Hoping to follow up Pet Sounds with something equally good, Brian Wilson began work on a project which he called “Dumb Angel”, but then changed the name to Smile. The album was never really released. Anticipating that Smile would be finished in the near future, Brian released the first single from the album. “Good Vibrations” became the third single in their career to reach number one. It was also their first number one in England. It became the biggest seller of their career so far.

Brian called “Good Vibrations” a “pocket symphony”. It was at the time, the most expensive single ever recorded; the complexity of the arrangement and the unusual instruments used included the cello and the electric-theremin. If you watch The Big Bang Theory on television, you know what a theremin is. It was also used in the soundtrack and for special effects during the original Star Trek television show. It took 17 sessions over six months at four different studios to finish the song. There are different accounts as to just how much the song cost to record, but it’s agreed that its more than it usually costs to record an entire album. Brian puts the cost at $17,000 which was unheard of in 1966. I think the Beach Boys got their money back.

Because of Brian’s quest for perfection and the increasing complexity of his music, he was constantly fighting with the group over songs. He wanted to go in new directions and the rest of the group wanted to stay with established themes and keep the Beach Boys sound the way it had always been.

Because of the stress, Brian began taking more and more pills, which included prescription and illegal drugs, amphetamines in particular. Brian’s mental health was deteriorating and in late 1966, Brian had a nervous breakdown. Brian retreated to bed and literally stayed there for many years.

I think the heart and soul just went out of the Beach Boys after this. They continued to record and chart, but didn’t hit the Top 10 again until 1976 with “Rock and Roll Music” and wouldn’t have another number one (their last) until 22 years later in 1988.

“Good Vibrations” debuted on the pop charts on October 29, 1966 and spent one week at number one.