Solar System (song)

1977 single by the Beach Boys

"Solar System"

Single by the Beach Boys
from the album  The Beach Boys Love You
A-side| "Honkin' Down the Highway"
Released| May 30, 1977
Recorded| October 1976 – January 1977
Length| 2:47
Label| Brother
Songwriter(s)| Brian Wilson
Producer(s)| Brian Wilson
The Beach Boys singles chronology
| "Everyone's in Love with You"
(1976)  | "Solar System"
(1977)  | "Peggy Sue"
(1978)

|
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"Solar System" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1977 album The Beach Boys Love You. It was written and sung by Brian Wilson.[1][2] The lyrics discuss the Solar System in a similar vein as the band's 1965 hit "California Girls".[3] In "Solar System", the narrator asks, "What do the planets mean? / And have you ever seen / sunrise in the mornin'? / It shined when you were born".[3]

## Background

[edit]

Wilson stated in a 1977 interview that he conceived some of the lyrics while driving to a parents' meeting at his daughters' school. He explained that he had looked up at the sky and started thinking about the Solar System. "It's just something that came into my mind. Later on, I developed it into the song; I didn't come up with the title that night but I wrote the words in the car."[4] In 1995, he gave a similar account and added that, when he got home, he finished the song on his piano, exclaiming, "This is a gr-eat song! These lyrics are great. This melody is great. (whistles) I've got a beauty here!" He then named it one of his favorites on The Beach Boys Love You, adding, "When I'm 90, I'm gonna be as proud of that song as I am now."[5]

In 2007, Wilson offered a different recollection of the song's genesis, saying that the song was written in his head while he was attending a weekly astrology class at UCLA.[6]

Trish Campo, former chief administrator of Brother Studios, recalled Brian at the studio sitting at a Hammond B-3 organ, absently gazing at the giant circular stained glass window over him depicting planets and stars. Later that afternoon, Campo heard "Solar System" coming out of the studio.[3]

## Reception

[edit]

Music critic Robert Christgau praised "Solar System" as "impossible to shake", and characterized by a "silliness that registered as charming".[7]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Love You". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
2. ^ Lambert, P. (2007). Inside the Music of Brian Wilson: The Songs, Sounds and Influences of the Beach Boys' Founding Genius. Continuum. p. 312\. ISBN 978-0-8264-1877-7.
3. ^ a b c Carlin, Peter Ames (2006). Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, & Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Rodale Books (New York). p. 212, 214. ISBN 978-1-59486-320-2.
4. ^ Wilson, Brian (May 1977). "I'm a Pooper, Not a Buzzer". Crawdaddy!. p. 63.
5. ^ Benci, Jacopo (January 1995). "Brian Wilson interview". Record Collector (185). UK.
6. ^ Beard, David (Spring 2007). "Ding Dang". Endless Summer Quarterly.
7. ^ "CG: beach boys". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2016-10-12.

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The Beach Boys Love You

Songs|

| Side one|

* "Let Us Go on This Way"
* "Roller Skating Child"
* "Mona"
* "Johnny Carson"
* "Good Time"
* "Honkin' Down the Highway"
* "Ding Dang"

|

Side two|

* "Solar System"
* "The Night Was So Young"
* "I'll Bet He's Nice"
* "Let's Put Our Hearts Together"
* "I Wanna Pick You Up"
* "Airplane"
* "Love is a Woman"

Outtakes|

* "Hey Little Tomboy"
* "Hey There Momma"
* "Lazy Lizzie"
* "Little Children"
* "Marilyn Rovell"
* "My Diane"
* "Sherry She Needs Me"
* "Still I Dream of It"
* "That Special Feeling"
* "We Gotta Groove"
* "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"

Related articles|

* Adult/Child
* The Beach Boys
* discography

* Surfin' Safari
* Surfin' U.S.A.
* Surfer Girl
* Little Deuce Coupe
* Shut Down Volume 2
* All Summer Long
* The Beach Boys' Christmas Album
* The Beach Boys Today!
* Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
* Beach Boys' Party!
* Pet Sounds
* Smiley Smile
* Wild Honey
* Friends
* 20/20
* Sunflower
* Surf's Up
* Carl and the Passions – "So Tough"
* Holland
* 15 Big Ones
* The Beach Boys Love You
* M.I.U. Album
* L.A. (Light Album)
* Keepin' the Summer Alive
* The Beach Boys
* Still Cruisin'
* Summer in Paradise
* Stars and Stripes Vol. 1
* That's Why God Made the Radio

* v
* t
* e

The Beach Boys singles

1960s|

| 1961|

* "Surfin'" / "Luau"

|

1962|

* "Surfin' Safari" / "409"
* "Ten Little Indians" / "County Fair"

1963|

* "Surfin' U.S.A." / "Shut Down"
* "Surfer Girl" / "Little Deuce Coupe"
* "Be True to Your School" / "In My Room"
* "Little Saint Nick" / "The Lord's Prayer"

1964|

* "Fun, Fun, Fun" / "Why Do Fools Fall in Love"
* "I Get Around" / "Don't Worry Baby"
* "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)" / "She Knows Me Too Well"
* "Dance, Dance, Dance" / "The Warmth of the Sun"
* "The Man with All the Toys" / "Blue Christmas"

1965|

* "Do You Wanna Dance?" / "Please Let Me Wonder"
* "Help Me, Rhonda" / "Kiss Me, Baby"
* "California Girls"/ "Let Him Run Wild"
* "The Little Girl I Once Knew" / "There's No Other (Like My Baby)"
* "Barbara Ann" / "Girl Don't Tell Me"

1966|

* "Sloop John B" / "You're So Good to Me"
* "Wouldn't It Be Nice" / "God Only Knows"
* "Good Vibrations" / "Let's Go Away for Awhile"

1967|

* "Then I Kissed Her" / "Mountain of Love"
* "Heroes and Villains" / "You're Welcome"
* "Wild Honey" / "Wind Chimes"
* "Darlin'" / "Here Today"

1968|

* "Friends" / "Little Bird"
* "Do It Again" / "Wake the World"
* "Bluebirds over the Mountain" / "Never Learn Not to Love"

1969|

* "I Can Hear Music" / "All I Want to Do"
* "Break Away" / "Celebrate the News"

1970s|

| 1970|

* "Add Some Music to Your Day" / "Susie Cincinnati"
* "Cottonfields" / "The Nearest Faraway Place"
* "Slip On Through" / "This Whole World"
* "Tears in the Morning" / "It's About Time"

|

1971|

* "Cool, Cool Water" / "Forever"
* "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (live) / "The Times They Are a-Changin'" (by Merry Clayton)
* "Long Promised Road" / "Deirdre"
* "Long Promised Road" / "'Til I Die"
* "Student Demonstration Time" / "Don't Go Near the Water"
* "Surf's Up" / "Don't Go Near the Water"

1972|

* "You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone" / "Cuddle Up"
* "Marcella" / "Hold On Dear Brother"

1973|

* "Sail On, Sailor" / "Only with You"
* "California Saga/California" / "Funky Pretty"

1974|

* "Surfin' U.S.A." / "The Warmth of the Sun"
* "Child of Winter (Christmas Song)" / "Susie Cincinnati"

1975|

* "Sail On, Sailor" / "Only with You"

1976|

* "Rock and Roll Music" / "T M Song"
* "It's O.K." / "Had to Phone Ya"
* "Everyone's in Love with You" / "Susie Cincinnati"

1977|

* "Honkin' Down the Highway" / "Solar System"

1978|

* "Peggy Sue" / "Hey Little Tomboy"

1979|

* "Here Comes the Night" / "Baby Blue"
* "Good Timin'" / "Love Surrounds Me"
* "Lady Lynda" / "Full Sail"
* "It's a Beautiful Day" / "Sumahama"

1980s|

| 1980|

* "Goin' On" / "Endless Harmony"
* "Livin' with a Heartache" / "Santa Ana Winds"

|

1981|

* "The Beach Boys Medley" / "God Only Knows"
* "Come Go with Me" / "Don't Go Near the Water"

1985|

* "Getcha Back" / "Male Ego"
* "It's Gettin' Late" / "It's O.K."
* "She Believes in Love Again" / "It's Just a Matter of Time"

1986|

* "Rock 'n' Roll to the Rescue" / "Good Vibrations" (live)
* "California Dreamin'" / "Lady Liberty"

1987|

* "Happy Endings" (with Little Richard) / "California Girls" (live)

1988|

* "Kokomo" / "Tutti Frutti" (Little Richard)

1989|

* "Still Cruisin'" / "Kokomo"

1990s|

| 1990|

* "Somewhere Near Japan" / "Kokomo"
* "Problem Child" / "Problem Child (Instrumental)"

|

1992|

* "Hot Fun in the Summertime" / "Summer of Love"

1996|

* "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" / "Wouldn't It Be Nice" / "Here Today"

2010s|

| 2011|

* "Good Vibrations" / "Heroes and Villains"
* "Don't Fight the Sea" / "Friends"

|

2012|

* "That's Why God Made the Radio" / "That's Why God Made the Radio" (instrumental)
* "Isn't It Time" / Live in Chicago

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