Quiz: Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys

Here are five questions celebrating the life and work of the late singer-songwriter

1. What was the name of The Beach Boys’ groundbreaking 1966 album that featured complex harmonies and studio experimentation?
A) Surfin’ Safari
B) Pet Sounds
C) Smile
D) Endless Summer

2. Which Beach Boys song featured an instrument called the electro-theremin?
A) California Girls
B) Surfer Girl
C) Good Vibrations
D) Wouldn’t It Be Nice

3. Brian Wilson was heavily influenced by which legendary producer and his “Wall of Sound”?
A) Rick Rubin
B) George Martin
C) Phil Spector
D) Quincy Jones

4. What was the name of the ambitious, unreleased Beach Boys album that Brian Wilson finally completed and released as a solo project in 2004?
A) Wild Honey
B) Sunflower
C) Smile
D) Surf’s Up

5. Which of the following instruments did Brian Wilson not typically play on Beach Boys recordings?
A) Bass guitar
B) Piano
C) Drums
D) Saxophone

Answers at the end

Fun facts

The Beach Boys were often unfairly compared with The Beatles. Their relationship was more about friendly rivalry and mutual admiration than competition.

Brian Wilson was directly inspired by The Beatles’ Rubber Soul to create Pet Sounds, which in turn inspired The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was a friendly (and brilliant) game of one-upmanship.

When The Beach Boys released Good Vibrations in 1966, it was so ahead of its time that it topped charts in many countries, even holding its own against Beatles singles including Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever.

Wilson’s obsession with topping The Beatles led him to push studio boundaries, hiring orchestras and creating layered harmonies. Meanwhile, The Beatles were doing the same in London with George Martin’s help.

The Beatles’ Back in the USSR includes a parody of the early Beach Boys sound.

McCartney called Wilson’s God Only Knows one of the greatest songs ever written.

Answers

B) Pet Sounds
C) Good Vibrations
C) Phil Spector
C) Smile
D) Saxophone

Photo: Capitol Records, Commons licence (cropped)