Paul McCartney Calls 'Pet Sounds' His Favorite Album Despite Its Initial Commercial Failure
60 years ago, the world experienced one of the most important years in music history. A handful of classic artists had begun shifting the conception of popular music from entertainment to art with some groundbreaking albums. Music was becoming something much greater than it had been previously, and that's thanks to albums like " Blonde on Blonde," "Revolver," Buffalo Springfield's Self Titled,and maybe the most influential of all, " Pet Sounds."
Going into 1966, The Beach Boyswere something akin to a modern boy band. They made fun surf pop records that kids could listen to to celebrate the summer sun and the recreation that comes with that. This was making them incredibly successful, but it wasn't enough for principle songwriter and musical genius Brian Wilson, who wanted the band to be more than parties and girls in bikinis. The album that was born from that artistic pursuit was "Pet Sounds," an album that not only completely reinvented the way musicians operate in the studio, but also birthed some of the most important releases to come after, chief among these being "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
Paul McCartneyhas long shared his love of the album. In an interview to be published in the CD release of Pet Sounds, McCartney gushed about the record, saying "it was Pet Sounds that blew me out of the water. First of all, it was Brian's writing. I love the album so much. I've just bought my kids each a copy of it for their education in life—I figure no one is educated musically 'til they've heard that album. I was into the writing and the songs."
Maybe the song that gets the most love is "God Only Knows," which McCartney has stated as his favorite song before, which is also brought up in the interview. McCartney remarked that " "It's a really, really great song—it's a big favorite of mine. I was asked recently to give my top ten favorite songs for a Japanese radio station…I didn't think long and hard on it, but I popped that ["God Only Knows"] on the top of my list. [Thinks for a moment] It's very deep. [Quotes the lyrics to "God Only Knows"] Very emotional, always a bit of a choker for me, that one. There are certain songs that just hit home with me, and they're the strangest collection of songs…but that is high on the list, I must say."
Despite all the reverence for the record, it was close to a commercial disaster for the band. It still sold moderately well, but people didn't understand the album well at all. For a band that was maybe the most popular in the country, a steep drop in sales was a huge blow. Wilson himself was extremely hurt by the response to the album, and it was something that really bothered him for a long time. Thankfully, the world eventually came around to understand it as one of the great records of all time.
This story was originally published by Parade on Sep 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
