Today: God Only Knows by the Beach Boys
This song is a little different in theme than other Beach Boy songs, that were mainly about girls, cars and of course surfing. It reflects Brian Wilsons interest in spirituality, (which is described as a Universal Consciousness, or Eternal Love). The world God in the title almost got it banned from the radio, because in this time they would play songs with God in the title. That is why they released it on the B-side in the U.S. In Europe it was released as an A-side, and this is when it hit the charts.
Brian Wilson wrote this song together with Tony Asher, who was an advertising copywriter and it took only 15 minutes to compose it. When Paul McCartney told Brian it was the most beautiful song he’d ever heard he locked himself in his house for a couple of days. The french horn was played by Alan Robinson (known from for example the Sound of Music). His brother Carl was the leadsinger.
Original recording: The song was taken from the group's album Pet Sounds, recorded in 1966 and recorded by Capitol Records.