Proposal

Alan Wood

ENG 102

The Beach Boys Vs. The Beatles

            During the sixties music affected the world probably more than it ever has before and since. The sixties produced some of the greatest and most iconic bands that we still love today, bands such as the Rolling Stones, the Monkees, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix. But there were two bands in particular that seemed to have a widespread effect on America and even the world, the Beatles and the Beach Boys. These two groups were arguably the two most popular bands of the sixties; because of their popularity they had a huge impact and influence over millions of people. The question is though, who was the more popular and influential band, the Beatles or the Beach Boys

The Beach Boys wrote incredibly catchy songs, the majority of their career was spent as a real-life version of The Monkees. Their songs were about surfing, hanging out, checking out girls at the beach and sunshine. It wasn’t the most profound subject matter but it was all they really knew and what they knew the best. The music of The Beach Boys definitely had a greater impact on the early punk sound. Brian Wilson was a great songwriter and the true genius behind the Beach Boys, but the rest of the band faltered on the verge of releasing what would have been their greatest album, Smile. (Selm) The Beatles released their first album in March 1963, just over four months after The Beach Boys debuted with their album Surfin’ Safari in October 1962. Both bands tried to stick with the general pop sound that was so popular.

In 1964, A Hard Day’s Night was released by the Beatles, with songs entirely written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The next year, Brian Wilson composed a side of dense, mature, and musically complex love songs for The Beach Boys Today! Both their albums and singles were selling in huge numbers, and with Rubber Soul the Beatles upped the ante again. The Beatles continuing to write their own material, and now featuring George Harrison tracks, Rubber Soul featured new instruments and sounds such as the sitar, a fuzz bass and more intellectual lyrics. Brian Wilson was inspired by the album, claiming it had no poor tracks, and was inspired to improve on this with his next project, the legendary Pet Sounds (Keely).

During the middle of the 1960s, the competition between the Beatles and the Beach Boys was mainly a creation of fan magazines. People knew they could put Paul vs. Brian on the cover and know that it would sell even if the story inside turned out to be completely false. The Beatles and the Beach Boys constantly faced off on the American singles chart. Between 1963 and the end of 1966, the Beatles had 20 top-10 hits and the Beach Boys had 13. That means that they were frequently in the top 10 at the same time (Preiss).

With each Beach Boys record, Brian Wilson's influence faded, and so did the band's sales. At the same time the Beatles became increasingly involved with personal disputes and their next few albums lost some of its popularity like previous albums (De Forest). By 1970 the Beatles had broken up bringing an end to the competition between the Beatles and the Beach Boys and possibly even the popularity and influence of the Beatles on the world while the Beach Boys kept going on strong.

Works Cited

Selm, Nick. "Beatles vs Beach Boys ." (2011): n. pag. Web. 13 Sep 2011. <http://www.nuvo.net/MusicBlog/archives/2010/10/27/beatles-vs-beach-boys>.

Keely, Karl. "The Beatles And The Beach Boys." (2011): n. pag. Web. 13 Sep 2011. <http://www.suite101.com/content/the-beatles-and-the-beach-boys-a67634>.

De Forest, G.A. BEACH BOYS vs BEATLEMANIA: Rediscovering Sixties Music. 2008. 448. Print.

Preiss, Bryan. The Beach Boys: The Authorized Biography of America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band. St. Martins Press, 1979. 96. Print.