The Beach Boys are my all time favorite band. I just think I have a narrow view on how I define “Classic Rock”. Maybe some of their 1970s albums would qualify and while I love Sunflower, Surf’s Up and Holland I don’t think many would agree. I just have a hard time putting Pet Sounds in the same category as Cream’s Wheels Of Fire or Led Zeppelin’s IV.
Is there any more "classic rock" song though than "I Get Around"?
Exhibit A [from Wikipedia]:
"The backing track for "I Get Around" was recorded on April 2, 1964, at United Western Recorders in Hollywood, along with "Little Honda". According to biographer Steven Gaines, manager Murry Wilson was in the control room "criticizing the song and Brian's production techniques ... rambl[ing] on about what a loser Brian was, how poor the music was, and how only Murry had the real talent in the family. At one point he insisted that Brian end the [recording] session because something was wrong with the bassline."
The disagreement eventually resulted in Brian firing his dad as the band's manager. Brian would later say, "We love the family thing – y'know: three brothers, a cousin and a friend is a really beautiful way to have a [rock] group – but the extra generation can become a hang-up."
Exhibit B [also from Wikipedia]:
The song was originally credited to Brian Wilson alone until
Love v. Wilson, a 1994 lawsuit by Mike Love which amended the song's copyright to include him as a co-writer. In an interview with Goldmine, published September 18, 1992, Love insisted that he and not Wilson "came up with 'round round get around'".
Exhibit C [from the authoritative songfacts.com]:
"['I Get Around'] was effusively pushed by Mick Jagger on British TV's
Juke Box Jury and he personally circulated copies of it to the UK's independent pirate radio stations offshore."
Exhibit D [also from songfacts.com]:
"Fuzzed and reverbed guitar were demonstrated on this way before anyone else in rock, but too subtly for the general public to notice. It was about three years later that fuzz and reverb became a huge deal from the amplifiers of Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards."
Exhibit E [also from songfacts.com]:
"Alice Cooper says that this is his favorite song. The horror rocker is a big fan of '60s pop music, especially The Beach Boys and The Beatles. He was 14 when he first heard "I Get Around," and even though he didn't surf, he did want to drive around with his friends."
Exhibit F [info from wikipedia article for "Two Sides of the Moon" ]
Keith Moon, the drummer for the Who, had a fantasy of wanting to be a Beach Boy. He recorded a solo album and got Ringo Starr, Harry Nilsson, Joe Walsh, Ronnie Wood, Dick Dale, and members of the Turtles to play on the album. The lead single from the album was a cover of "Don't Worry Baby" - his favorite song of all time. "Don't Worry Baby" was released
AS THE B-SIDE to "I Get Around."
Exhibit G:
The song itself rocks. And is a classic.