Beach Boys Co-Founder Brian Wilson Once Revealed His Songwriting Process
The Beach Boys released songs “I Get Around,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” and “God Only Knows” — all of which were written, in part, by Brian Wilson. Here’s what we know about this founding member of the Beach Boys and his songwriting process.
Brian Wilson is a songwriter and founding member of the Beach Boys
Along with brothers Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine, Brian Wilson appeared as a founding member of The Beach Boys. He lent his voice to songs like “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “Good Vibrations,” and “Kokomo.”
Wilson is also credited as a primary songwriter for the group, with Beach Boy Fandom attributing this artist with writing dozens of Top 40 songs. That includes “Surf City,” “I Get Around” and “Help Me, Rhonda.”
Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys revealed his songwriting process — ‘I’ll play chords and play… forever’
With several years experience as a songwriter, Wilson shared that his process involves playing “forever.” During an interview with Rolling Stone, Wilson said, “I’ll play chords, and play, play, play and play forever, and all of sudden the melody comes.”
“One of the things about the Beach Boys’ music – and probably because Brian is a Gemini – is that everything is different from the last one,” Love noted in the same interview. “It’s not just a copy of a former single. That was the beauty of the Beach Boys catalog – the diversity: different lead singers, different tempos, different keys, different arrangements, and chord progressions.”
“Nobody was more masterful at chord progressions than Brian — and the harmonies,” he added. “We were students of the Four Freshman. They’re pretty complex, but we blended it with rock & roll.”
Brian Wilson named his favorite songs that he wrote with the Beach Boys
Even years after the Beach Boys split, Wilson reflected on his time as an artist with the chart-topping surf-rock group. Additionally, he detailed his songwriting process during a video clip from Long Promised Road.
“[You] start with a background track, then you do the background vocals and then you do the leads,” Wilson said. The documentary discussed Wilson’s experience before and after his time with the Beach Boys, as well as his experience producing.
According to Esquire, Wilson even listed some of his personal favorite Beach Boys songs. That includes tracks that he wrote, like “In My Room,” “Surf’s Up,” and “God Only Knows.” He mentioned “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times” was a “social statement,” listing it among his favorite songs that he wrote.
“I felt like I didn’t belong, that my ideas were ahead of the times,” Wilson said. “But it’s nice to know how much people love and respect what I did back then and I’m in a better place now than I was when I was younger.”
Music by the Beach Boys is available on most major streaming platforms.
