'The Beach Boys' mark 60 years of 'Pet Sounds' with new anniversary editions and tributes to Brian Wilson

The Beach Boys' landmark album Pet Sounds is celebrating its 60th anniversary this May, with Capitol Records marking the occasion with special anniversary releases and surviving band members paying tribute to the late Brian Wilson's extraordinary genius.

The anniversary releases

Capitol Records is releasing The Pet Sounds Sessions Highlights — a two-CD collection of a cappella recordings, alternate versions, and tracking sessions with new liner notes — alongside a limited Vinylphyle Edition two-LP set cut from the original mono and stereo analogue tapes.

The album's creation

Pet Sounds debuted in May 1966, representing a dramatic departure from the Beach Boys' signature themes of "girls, surf, cars, school." Whilst the group was touring Japan, Wilson remained at home and co-wrote the album with Tony Asher.

When the band returned, they were summoned directly to the studio. "Don't go home yet. Come to the studio and listen to my tracks," Wilson told them.

"I thought what he'd done was brilliant. The tracks were amazing," recalled founding member Mike Love. "It was different, more comprehensive."

The album has since been certified double platinum, with Wouldn't It Be Nice (4x platinum), God Only Knows (2x platinum), and Sloop John B (platinum) among its enduring singles.

The Beatles connection

Pet Sounds famously inspired The Beatles to create Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Bruce Johnston recalled playing the album for John Lennon and Paul McCartney in his hotel suite in England after a promotional tour.

"Lennon and McCartney are in your suite. They want to hear Pet Sounds," Keith Moon told him. "So I played it twice for Lennon and McCartney."

The impact was immediate. "When they heard the album, they thought, 'Oh boy — what are we going to do?'" said Al Jardine.

Johnston added that McCartney was said to have been so struck by Wouldn't It Be Nice that he channelled its feel into Here, There and Everywhere on the Revolver album.

Love noted that McCartney later gave Pet Sounds to his children for musical education and called God Only Knows "the greatest song ever."

Missing Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson died in June 2025. His brothers Carl and Dennis also predeceased him, leaving Johnston as the only surviving Beach Boy to appear on the original mono recording.

"When Brian passed away, I thought, 'Uh-oh. The magic's left the planet,'" Johnston said.

Jardine recalled his final visit with Wilson with a mixture of laughter and grief. "He looked at me and he said, 'You started the band!' And I said, 'What? Brian, you had a little to do with it!'"

A classic that aged like fine wine

Six decades on, the album's reputation has only grown. "It aged like a fine wine," Jardine reflected. Johnston added: "It's pretty cool to sit here 60 years later this week and realise that people whose parents weren't even born [then] are loving it."