“Wouldn't It Be Nice”

Brian Wilson and lyricist Tony Asher wrote it about two young people in love who are still too young to marry; Mike Love’s share of the credit was recognized in 1994. Work began on January 22, 1966, at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, with top session players and a 12-string guitar ringing out like a harp in the opening. The Beach Boys sang one passage close to 30 times to get it right. It opened Pet Sounds that May, then reached No. 8 as a single. Carl Wilson said it was hard to sing without tears in his eyes, and Asher said young people in love would always understand it.