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David Gilmour’s opinion on The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson
David Gilmour was born in Cambridge, England back in 1946 and started his musical career in 1963 when a musical revolution was already happening with bands like The Beach Boys, which was formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961.
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Although Gilmour wrote more Progressive Rock material during his career, he was influenced by many different kinds of music. Over the decades he gave his opinion on many groups, including The Beach Boys. So Rock and Roll Garage selected what the musician said about the Californian group.
What is David Gilmour’s opinion on The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson
The Beach Boys are not only a band that influenced David Gilmour, especially when he was young, but also is one of his favorite groups. As pointed by Brian Wilson‘s official website, Gilmour said the American musician was brilliant and a person who mastered the art of songwriting and much more. He gave this speech when he inducted Brian into the UK Music Hall of Fame
“Even in those very early days of the Beach Boys, songs like “In My Room” and “Don’t Worry Baby” were giving indications that Brian Wilson wanted to paint with a much more colorful palette than was offered by the surf music that he was so adept at. His brilliance leapt from strength to strength over a very short period. In a little over four years, he mastered the art of songwriting, record production, orchestral arrangements and every form of studio trickery to culminate with the wonderful songs on Pet Sounds,” David Gilmour said.
David Gilmour played a lot of Beach Boys’ songs in his early bands
Gilmour not only liked to listen to the American band, he also played many of their songs in his early bands. He recalled that in an interview with BBC Radio 2 in 2006 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).
“I love the Beach Boys. My early band in Cambridge when I was a teenager, we did a lot of Beach Boys songs. But I didn’t wanna play one of the too surfy ones. I just love the place that Brian Wilson got to, (when he came out) of all that Surf Music. Some of these moments are just sublime. ‘God Only Knows’ is one of the best things. It’s so beautifully constructed. So meaningful as well,” David Gilmour said.
Gilmour has always been a huge fan of the Beach Boys and he even covered many of their songs when he was a member of another band before Pink Floyd. In an interview with BBC Radio 2 in 2006, he revealed that “God Only Knows” is one of his favorite songs of all time. That track curiously is also Paul McCartney‘s favorite of them.
(Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) “I love the Beach Boys. My early band in Cambridge when I was a teenager, we did a lot of Beach Boys songs. But I didn’t wanna play one of the the too surfy ones. I just love the place that Brian Wilson got to. (When he came out) of all that Surf Music. Some of these moments are just sublime. ‘God Only Knows’ is one of the best things. It’s so beautifully constructed. So meaningful as well,” David Gilmour said.
