The piece of music Brian Wilson said is the best he ever wrote

One of the most influential and praised musicians of all time, Brian Wilson was the mastermind behind almost all The Beach Boys best-selling albums. Without him, the American band would have never released albums like “Pet Sounds” (1966), which revolutionized music and inspired even The Beatles.

His groundbreaking songwriting vision showed the worldc that a lot more could be done in music and paved the way for future generations. So many incredible songs were written by him but there is one that Wilson thinks is the best.

The piece of music Brian Wilson said is the best he ever wrote

“God Only Knows” and “Wouldn’t Be Nice” could be the choices of most of his fans. But Brian believes, as he told Capitol Records that “California Girls” was actually the best piece of music he wrote.

“Everybody was up (in the studio). The whole gang was there. It became my favorite session. The intro to this song is the greatest piece of music that I’ve ever written. I was looking for an introduction that would be totally different from the rest of the song but would lead into it. The song was a big record for us, but I really never liked anything but the intro.”

He also talked about the song with Los Angeles Times, saying: “It was special, I knew that would become the theme song of the Beach Boys. It’s an anthem. That song went to №3 in the country. I think if anything, that song speaks louder than ever. Everyone knows about ‘California Girls’, and that song is the reason.”

He loves the bass lines and lyrics of the song

The bass lines played by Carol Kaye and lyrics written by him and Mike Love, are two important elements for Brian. He revealed that in an interview Scott Simon in 2016.

“Yeah, ‘California Girls.’ It’s my favorite because of the bass. The bass line and the lyrics. I thought the lyrics were pretty good.” Another interesting fact about the tune is that the German classical composer Johann Sebastian Bach was also an influence when he wrote the music.

“The idea of ‘California Girls’ is that there’s this guy who thinks about girls all the time, so much that he starts to imagine all kinds. But there’s only one kind he really wants, and that’s the kind that’s right there at home.”

He continued:

“The music started off like those old cowboy movies, when the hero’s riding slowly into the town, bum-ba-dee-dah. I was playing that at the piano after an acid trip. I played it until I almost couldn’t hear what I was playing. Then I saw the melody hovering over the piano part,” Brian Wilson said in his biography “I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir”.

Released in 1965, “California Girls” was featured on The Beach Boys album “Summer Days (And Summer Nights!)”. The lyrics were inspired by the band’s experiences during their first tour in Europe. The track is credited to Brian Wilson and his cousin/singer Mike Love, who is the lead vocalist in the song.

The famous “Wrecking Crew” was responsible for the recording of the song. For example, Hal Blaine played the drums and Carol Kaye the bass. At the time, also released as a single, the track peaked at number 3 on the United States Billboard Hot 100.