In the summer of 1966, some radio stations across the United States made the shocking call to take the newest Beach Boys song off the airwaves.
Programmers in conservative markets flatly refused to play “God Only Knows,” terrified that including the word “God” in a secular pop title would offend religious listeners and spark boycotts. To offset the backlash, Capitol Records buried Brian Wilson’s music masterpiece as the B-side to “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.”
However, the decision proved fatal to the song’s initial chart success. Although it would be called a masterpiece by artists such as Paul McCartney, the ban stopped one of the most beloved songs in popular music history from reaching the Top 10.
In fact, “God Only Knows” barely scraped the Top 40, landing at 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Decades later, that radio ban was one of pop music’s biggest miscalculations.
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According to Far Out Magazine, McCartney said, “‘God Only Knows’ is one of the few songs that reduces me to tears every time I hear it. It’s really just a love song, but it’s brilliantly done. It shows the genius of Brian.”
He continued, “I’ve actually performed it with him, and I’m afraid to say that during the soundcheck I broke down. It was just too much to stand there singing this song that does my head in, and to stand there singing it with Brian.”
But why would a song with the word “God” in its title be banned by radio stations? In the mid-1960s, conservative broadcasters feared that using a divine reference in a secular pop song would be considered blasphemous. Nervousness surrounding the track reached a fever pitch because it hit the airwaves in August 1966, five months after John Lennon sparked massive American backlash that March by declaring that The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus.”
Perhaps Wilson anticipated the backlash. The song’s original title was “Fred Only Knows,” and Carl Wilson was the track’s lead singer.
Wilson shared his thoughts on the song that would come to be known as his masterpiece in an interview posted on his official YouTube channel.
“God Only Knows is a very spiritual, religious song, with the word God in it,” Wilson explained. “Tony Asher and I came up with a very clever love song,” he added.
Parade previously reported that the beloved song has a surprising twist. Only three Beach Boys members, Carl Wilson, Brian Wilson, and Bruce Johnston, contributed their voices to the track, producing an unforgettable sound that has resonated with fans since the tune’s 1966 release.
Looking back, the 1966 airwave ban was only a temporary roadblock for a song destined for immortality. Capitol Records may have buried it on a B-side, and timid DJ stations may have turned down the volume, but you can’t keep a real masterpiece hidden for long. “God Only Knows” didn’t need a No. 1 spot on the charts to make history, it simply rewrote the rulebook and claimed its place as an untouchable classic.
Related: 1964 Brian Wilson Smash Based on a True Story Still Ranks Among His Greatest Songs Ever
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