The Beach Boys

Released: June 24, 1968

Songwriter: Brian Wilson

Producer: The Beach Boys

[Verse 1]
I had to fix a lot of things this morning
Because they were so scrambled
But now it's okay
I tell you I've got enough to do
The afternoon was filled up with phone calls
What a hot sticky day
Yeah, yeah, yeah
The air is cooling down

[Chorus 1]
Take all the time you need, it's a lovely night
If you decide to come, you're going to do it right
Drive for a couple miles, you see a sign and turn
Left for a couple blocks, next is mine you'll turn
Left on a little road, it's a bumpy one
You see a white fence, move the gate and drive
Through on the left side, come right in and you'll
Find me in my house somewhere
Keeping busy while I wait

[Verse 2]
I get a lot of thoughts in the morning
I write them all down
If it wasn't for that
I'd forget them in a while
And lately I've been thinking about a good friend
I'd like to see more of
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I think I'll make a call

[Chorus 2]
I wrote a number down but I lost it
So I searched through my pocket book, I couldn't find it
So I sat and concentrated on the number and
Slowly it came to me so I dialed it
And I let it ring a few times, there was no answer

[Outro]
So I let it ring a little more, still no answer
So I hung up the telephone, got some paper and
Sharpened up a pencil and
Wrote a letter to my friend

The Beach Boys are one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time and the first American pop band to reach the 50-year milestone. Their vocal harmonies are among the most unmistakable and enduring of the rock and roll era.

Formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California, by Brian Wilson, his two brothers Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love, and classmate Al Jardine, the group’s first single “Surfin'” got them signed to Capitol Records and they quickly became one of the most popular and successful artists of the surf music craze of the 1960s. From 1962 to 1966, The Beach Boys scored over twenty top 40 hits in the US including the chart-toppers “I Get Around”, “Help Me Rhonda” & “Good Vibrations” along with the top 5’s “Surfin USA”, “Fun, Fun, Fun”, “California Girls”, “Barbara Ann” & “Sloop John B”. Several of the band’s singles also found top 40 success in Canada, Australia, Sweden and the UK. In 1965, de facto leader Brian Wilson suffered a mental breakdown due to the stress of writing, producing & touring combined with substance abuse issues, causing him to step down and stop traveling with the band on tour.

Inspired by producer Phil Spector and The Beatles' Rubber Soul, Brian focused on studio work, determined to keep the group relevant as the surf music scene was fading with their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Despite tension between members in the studio about this new direction, lack of faith from the record label, mixed reviews, and comparatively lukewarm reception initially in the US, the album still found massive success in the UK and earned accolades from fellow artists including The Beatles, who acknowledged that the album was their inspiration to further push the boundaries of pop music with their landmark album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Eventually Pet Sounds would be acknowledged as one of the greatest albums ever recorded by several media outlets like The Times, Mojo Magazine, The Guardian, VH1, BBC and Rolling Stone.

more tracks from the album

Friends

From the albums

Friends (1968)
Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys (1993)

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Friends