The Classic Rock Hit That Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson Once Said He Was “Scared” Of

Watching your musical contemporaries come out with fantastic artistic achievements can rouse a complex blend of admiration, envy, respect, and fear, which is something Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson learned in real time after the release of a particularly memorable classic rock hit in 1975 that he admitted scared and inspired him. While there were some sonic similarities between the chart-topping track and Wilson’s musical style, it was clear that the song that struck a fearful chord in Wilson stood in a league of its own.

Videos by American Songwriter

But such is the way of an artist. The things that scare you can also be the biggest sources of inspiration. And indeed, that seemed to be the case for the “Wouldn’t It Be Nice?” singer, too.

Brian Wilson Said He Was Scared Of This Classic Rock Hit

Music is an incredibly cyclical process. Those who inspired future artists might one day become inspired by the younger generation who first looked to them for direction. The Beach Boys had no small shortage of inspiring records. They influenced an entire genre of surf pop and countless other bands that came after them. It stands to reason that Queen, which was founded in 1970, was one of those bands that took guidance from the Beach Boys, however consciously or subconsciously.

Five years after they established themselves as a band, it became Queen’s turn to inspire the Beach Boys founder. Wilson, like so many other music fans at the time, had never heard anything like Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” before. In a 1976 interview with Creem, Wilson said the record was “a fulfillment of artistic music. I studied he record. I became very familiar with it. And I’m very, very fond of it and scared of it at the same time.”

Wilson admitted that part of his admiration for and fear of “Bohemian Rhapsody” stemmed from his inherently competitive nature. “It’s the most competitive thing that’s come along in ages,” Wilson said. “It’s just totally amazing what people do when they lose their noggins. When they lose their heads and go in there and freak. That’s exactly what Queen did. They had enough of what was happening, and by God, they went in and did their thing and stomped. I appreciate that, and I’m very fond of it. I think records have now gotten to the point where now everything is its own identity. There are not many fads.”

All The Pieces Fell Into Place On “Bohemian Rhapsody”

Considering the complex vocal harmonies, distinct musical sections, and sheer creative power behind Queen’s 1975 track “Bohemian Rhapsody,” it’s unsurprising that someone like Brian Wilson would say they loved and were scared of it. As a founding member and principal songwriter of the Beach Boys, Wilson was a musical innovator in his own right, vastly changing the game of pop production forever. He undoubtedly saw a kindred creative spirit in Queen frontman and “Bohemian Rhapsody” songwriter Freddie Mercury. (Mercury never explicitly said he used Wilson or the Beach Boys as an influence, though he did say people often compared his band to Wilson’s.)

Wilson identifying “Bohemian Rhapsody” as something special isn’t exactly groundbreaking. Everyone in the recording process knew they had something special on their hands, including guitarist Brian May. Speaking to the Library of Congress about his band’s chart-topping classic, May said, “I think it has a deep authenticity on so many levels. It’s not something trying to be clever; it’s not something which was assembled from non-intersecting places; it was one concept. Even though it’s very complex, it was very much in Freddie’s head at the time.”

It’s just like Wilson said. When an artist willingly enters the creative and chaotic confines of their mind and “freak,” they can create art the likes of which the world has never seen. Like Pet Sounds. And like “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Photo by MediaPunch/Shutterstock