Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys Names His Favorite Rolling Stones Song
The Rolling Stones are known for songs like “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and “Paint It, Black.” They even earned praise from one member of the Beach Boys. Here’s what we know about Brian Wilson’s favorite Rolling Stones song — and other tracks mentioned in I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir.
The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson noted the other significant bands of the 1960s
Brian Wilson is one of the songwriters behind the Beach Boys. He performed on songs like “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “Good Vibrations,” and “God Only Knows.” The Beach Boys members realized they weren’t creating music “in a vacuum.” Other bands rose in popularity around the same time — most notably, the Beatles.
The Fab Four found success in the United States, even causing Beatlemania because of their fan base. The Rolling Stones also received praise and recognition for their original music, as Brian Wilson stated in I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir.
“The Beatles may have been at the top of the heap, but The Rolling Stones weren’t far behind,” Wilson noted. They had so many great riff records. They always got me with whatever they had coming out: ‘Satisfaction,’ ‘Get Off of My Cloud.’”
Brian Wilson names his favorite Rollings Stones song — ‘My Obsession’
Brian Wilson mentioned his favorite song Rolling Stones song. That was one released in the 1960s.
“My favorite Rolling Stones song was from a little later, ‘My Obsession,’ from Between the Buttons,” Wilson said in the same memoir. “I was invited to the studio when they were mixing it down… I was blown away by that song.”
“What’s great about ‘My Obsession’ is that it isn’t just a riff record,” he continued. ”Because Keith Richards came up with such awesome riffs, people forget to look deeper in; if they do, they’ll find these complex production tricks and moments of sophistication and beauty.”
“My Obsession” was included in the Rolling Stones album Between the Buttons. Since its release, this track has earned over 900,000 thousand Spotify plays. It detailed the narrator’s fascination with his crush.
“My obsessions are your possessions,” the first verse states. “Every piece that I can get / My obsessions are your possessions / My mouth is soaking wet I think i blew it now, confession.”
Was Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys friends with the Rolling Stones?
The Beach Boys never performed with the Rolling Stones, although Wilson mentioned his support for the rock band. The Beach Boys did have some musical friends, though, including Paul McCartney of the Beatles.
For one interview Mick Jagger noted similarities between “Some Girls” to the Beach Boys’ “California Girls.”
“I know what you mean,” he said. “I never thought of it like that. I never thought that a rock critic of your knowledge and background could ever come out with an observation like that [laughing].”
