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TL;DR:

  • Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham was asked to name the best pop song ever and he praised two Beach Boys songs.
  • He explained why he loved the songs so much.
  • One of the songs became a much bigger hit than the other.
The Beach Boys holding a surf board
The Beach Boys | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

When asked, Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham couldn’t name his pick for the greatest pop songs ever. Subsequently, he said two classic rock songs by The Beach Boys were the greatest A side/B side combination in history. Notably, he compared The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson to John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Why Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham compared The Beatles’ John Lennon and Paul McCartney to Brian Wilson

During a 2021 interview with Forbes, Buckingham said Wilson was one of his heroes. Buckingham compared Wilson to The Beatles‘ John and Paul. Buckingham felt all three rockers evolved a lot during a short span of time. He said they were all very influential. 

Subsequently, Buckingham was asked to name the greatest pop song ever. “I don’t know if there’s one, but as far as pop goes, I’ll give you one of my, probably at the top of my list for a great A and B side of a 45, how’s that?” he replied. “And that is, ‘I Get Around,’ by The Beach Boys on the A-side, and what’s on the B side? ‘Don’t Worry, Baby.'”

Why Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham liked The Beach Boys’ ‘I Get Around’ and ‘Don’t Worry Baby’ so much 

Buckingham discussed his love of those songs. “You could say, well, it’s a car song or it’s a, whatever, both of those, subject matter-wise,” he said. “But still, Brian had already evolved from the first couple of albums and the structure, the construction of something like ‘I Get Around,’ is just symphonic in a two-and-a-half-minute format or less, probably less.”

Buckingham elaborated on his love of “I Get Around” using music theory. “Just masterful with the key modulations and breakdowns that repeat and just so sophisticated,” he opined. “Unbelievable piece of work.”

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The way The Beach Boys’ ‘I Get Around’ and ‘Don’t Worry Baby’ performed on the charts

“I Get Around” became a huge hit for The Beach Boys. For two weeks, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100. The track spent a total of 15 weeks on the chart. “I Get Around” appeared on the album All Summer Long. The album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 49 weeks.

Meanwhile, “Don’t Worry Baby” became a more modest hit. It reached No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for 10 weeks. The Beach Boys released “Don’t Worry Baby” on the album Shut Down Volume 2. The album peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for 38 weeks.

“I Get Around” and “Don’t Worry Baby” were both hits and they impressed Buckingham.

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