(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
Sat 17 January 2026 14:44, UK
If you were lucky enough to be clued into The Beach Boys during their rise to prominence that you might feel slightly differently, but looking back from the 21st century, it is hard not to see the band as the sweeter side of the 1960s. The British invasion looked to come with a smutty mind, a cheeky smirk and the kind of grooves to infiltrate the youth, The Beach Boys, meanwhile, seemed liked the kind of band your parents would have liked.
That’s not to criticise the band, merely to highlight that at the centre of their brand were the kind of harmonies that left a smile on your face and the sweet, velvety tones sitting full in your contented stomach. To try and pick their sweetest song of all time is to be bogged down in a lot of contenders.
Every iconic Beach Boys song feels ripped from Brian Wilson’s heart. Even though he may have had a few compromises to make along the way, Wilson’s way with melody resulted in some of the most celebrated music of the 1960s, from the surf-rock classics of their early career to the various genre experiments going on in singles like ‘Good Vibrations’ and ‘California Girls’. While Wilson has written his fair share of classic melodies, he thought this was one of the most delightful fragments he ever put together.
Before he had started using the studio as an instrument, Wilson had become a songwriting mastermind. Throughout the first half of the 1960s, Wilson could churn out pieces at an alarming rate, making tracks about going to school, young love, fast cars, and anything fun under the sun.
Although that kind of business model suited him fine, it wasn’t until hearing bands like The Beatles that Wilson realised what else was out there. After hearing the Fab Four’s landmark album Rubber Soul, Wilson knew he wanted to create something that could match that musical brilliance, locking himself away in the studio and honing his craft for what would become Pet Sounds.
Brian Wilson in the studio, his happy place. (Credits: Far Out / Brian Wilson)
Even though the band didn’t have as much creative input this time around, Wilson was laser-focused on taking the music one step further, resulting in different musical avenues on songs like ‘God Only Knows’ and ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’. While Wilson could still write straight-ahead rock tracks when he could, he found his strong suit when playing his trademark ballads.
Outside of the traditional love tracks like ‘I’m Waiting For the Day’ and ‘You Still Believe In Me’, ‘Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)’ was one of the first major departures lyrically. For all of the puppy love songs that Wilson had written in the early days, this is one of his heartfelt statements, wanting nothing more than to feel connected with his lover on a more spiritual level.
Looking back on the song, Wilson would recall that he was proud to capture a sense of innocence in the track, saying, “One of the sweetest songs I ever sang. I have to say I’m proud of it. The innocence of youth in my voice, of being young and childlike. I think that’s what people liked.”
The track is chock-full of the kind of images that left hearts melted when they dropped the needle on the band’s record. An all-American vision of two sweethearts gently sharing a tender moment, filled with innocence and the promise of lifelong love, its the stuff of cinematic dreams.
Even though his label may have been concerned about the single potential of any songs on the record, ‘Don’t Talk’ was just one of the many creative reinventions present on the album, including the use of various psychedelic effects and pushing members of the studio band The Wrecking Crew to their limits when crafting every single track.
For all of the hard work going into the record, Wilson created something that could stand alongside his British counterparts as one of the essential pieces of the counterculture movement coming out of the 1960s. There may have been more songs about cars and surfing to be written, but Wilson knew he was better suited to writing what was in his heart.
Related Topics