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The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys' 'Aren't You Glad' Gets A Crystalline New Stereo Mix

The Beach Boys' 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow includes 54 rarities from 1967, the year Wild Honey was released. Ken Veeder / George Jerman/Capitol Photo Archives/UMe hide caption

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Ken Veeder / George Jerman/Capitol Photo Archives/UMe

Review

Songs We Love

The Beach Boys' 'Aren't You Glad' Gets A Crystalline New Stereo Mix

Out of the frustrating Smile sessions came a reset: the Beach Boys' deceptively simple Wild Honey. A new box set collects 54 rarities from 1967, including a new stereo mix of this under-loved song.

'Pet Sounds' And The Band That Gets To Play It Onstage

Brian Wilson with his touring ensemble — a team-up of California band the Wondermints, a host of Chicago musicians, fellow Beach Boy Al Jardine and more. Christopher Stuba/Anny Celsi hide caption

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Christopher Stuba/Anny Celsi

Music News

'Pet Sounds' And The Band That Gets To Play It Onstage

To celebrate the anniversary of his masterpiece, Brian Wilson is taking Pet Sounds on tour with a band of musicians who grew up on its songs and sounds.

'Pet Sounds' And The Band That Gets To Play It Onstage

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Animal Collective Walks In The Beach Boys' Footsteps (Literally)

Animal Collective's new album, Painting With, comes out Feb. 19. Tom Andrew/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Tom Andrew/Courtesy of the artist

Music Interviews

Animal Collective Walks In The Beach Boys' Footsteps (Literally)

The band usually road tests its songs before recording them, But for the new album Painting With, they started in a studio — specifically, the acoustically stunning room where Pet Sounds was created.

Animal Collective Walks In The Beach Boys' Footsteps (Literally)

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Telling Brian Wilson's Fractured Life Story On Film

Paul Dano (center) co-stars in Love & Mercy as Brian Wilson in the 1960s heyday of The Beach Boys. Francois Duhamel/Roadside Attractions hide caption

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Francois Duhamel/Roadside Attractions

Music Interviews

Telling Brian Wilson's Fractured Life Story On Film

NPR's Melissa Block talks with Bill Pohlad, director of the film Love & Mercy, about creating an intimate portrait of Wilson — in both The Beach Boys' heyday and the troubled years that followed.

Telling Brian Wilson's Fractured Life Story On Film

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You Cannot Be Serious: The All Songs Considered Listening Party

Guests rate the songs at the All Songs Considered Listening Party in Washington, D.C. Jeff Martin hide caption

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Jeff Martin

All Songs Considered

You Cannot Be Serious: The All Songs Considered Listening Party

The conversation got pretty heated when hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton hosted a listening party and invited everyone to rate the music.

You Cannot Be Serious: The All Songs Considered Listening Party

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The Rise And Fall Of The Fade-Out

The Beatles' "Hey Jude" concludes with one of pop music's most epic fade-outs. Vimeo hide caption

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Vimeo

Music News

The Rise And Fall Of The Fade-Out

A slow fade, rather than a hard stop, used to be the popular way to end a pop song. NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with Slate reporter William Weir about the fade-out's history and recent decline.

The Rise And Fall Of The Fade-Out

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A Nostalgic — But Bumpy — Journey With The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys in 1964. Top row: Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson. Bottom row: Mike Love, Al Jardine, Brian Wilson. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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Music Reviews

A Nostalgic — But Bumpy — Journey With The Beach Boys

Fresh Air

In 2012, the band became another rock group that was celebrating its 50th anniversary. This year, it released Made in California, an eight-hour, six-disc retrospective of their career that, perhaps inadvertently, shows how this once-great force in American popular music faded from public view.

A Nostalgic — But Bumpy — Journey With The Beach Boys

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The Real Instrument Behind The Sound In 'Good Vibrations'

Cover art for the "Good Vibrations" single, released in 1966. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

The Real Instrument Behind The Sound In 'Good Vibrations'

It's often mistaken for a theremin, but in fact, the instrument used on the classic Beach Boys song was invented — and played on the song — by Paul Tanner, who died today.

Hear how 'Good Vibrations' was created

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The Beach Boys In Concert

TUCSON, AZ - APRIL 24: Musicians Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, Mike Love, David Marks and Bruce Johnston perform during the Beach Boys 50th Anniversary Concert Tour at the Anselmo Valencia Amphitheater on April 24, 2012 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Mike Moore/Getty Images) Mike Moore/Getty Images hide caption

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Mike Moore/Getty Images

Live in Concert

The Beach Boys In Concert

The band is currently on tour, celebrating its 50th anniversary and a new album called That's Why God Made the Radio. Hear an hour of highlights from several of The Beach Boys' recent shows.

The Beach Boys In Concert

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The Beach Boys: The Harmony Is Endless After All

The Beach Boys' new album — the first collaboration in decades between founding members Brian Wilson (third from left) and Mike Love (second from right) — is called That's Why God Made the Radio. Guy Webster/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Guy Webster/Courtesy of the artist

Music Interviews

The Beach Boys: The Harmony Is Endless After All

Brian Wilson and Mike Love reminisce about the '60s, Paul McCartney and getting back in the studio.

The Beach Boys: The Harmony Is Endless After All

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Hear The Beach Boys' Best New Song In 40 Years

The Beach Boys 2012 Robert Matheu/Capitol Records hide caption

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Robert Matheu/Capitol Records

All Songs Considered

Hear The Beach Boys' Best New Song In 40 Years

To mark the band's 50th anniversary, all of its surviving members have recorded a new album. The first single has all the harmony and sentiment that made The Beach Boys the sound of California in the 1960s. Wouldn't it be nice if all reunions sounded so good?

Hear "That's Why God Made The Radio," a new song by The Beach Boys

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Shredding To Metallica, Dancing To 'Jump'

American Daron Rahlves competes during the men's freestyle ski cross qualification at Cypress Mountain during the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

Winter Songs

Shredding To Metallica, Dancing To 'Jump'

Olympic skier Daron Rahlves and two NPR listeners share the songs that remind them of winter sports.

Shredding To Metallica, Dancing To 'Jump'

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The Beach Boys: Deconstructing A Classic

A new box set offers a fresh look at "Heroes and Villains," a Beach Boys classic worth taking apart and reexamining.

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Review

Song Of The Day

The Beach Boys: Deconstructing A Classic

A new box set offers a fresh look at "Heroes and Villains," a Beach Boys classic worth taking apart and reexamining.

'Heroes and Villains' by The Beach Boys

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The SMiLE Sessions: A Window Into The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys in 1964: Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine and Carl Wilson.

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Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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Music Reviews

The SMiLE Sessions: A Window Into The Beach Boys

Fresh Air

SMiLE may be the most famous unreleased album of all time, but it's not really unreleased: Bits and pieces of it wound up on other Beach Boys albums. Now that EMI has assembled a definitive collection of the session tracks, Ed Ward has listened to them — and wonders what the shouting was about.

The SMiLE Sessions: A Window Into The Beach Boys

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Summer Song Favorites: 'I Get Around'

John Sebastian says The Beach Boys' "I Get Around" first reminded him of Bach in its composition and arrangement. CSP Images hide caption

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CSP Images

Music Interviews

Summer Song Favorites: 'I Get Around'

John Sebastian is probably best known for founding The Lovin' Spoonful. And who better to talk about summertime music than the voice behind "Summer In The City"? He dishes on his favorite tune for the season: The Beach Boys' "I Get Around."

Summer Song Favorites: 'I Get Around'

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