The Beach Boys’ “Smile” Was So Ahead of Its Time That It Was Released 40 Years Later
A happy ending when all hope was almost gone
In 1967, The Beach Boys were on the verge of releasing an album meant to be the best in modern music history. Brian Wilson wanted the band to stop being just the band of the surf/car/girls in bikinis songs. He made it clear with the release of Pet Sounds and Good Vibrations that it was time for The Beach Boys to grow up.
Good Vibrations became a hit and was voted Song of the Year in several US and UK charts in 1966. Wilson took it as a sign: it was time to leap even higher.
The following record, in his mind, was supposed to be “a teenaged symphony to God” and to become one of the pillars of American music. It would feature music, spoken word passages, and a full slate of effects to compose a musical monolith.
Both critics and fans expected a groundbreaking album, but they got nothing. In a matter of days, the album release was canceled, and rumors say that Wilson tried to destroy all the recording tapes that were ready at that time.
What happened? What made Wilson change his mind? The mystery was never officially solved, but in the following years, many hypotheses came out to explain this sudden halt to such an ambitious project.
