The Beach Boys

Released: May 16, 1966

Songwriter: Tony Asher Brian Wilson

Producer: Brian Wilson

[Verse 1: Brian Wilson]
Where did your long hair go?
Where is the girl I used to know?
How could you lose that happy glow?
Oh, Caroline, no

[Verse 2: Brian Wilson]
Who took that look away?
I remember how you used to say
You'd never change, but that's not true

[Bridge: Brian Wilson]
Oh, Caroline, you
Break my heart
I want to go and cry
It's so sad to watch a sweet thing die
Oh, Caroline, why?

[Verse 3: Brian Wilson]
Could I ever find in you again
The things that made me love you so much then?
Could we ever bring 'em back once they have gone?
Oh, Caroline, no

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

Made In U.S.A.

From the albums

Pet Sounds (1966)
Middle of the Road (1972)
Made In U.S.A. (1986)
Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys (1993)

The Beach Boys popular songs

Caroline, NoThe Beach Boys

The Beach Boys

Made In U.S.A.