Good Vibrations

"Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys, produced and composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. Released as a single on October 10, 1966, it achieved immediate critical and commercial success, topping the charts in several countries, including the United States and United Kingdom. Promoted as a "pocket symphony" for its complexity and episodic structure, the record had an unprecedented production and expanded the boundaries of popular music, elevating its recognition as an art form and revolutionizing standard practices in studio recording. It is considered one of the greatest works of rock, pop, and psychedelia.

Wilson was inspired by the concept of extrasensory perception, Phil Spector's production of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", and recreational drugs, possibly including LSD, in creating the song. He produced dozens of music fragments (or "modules") with his bandmates and over 30 session musicians across four Hollywood studios from February to September 1966. Over 90 hours of tape was consumed, with production costs estimated in the tens of thousands of dollars, making it the costliest and longest-to-record pop single at the time. The resulting track subverted traditional songwriting conventions through its use of development, a process normally associated with classical music, and abrupt shifts in texture and mood.

One of the most influential pop recordings in history, "Good Vibrations" advanced the role of the studio as an instrument and effectively launched the progressive pop genre, heralding a wave of pop experimentation and the onset of psychedelic and progressive rock. The track incorporated a novel mix of instruments, including cello and Electro-Theremin; although the latter is not a true theremin, the song's use of the instrument spurred renewed interest in theremins and synthesizers. The flower power-inspired lyrics reinforced the Beach Boys' association with the 1960s counterculture, while the phrase "good vibes", originally a niche slang term, entered mainstream usage.

"Good Vibrations" received numerous industry awards and accolades and is frequently listed on many "greatest of all time" polls and rankings. Its success emboldened Wilson to pursue increasingly avant-garde directions and create more modularly assembled songs, culminating in the unfinished album Smile and follow-up single "Heroes and Villains". Despite his objections to its inclusion, "Good Vibrations" instead appeared on the 1967 release Smiley Smile. A 1976 cover version by Todd Rundgren reached number 34 on U.S. charts.