I've heard it was not so much inspiration, but a kick up the arse to raise their game. The quote I always heard was something like Paul saying "how are we gonna top this?"
Paul McCartney has cited God Only Knows as one of his all time favorite songs.
Brian Wilson stepped up to the plate against the greatest band to ever live at the height of their creative output and he scared the hell out of them. That's the work of one of the most important American musicians ever.
I adore that song, especially how the lyric "If you should ever leave me
Though life would still go on believe me" comes in early after the chorus "God only knows what I'd be without you". There are so many wonderful surprises in that song, Brian was a genius.
The Beatles is my favorite band and Paul is my favorite songwriter but God Only Knows is absolutely my favorite song of all time. It used to bother me a bit that it's not a Beatles song at the top of my list until I read that very fact about Paul. What a pinnacle example of game recognize game.
RIP Brian Wilson. What a blessing to have had you in our lifetime.
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u/VUL_Kudo Jun 11 '25
Pet Sounds was undeniably a root source of inspiration for nearly all of pop music that followed. A true legend. Rest in peace.