10 Best Covers Of Beach Boys Songs
1. I Get Around - Red Hot Chili Peppers
A bit of Beach Boys' history here: I Get Around, written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love and released in 1964, became the group's first record to hit number one in the US. It also reached the top 10 in the UK, and served as the opening track from the band's 1964 album, All Summer Long.
Lead vocal duties on the record are split between Brian and Mike. The bass part is played by a then-unknown young musician, Glen Campbell. Lyrically slight – the song focuses on stereotypical teenage themes of girls and cars, I Get Around is deceptively innovative in its composition, with stop-start rhythms and imaginative use of fuzzed up guitar, advanced use of reverb and striking keyboards.
This was the single which first brought The Beach Boys to the attention of the UK public. Released as a double A-side with Don't Worry Baby, it ranks among the best double-A releases in popular music history.
Los Angeles' Red Hot Chili Peppers chose to record the track as part of their digital-only 2012 release, Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Covers – a collection of six covers of previous Rock Hall Of Fame inductees whom they ranked as among their major influences. As you can hear, they did a first-class job.