistles) I've got a beauty here!" He then named it one of his favorites on The Beach Boys Love You, adding, "When I'm 90, I'm gonna be as proud of that song as I am now." [5]
In 2007, Wilson offered a different recollection of the song's genesis, saying that the song was written in his head while he was attending a weekly astrology class at UCLA. [6]
Trish Campo, former chief administrator of Brother Studios recalled Brian at the studio sitting at a Hammond B3 organ, absently gazing at the giant circular stained glass window over him depicting planets and stars. Later that afternoon, Campo heard "Solar System" coming out of the studio. [3]
Music critic Robert Christgau praised "Solar System" as "impossible to shake", and characterized by a "silliness that registered as charming". [7]
Brian Wilson Presents Smile is the fifth studio album by American musician Brian Wilson, released on September 28, 2004 on Nonesuch. It features all-new recordings of music that he had originally created for Smile, an unfinished album by the Beach Boys that he abandoned in 1967. Revisiting Smile was an intense emotional undertaking for Wilson, as he had been deeply traumatized by the circumstances that had originally surrounded the project.
Sunflower is the sixteenth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on August 31, 1970, and their first on Reprise Records. It received favorable reviews, but sold poorly, reaching number 151 on the US record charts during a four-week stay and becoming the lowest-charting Beach Boys album to that point. "Add Some Music to Your Day" was the only single that charted in the US, peaking at number 64. In the UK, the album peaked at number 29.
"California Girls" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album, Summer Days . Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the lyrics detail an appreciation for women across the world and a wish that they all lived in the band's home state, California. It was released as a single, backed with "Let Him Run Wild", and reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also a top 10 hit in several other countries, becoming one of the band's most successful songs globally.
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.
Holland is the 19th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released January 8, 1973 on Brother/Reprise. It is their first album recorded without Bruce Johnston since 1965, their second with Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar, and their final studio album created under the de facto leadership of Carl Wilson and manager Jack Rieley. The LP was originally packaged with a bonus EP, Mount Vernon and Fairway, which consisted of a 12-minute fairy tale written and produced by Brian and Carl Wilson.
15 Big Ones is the 20th studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released July 5, 1976 on Brother/Reprise. It includes a mix of original songs and renditions of rock 'n' roll and R&B standards. The LP was the band's first album with production credited solely to Brian Wilson since Pet Sounds (1966). As such, its release was accompanied by a controversial media campaign that declared his comeback as an active member of the Beach Boys' recording and touring group.
The Beach Boys Love You is the 21st studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released April 11, 1977 on Brother/Reprise. Sometimes referred to as the band's "punk" or "synth pop" album, Love You is distinguished for its pioneering use of synthesizers and its juxtaposition of adolescent-oriented lyrics with the adult band members' rough vocals.
M.I.U. Album is the 22nd studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on September 25, 1978. Characterized for its easy-listening sound, the album was produced by Al Jardine and touring member Ron Altbach during one of the most acrimonious periods in the band's history. It sold poorly, peaking at number 151 in the U.S, and was met with confused reactions from critics and fans.
The Beach Boys is the 25th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on June 10, 1985. Produced by Steve Levine, the album is the band's first after the drowning of founding member Dennis Wilson. The album saw the band incorporate 1980's contemporary musical styles into their own sound and was intended to be a "comeback" for the band. It was also the band's first album to be recorded digitally and the last released by James William Guercio's Caribou Records.
Brian Wilson is the first solo album by American musician Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, released July 12, 1988 by Sire and Reprise Records. Promoted as a spiritual successor to his band's 1966 release Pet Sounds, the album is characterized for its rich, synthesizer-heavy orchestrations. It cost over $1 million to record and was the first album produced by Wilson since The Beach Boys Love You (1977). His former psychologist, Eugene Landy, was credited as "executive producer".
"Sail On, Sailor" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1973 album Holland. It was written primarily by Van Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson with Ray Kennedy, Tandyn Almer, and Jack Rieley. The lead singer on the song is Blondie Chaplin, making this one of the band's few well-known songs not sung by Mike Love, Brian Wilson, or Carl Wilson. The song was released as a single in 1973, backed with "Only with You", and peaked at number 79 on the American singles charts. A 1975 reissue charted higher, at number 49.
"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.
"Help Me, Rhonda" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys, appearing first on their 1965 album The Beach Boys Today! and subsequently in re-recorded form on the following 1965 album Summer Days . It was written by Brian Wilson, with additional lyrics by Mike Love. Unlike many other songs by the band from this period, "Help Me, Rhonda" features a lead vocal sung by Al Jardine.
"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.
"Do It Again" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was released as single on July 8, 1968. It was written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love as a self-conscious callback to the group's earlier surf image, which they had not embraced since 1964. Love and Wilson also share the lead vocal on the song.
"Ding Dang" 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 Roger McGuinn during an impromptu jam session after Wilson had visited McGuinn's home to acquire amphetamines.
Spring is the only album by American pop duo Spring, released in July 1972 on United Artists. It contains cover versions of popular songs as well as original material written or co-written by Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. Although Brian is the album's only credited producer, most of the production was actually handled by his collaborator at the time, David Sandler, alongside engineer Stephen Desper.
Adult/Child is an unreleased studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was produced in early 1977. Similar to their previous effort, The Beach Boys Love You, the album was essentially a solo effort by the band's chief songwriter and producer, Brian Wilson. It consists of seven new songs, four of which feature orchestral arrangements by Dick Reynolds, along with five older tracks that had been unreleased by the band. Lyric topics range from healthy diets and exercise to shaving a tomboy's legs and waiting at a movie theater queue. Some of the tracks, including "It's Over Now" and "Still I Dream of It", were originally written to be recorded by a singer such as Frank Sinatra.
"Surfin' U.S.A." is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys, credited to Chuck Berry and Brian Wilson. It is a rewritten version of Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" set to new lyrics penned by Wilson and an uncredited Mike Love. The song was released as a single on March 4, 1963, backed with "Shut Down". It was then placed as the opening track on their album of the same name.