Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys Learned Harmony From the Four Freshmen
Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys often mentioned his appreciation and admiration for other musicians. He even cited the Four Freshmen as the band who taught him how to arrange harmonies (and sing in falsetto). Here’s what we know about the “God Only Knows” songwriter.
Brian Wilson arranged music for the Beach Boys
Brian Wilson acted as one of the founding members of the surf rock group — the Beach Boys. Wilson is also the songwriter behind “In My Room,” “Surf’s Up,” “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times,” and “God Only Knows.”
He arranged music (and penned harmonies) for the Beach Boys, as well as his solo project. In later interviews, this artist explained he got his arranging inspiration from other bands of the time. Although it was a tumultuous environment, Wilson’s childhood home started his music journey.
Brian Wilson said he learned to sing falsetto (and arrange harmonies) from the Four Freshmen
In a list of some of his favorite songs, Wilson included “You Stepped Out of a Dream,” the 1954 release from The Four Freshmen. In fact, it was this group that inspired some of the Beach Boys’ harmonies and Wilson’s original arrangements.
“This is where I learned to arrange harmonies and also where I learned to sing falsetto,” Wilson said during an interview with Far Out Magazine. “Their four-part harmony was totally original.”
The Four Freshmen featured this tight harmony on well-known songs, including “It’s a Blue World.” The Beach Boys later included four and even five-part harmony on albums like Pet Sounds, with Jardine reflecting on the recording process for the Pet Sounds liner notes.
“At the vocal sessions, there was so much good tension,” he noted. “At any one time, you would have four out of five of us get our parts just fine, and there would be one who would screw up. But it wouldn’t be the same person each time. Then the next take, he would get it right, but somebody else would get it wrong.”
“Kind of like the chaos theory at work,” Jardine continued. “The more people you have in a given situation, the more chance there is for error. Then, there would be the magic moment when it all came together, and then you had your take.”
Brian Wilson mentioned other musical inspirations
The Beach Boys often had run-ins with other musicians, including The Beatles. (At one point, the Beatles approached Al Jardine about practicing transcendental meditation.) Brian Wilson, in particular, shared his appreciation for Frank Sinatra, who he described as “cool” in the memoir I Am Brian Wilson.
The artist also mentioned Switched-On Bach by Wendy Carlos as one of the “most electrifying” albums he’s ever heard. Brian Wilson continues to perform with Jardine, with the artists appearing on tour with Chicago in 2022.
