| "Wonderful" | |
|---|---|
| Song by the Beach Boys | |
| from the album Smiley Smile | |
| Released | September 18, 1967 |
| Recorded | 1967 |
| Genre | Baroque pop[1] |
| Length | 2:21 |
| Label | |
| Songwriter(s) | |
| Producer(s) | The Beach Boys |
| Licensed audio | |
| "Wonderful" on YouTube | |
| Audio sample | |
| "Wonderful" | |
|---|---|
| Song by the Beach Boys | |
| from the album Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys | |
| Released | July 29, 1993 |
| Recorded | August 25 – December 15, 1966 |
| Studio | Western and Columbia, Hollywood |
| Genre | Chamber pop[2] |
| Length | 2:02 |
| Label | Capitol |
| Songwriter(s) |
|
| Producer(s) | Brian Wilson |
| Licensed audio | |
| "Wonderful" on YouTube | |
| Audio sample | |
"Wonderful" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Smiley Smile and their unfinished Smile project. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, it was their only collaboration that resulted in a love song, telling the story of a young girl's sexual awakening and its disruption of her devotion to God and her parents.
Numerous early versions of the song were recorded by the group from August 1966 to April 1967 at three different Hollywood studios. It was originally sung by Wilson with harpsichord and trumpet as accompaniment. The Smiley Smile reworking was recorded in a single three-hour session at Wilson's makeshift home studio. This version featured Carl Wilson on lead vocal, supported by piano and organ, and a 35-second doo-wop interlude.
The original Smile version was released on the compilations Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys (1993) and The Smile Sessions (2011). As a solo artist, Brian rerecorded the song twice, for the albums I Just Wasn't Made for These Times (1995) and Brian Wilson Presents Smile (2004).
Cover versions of "Wonderful" have been recorded by artists including Nikki Sudden, David Garland, Adventures in Stereo, and Rufus Wainwright.