“Wouldn't It Be Nice” by The Beach Boys

"Wouldn't It Be Nice" throws open the doors of Pet Sounds, the Beach Boys' 1966 album, and it's joy on the surface with an ache underneath: a young couple dreaming aloud about the freedom they'll have once they're married, set to music that sounds like sunlight through stained glass. Brian Wilson wrote it with Tony Asher and Mike Love, and he and Love share the lead vocal.

Wilson spent January to April of 1966 building it with the band and 16 session players, Hal Blaine and Carol Kaye among them, stacking accordions, saxophones, pianos and guitars into a dense wall of sound. That harp-like shimmer in the intro is Barney Kessel's 12-string mando-guitar, plugged straight into the console, and in one passage the whole thing eases into a ritardando, a move pop records rarely try. Nailing the harmonies was a slog; no track on the album took longer. As a single it reached 8 on the Hot 100.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.