"Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys

It was 50 years ago yesterday that Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys began recording "Good Vibrations".  According to Mr. Wilson the inspiration for the song came from his mother, who would talk of "vibrations" when he was a child. She told him about dogs "that would bark at people and then not bark at others, that a dog would pick up vibrations from these people that you can't see, but you can feel." Brian first turned to Tony Asher, who had written lyrics for The Beach Boys' classic album Pet Sounds for help with the song and later his new writing partner Van Dyke Parks. Ultimately it would be fellow Beach Boy Mike Love who put together the final lyrics for the song.

While Brian Wilson began recording "Good Vibrations" on February 17 1966, it would not be finished for another six months. Ultimately work would be done on the song in four different studios and at a cost of  $50,000. All the work proved to be worth it, as "Good Vibrations" hit no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the UK singles chart, the Australian singles chart, and many other singles charts around the world. It became The Beach Boy's first million selling record