In his memoir I am Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys frontman reflects on his genuine admiration for the fab four. In the text, the singer confesses details of his relationship with those from Liverpool.
Brian Bilson is the absolute genius of the masterpiece “Pet Sounds” by the Beach Boys. Wilson, with a withdrawn and dreamy character, had shown from a very young age a great talent for music, which his demanding father would have used to fulfill his frustrated artistic aspirations. The result was that the young man in his twenties was a talented, extremely competitive, and perennially dissatisfied musician, as well as an emotionally immature and highly vulnerable adult.
Where his bandmates indulged in the royalties of fame and public favor, Brian Wilson was not confirmed with success. His objective was to transcend, to excellence, which led him not only to work obsessively on his music but also to study that of his references in the same way.
The story goes that when Brian Wilson first heard Strawberry Fields Forever in 1967, Brian Wilson broke down. He had recorded Good Vibrations a year earlier, the closest thing to a gothic cathedral when it came to pop songs, and had spent a year recording Smile, which was destined to be the ultimate Pet Sounds but wouldn’t be released until decades later. Wilson, consumed by his character, drugs, and his inordinate pressure to be the best, had to see how, once again, the fab four got ahead of him.
Below are Brian Wilson’s favorite works from other artists as well as from the Beach Boys, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones:
The Beach Boys – California Girls
The Beatles – Let It Be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P6X3IWLECY
The Rolling Stones – My Obsession
The Turtles – Elenore
The Byrds – Turn! Turn! Turn!
The Ronettes – Be My Baby
Carole King – Hey Girl
James Taylor – Fire And Rain
You can watch the full video below as Brian Wilson names all of his favorite songs: