I have the single of this somewhere and thanks to my old school friend drummer Malcolm Curtis who was a huge Beach Boys fan, I did buy this when it came out and this single above many others was what convinced me that pop music could be as important as the classical music I grew up surrounded by . . . . . . . . 

 . . . . . .something was definitely happening!

On this day in music history: February 17, 1966 - The Beach Boys begin recording “Good Vibrations” at United/Western Recorders in Hollywood, CA. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it is the twentieth single for the legendary pop band from Hawthorne, CA. The inspiration for “Good Vibrations” has its origins in a conversation that Wilson has with his mother Audree as a child, who tells him that dogs bark at some people and not at others because of the “vibrations” they sense coming from them. the initial recording session has Wilson working with members of The Wrecking Crew cutting twenty six takes of the instrumental track. Seventeen more sessions at three other recording studios take place over the next six months as the song is refined. The end product generates over 90 hours of tape and cost an unprecedented $50,000. At the time of its October 1966 release, “Good Vibrations” is the most expensive single ever recorded. First issued as a stand alone single, it is intended to be the cornerstone of the album “Smile” which is originally scheduled for release in early 1967. However, Brian Wilson’s fragile emotional state, exacerbated by drug use and inner band conflict over the direction of the project, lead to the album being shelved until 2011. “The Smile Sessions” deluxe box set edition devotes an entire disc to “Good Vibrations” as a work in progress, as well as an including an alternate stereo mix of the song on the first disc. Part of the recording sessions for the landmark single are also recreated in the film “Love And Mercy” in 2014. 

TURN IT UP!