Beach Boys - signature song?

Good Vibrations, The Sloop John B and I Get Around

 

For the old generation California Girls. For the later fans the BB’s signature song hands down is Kokomo

 

Wouldn’t it Be Nice is my favorite song but I wouldn’t consider it their signature song

 

Had the 20 and 30 somethings in the car on vacation recently. Endless Summer on the stereo. GV can only pull a singalong chorus. But Fun, Fun, Fun!...it was like all the lyrics were known by everyone. I was impressed, and realized that this might be their most popular song.

So, I’ll say it’s their signature.

 

California Girls

 

I don't disagree with this, but I'd say California Girls is a very close second!

 

California Girls

 

Most younger people know 'Wouldn't It Be Nice'. To be honest, I was first made aware of the song on a Cadbury chocolate commercial when I was young.

 

Signature song means that it's a song that defines them, encapsulates them. To say that "Good Vibrations" is it and nothing is close, well, they were known as I was growing up in the '60s as a surfer song group. Sure, Brian Wilson's writing matured, the song that probably defined them was "California Girls", among others, but it shows off their best known thematic lyric element as well as their vocal harmony vocal expertise.

 

That's kind of like 'what is The Beatles' or Elvis' or Dylan's signature song'?, it's just impossible.
Can't even hazard a guess....

 

Each Beach Boys phase has its own signature songs, they were a very varied band. From Today! On, I think that all of their albums offer almost completely different sounds.

• the Surf/Cars era of '62-64 -- signature songs: "Surfin' USA", "I Get Around" "Fun, Fun, Fun""Little Deuce Coupe" I'd probably choose "I Get Around" as THE signature song for this era
• ("California Girls" kind of bridges the first phase and the second phase and may be their MOST signature song -- it's got the the beautiful arrangements and perfect production of the latter, yet the kind of silly subject matter of the former)
• The Baroque Pop era of 65-66 : signature songs: "God Only Knows", , "Wouldn't It Be Nice" I would have chosen "Wouldn't It Be Nice" over "God Only Knows" as the signature song for this era, but "God Only Knows" seems to have gained visibility in recent years, with a lot of people pointing to it as exhibit A of Brian Wilson's greatness.
• The Psychedelic Spooky era of 65-67: signature songs"Good Vibrations", "Cabin Essence", Surf's Up" "Heroes and Villains" "Surf's Up" and "Cabin Essence" are my favorite of these, but they're so arty and progressive I can see some people getting turned off by them. Good Vibrations is the most commercial one that everybody knows.
• The 90s Indie Rock Era of 67-71: signature songs: "Darlin'", , "Little Bird" "Busy Doing Nothing", Time To Get Alone" "Cool Cool WAter""Until I Die" "Feel Flows" I'm tempted to say "Busy Doing Nothing" encapsulates the period better, but "Until I Die" is arguably Wilson's last work of unearthly quality
• The Classic rock/Folk Rock period: "Sail On Sailor", "California", "All This is That" "Marcella" Sail On Sailor to me encapsulates the period best: the Carl Wilson's production of Marcella doesn't capture the rock inherent in the song to me; (The live In Concert version is better "California" and "All This Is That" are great but don't capture the band in the 7 piece multinational glory that this era had
• The Brian's back Era: "Let Us Go On This Way", "Still I Dream of It""The Night Was So Young", maybe the 2012 remix of "Rock and Roll Music"(since the original single mix is not really available) "Rock and Roll Music" was the hit, but the album mix only worked for me after repeated listens (that bass!) Prefer the Made in California mix.
• The Struggle for Control Era: "Good Timin', "Baby Blue" "Come Go With Me", Not the best song of the era, but maybe captures the fact that the band was beginning to slide into irrelevance.
• The Nostalgic Kokomo era: "Goin' On, "Kokomo", "Getcha Back""That's Why God Made The Radio" Love it or hate it, "Kokomo" really represents the best of the Melcher era. Who'd've thunk that Bruce and Terry, who began his career as a Beach Boys pastiche artists would end up utterly ruling the group?

All these groupings are bit arbitrary: obviously songs like "In My Room", "The Warmth of the Sun" and "Don't Worry Baby" aren't represented by the likes of "I Get Around" and neither does "Wouldn't It Be Nice" represent "Barbara Ann", which is smack dab in the middle of the "Baroque Period".

 

Surfin USA. If you ask most people to describe the Beach Boys they would probably say an American band inspired by the sea and surf craze. They are of course a lot more diverse than that but it is what will define them ultimately and if they were a person what would be played on the news to represent them on their passing.

 

A lot of possibilities, but I also think "Good Vibrations" wins the day.

 

I'd go with "Wouldn't it Be Nice"

They even saved that one for the final scene of the Brian Wilson film, indicating that, at least, it could be considered the signature song of Pet Sounds.

 

Denmark, Europe.
I was a baby in the late sixties and a child in the seventies, when I first became aware of Beach Boys.

Surfing USA is the winner, with I get Around and Barbara Ann fighting for second place. California Girls hit the radar a little later and nobody among the children knew Good Vibrations until they grew up to be men

 

I GET AROUND is the Beach Boy's signature song, followed by FUN FUN FUN with SURFIN' U.S.A. comes third. If there is a fourth, it would be GOOD VIBRATIONS.

 

I’d say Dylan’s is “Like a Rolling Stone,” with “Blowin’ in the Wind” second. Elvis is tougher—at best I can narrow him down to three songs for the '50s, with “Suspicious Minds” for the comeback years. And The Beatles, I agree, are impossible.

 

Agree that it's their towering achievement (along with a few others) and quite possibly their best song but it's not quite the paradigmatic Beach Boys song that "California Girls" or "Fun Fun Fun" are. This isn't a criticism, it's just to say that I agree with the rough consensus here and this is why. "Surfing USA" and "I Get Around" are also obvious candidates for the 'Signature Song' title.

'Sloop John B' is not a Beach Boys song btw. And 'Surfin USA' was pretty much Chuck Berry.

 

I take the question as being about something quite different from “best” or “favourite”, in wchich case I would nominate California Girls. It’s lyrics place it in the sun, sand and sex era of the band, yet musically it was a foretaste of the more intricate melodies that would mark the era defined by albums such as Pet Sounds and Sunflower. Hence i would hypothesise that it has the broadest appeal of any Beach Boys song.

 

I think it’s more likely it was used at that point in the film because the words fitwith what happened at that point, i.e. two people pairing up.
Speaking of that film, they actually made California Girls sound creepy and menacing, something I would notnhave believed possible.

 

I’m going with “Good Vibrations”. It epitomizes The Beach Boys sound and it’s my favorite of theirs.

 

My guess is “California Girls” would win a poll.

 

I'll be a party pooper and say, it's probably one of my least favourite songs. I understand it's importance and
Brian's construction of it, it just don't rock my world. I find the production side of it more interesting
than the result itself. I'm sure it was a revolution in 66' though. I've been thinking all arvo, and think I would
lean more towards 'Surfin USA', 'Fun Fun Fun' or a 'Kokomo' as a signature song...... but eh?
Just an opinion, as they say, they are like A holes, we all have one right?

 

I’d say God Only Knows has grown in stature over the last 20 years and is now recognised by most instantly as a Beach Boys song, probably down to its use in films and tv. One benefit of the CD era of looking backwards and reissuing material.

Or maybe down to David Bowie’s amazing cover on Tonight ....