Solar System (song)
"Solar System" is a song written by Brian Wilson for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1977 album The Beach Boys Love You with a lead vocal by Brian Wilson.[1][2]
"Solar System" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by The Beach Boys | ||||
from the album The Beach Boys Love You | ||||
A-side | "Honkin' Down the Highway" | |||
Released | May 30, 1977 | |||
Recorded | October 1976 to January 1977 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 2:47 | |||
Label | Brother | |||
Songwriter(s) | Brian Wilson | |||
Producer(s) | Brian Wilson | |||
The Beach Boys singles chronology | ||||
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Writing and recording
During the afternoon of October 26, 1976, Trish Campo, former chief administrator of Brother Studios recalled Brian at the studio sitting at a Hammond B3 organ, absently gazing at the giant circular stained glass window over him depicting planets and stars. Later that afternoon, Campo heard "Solar System" coming out of the studio.[3] Brian explained that the lyrics were written while driving to a parents' meeting at his daughters' school. When he got home, he finished the song on his piano, exclaiming, "This is a gr-eat song! These lyrics are great. This melody is great. (whistles) I've got a beauty here!" He then named it one of his favorites on The Beach Boys Love You, adding, "When I'm 90, I'm gonna be as proud of that song as I am now."[4]
Music critic Robert Christgau loved The Beach Boys Love You album and gave it an A overall; and he found "Solar System" to be "impossible to shake", and characterized by a "silliness that registered as charming". [5]
Cover versions
- Alex Chilton covered "Solar System" in concert during the mid-eighties.
References
- "Love You". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
- Lambert, P. (2007). Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius. Continuum. p. 312. ISBN 978-0-8264-1877-7.
- Carlin, Peter Ames (2006). "12". Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, & Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Rodale Books (New York). ISBN 978-1-59486-320-2.
- Benci, Jacopo (January 1995). "Brian Wilson interview". Record Collector. UK (185).
- "CG: beach boys". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2016-10-12.