(Credits: Far Out / Brian Wilson / Christine McVie)
Wed 28 January 2026 20:00, UK
Music is an ever-changing concept, and so artists generally know better than to provide definitive answers as to which song acts as their favourite.
However, Christine McVie was never a musician to submit herself to the unspoken rules of musical cool and instead happily expresses her admiration for other musicians who she thought had achieved musical genius.
The fact that McVie herself has laid down moments of musical genius surely contributes to this. Her iconic tracks ‘You Make Loving Fun’ and ‘Songbird’ cemented her own legacy as one of the greatest musicians of all time, and so knowing that, she could take influence from the musicians around her and marvel at their own brilliance.
In fact, on a track like ‘Songbird’, McVie crooned with the sort of delicacy so clearly inspired by the likes of The Beach Boys. Because in her younger years, McVie experienced the genius of their music first-hand, while in a relationship with Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson.
In a chapter that opened up her world of musical influences, McVie was treated to an intimate listening experience that any modern music fan would die to endure. While spending time with Wilson, McVie was offered the opportunity to listen to a more humble version of the then-unreleased, ‘God Only Knows’.
While still unfinished in terms of the mix and mastering, the track still showcased the unarguable level of genius that has since made it one of the most beloved songs of all time. McVie was immediately struck by that and simply labelled the song her favourite.
She explained, “Many years ago, I was going out with Dennis Wilson for a couple of years or so,” McVie shared. “I went on the road with him. I just adored Carl [Wilson]. I thought was the most wonderful man; he had the sweetest voice in the world, he sounded like an angel, and that was my favourite song.”
And it’s not just McVie who regarded it as her favourite song of all time. In fact, her name sits alongside a myriad of greats all rushing to praise the effort of the Wilsons. Both Pete Townshend and Paul McCartney remarked that the song made them cry upon listening, with McCartney also adding that during the brief opportunity he had to play it with the band, he almost stormed off stage because it was too brilliant.
It became the defining song of an industry-defining album that thrust The Beach Boys into the realms of music immortality and has set the standard for studio experimentation ever since its release.
The Beatles’ seminal record Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band came out just one year after ‘God Only Knows’ and Pet Sounds, and has since been admitted to shaping its identity around The Beach Boys’ record.
As for McVie, well, she was less brazen in her display of influence, but it was there nonetheless. The layering of harmonies and construction of vocal melodies, all shown on her very best songs, were undoubtedly informed by the great band.
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