"God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys

As sure as there are stars above you, Strong Songs will be here to deliver musical deep-dives straight into your eardrums. This week is no different, as Kirk picks apart Brian Wilson's chamber-pop masterpiece "God Only Knows."

The sleigh bells ring, the french horn solos, and The Wrecking Crew lays down the foundation for an immaculate collection of chords and melodies, all placed over a bass line that's as Bach as it is Beach-y. Turns out there's a reason so many people call this the greatest song ever written.

Artist: The Beach Boys

Album: Pet Sounds (1966)

Written by: Brian Wilson & Tony Asher

Listen/Buy via Album.Link

ALSO REFERENCED/DISCUSSED:

"And Your Dream Comes True" by The Beach Boys from Summer Days (And Summer Nights), 1965
Discussion of Danny Tedesco's excellent 2008 documentary The Wrecking Crew

OUTRO SOLOIST: Luke Price

This episode's outro soloist is the wonderful Portland fiddle player Luke Price. When he's not working as a side man in a variety of killer bands, Luke joins his wife Rachael to form the excellent songwriting duo DEAN!. They've got a new album coming soon and it's gonna be pretty great; in the meantime you can follow them on Instagram and listen to some of their stuff on their website, wearedean.com.

--------------------

March 2020 Whole-Note Patrons

AccessViolation - Andrew Walters - Caleb Rotach - Chad Barnard - Craig J. Covell - Dan Apczynski - Dave Florey - Glenn - Jared Norris - Mark Schechter - Merlin Mann - Ryan Torvik

March 2020 Half-Note Patrons

AJ Schuster - Alex Singer - Alexander Polson - Amanda Furlotti - Andre Bremer - Andrew Baker - Andrew Lee - Arjun Sharma - Bill Thornton - Brant Brantphillip - Brett Douville - Brian Amoebas - Brooke Wilford - Chas Lednicky - Chris Brown - Christer Lindqvist - Cyrus N. White - Darryl Stewart - David Stroud - Earl Lozada - Eero Wahlstedt - Elliot Jay O’Neill - Emily Williams - Fishbones - Forrest Chang - Gavin Doig - Jacob Dye - Jaehoon Jeong - James Johnson - Jeffrey Olson - Jennifer Bush - Jeremy Dawson - John and Sharon Stenglein - Jon O’Keefe - Joujou - Juan Carlos Montemayor Elosua - Jules Bailey - Justin Liew - Justin McElroy - Kate Albury - Kevin Morrell - Kevin Pennyfeather - Leigh Sales - Mark Steen - Markus Koester - Matt Gaskell - Max Schechter - Melanie Stivers - Michael Blackwell - Miriam Juskowicz - Mueller - Nate from Kalamazoo - Nicholas Schechter - Richard Toller - Robbie Ferrero - Sam Fenn - Samuel Gardner - Shane DeLeon - SP - Tanner Morton - Tom Clewer - Tom Lauer - Toni Isaacson

--------------------

💃STRONG SONGS LIVE!🕺
July 11, 2026 | Portland, OR
Buy Tickets Here

----LINKS-----

💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS!
Patreon | One-Time Donation

🏠 HOMEPAGE

👚 MERCH

💬 DISCORD SERVER

📬 KIRK'S NEWSLETTER

🎸 KIRK'S GEAR & INSTRUMENTS

🎶 KIRK'S MUSIC

📷 KIRK’S SOCIAL MEDIA:
Instagram | YouTube | Bluesky

🎧 EVERY STRONG SONG:
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music