Song by Song: "Good Vibrations" Quiz

Answer: 1966

The single was released October 10, 1966 with "Let's Go Away for Awhile" on the B-side. Considered to be a part of the art pop, acid rock, and psychedelic genres, "Good Vibrations" peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

Answer: Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson was a co-founder of the Beach Boys. He released his self-titled debut solo album in 1988. Rolling Stone magazine writes, "Wilson built 'Good Vibrations' in sections, coloring the mood swings with locomotive cello, saloon piano and the spectral wail of a theremin."

"Sound on Sound" magazine described the composition thus in an article in October of 1997: "The exotic instruments, the complex vocal arrangements, and the many dynamic crescendos and decrescendos all combine to set this record apart from most pop music."

Answer: False

It was their third number one hit, and the last one Brian Wilson would ever write before, as NPR reports, "Drugs and depression would make his life miserable." Carl Wilson and Mike Love sang lead vocals on the song, Dennis Wilson played Hammond organ, and Brian Wilson supplied additional vocals and produced the song.

Answer: true

Rolling Stone magazine rated "Good Vibrations" the sixth greatest song of all time. The magazine reports that $50,000 was spent to produce the single, "at that point the greatest sum ever spent on a single." The single employed numerous session musicians and required multiple recording sessions across four different Hollywood studios.

Answer: colorful

"I-I love the colorful clothes she wears
And the way the sunlight plays upon her hair."

Wilson Phillips covered "Good Vibrations" for their Beach Boys dedication album ("Dedicated") in 2012. The group is composed of Brian Wilson's daughters Wendy and Carnie (who sang lead vocals on the cover) as well as Chynna Phillips, the daughter of John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas. Their version of "Good Vibrations" peaked at number 25 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.

Answer: her perfume

"I hear the sound of a gentle word
On the wind that lifts her perfume through the air."

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included "Good Vibrations" on its list of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll." In 1966, the song was nominated for Best Vocal Group performance for the Grammy Awards, and in 1994, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Hal Blaine played percussion on the song while Lyle Ritz supplied double bass, Al Casey guitar, and Ray Pohlman electric bass.

Answer: the excitations

"I'm pickin' up good vibrations
She's giving me the excitations (oom bop bop)."

"Good Vibrations" broke the top 40 on several non-U.S. charts as well. It hit number one on the single charts in the U.K., New Zealand, and Malaysia and number two in Norway, Singapore, Canada, and Australia. A cover version of the song, released in 1976 by former Utopia band member Todd Rundgren, peaked at number 34 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

Answer: a blossom

In Keith Badman's 2004 book "The Beach Boys, The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band on Stage and in the Studio," Brian Wilson is quoted as saying that his mother inspired this song with her reference to the "bad vibrations" that dogs would pick up off of some people that would cause the dogs to bark at those people. According to Wilson's mother, "A dog would pick up vibrations from these people that you can't see, but you can feel." Similarly, the singer of "Good Vibrations" picks up a vibration (in this case a good one) off of a girl.

Answer: elation

"I don't know where but she sends me there
Oh, my my, what a sensation
Oh, my my, what elation
Oh, my my, what
Gotta keep those lovin' good vibrations a-happenin' with her."

Tony Asher was initially hired to write the lyrics for the song, though Mike Love (the Beach Boys' frontman and lyricist) later changed them, submitting the final lyrics and retaining only the central idea of the song. Originally, the song was to be titled "Good Vibes."

The Beach Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame in 1988.

Answer: Smiley Smile

"Abbey Road" was a Beatles album, "Music from the Big Pink" was recorded by The Band, and "A Gathering of Flowers" is the title of a The Mamas & the Papas anthology.

The song was originally slated for release on "Smile," which was to be a concept album, but the album was never finished. The Beach Boys instead released a less elaborate version of the album, called "Smiley Smile," as their twelfth studio album in September of 1967.