page_title: The Beach Boys Today!
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: The Beach Boys Today! / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: The Beach Boys on The Ed Sullivan Show performing 'I Get Around'.Español: The Beach Boys en The Ed Sullivan Show interpretando 'I Get Around'.
context_page_description: The Beach Boys Today! is the eighth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on March 8, 1965. The album signaled a departure from their previous records with its orchestral approach, intimate subject matter, and abandonment of themes related to surfing, cars, or superficial love. It peaked at number four on US record charts during a 50-week chart stay and was preceded by the top 10 singles "When I Grow Up" and "Dance, Dance, Dance", along with "Do You Wanna Dance?" which reached number 12. When issued in the UK one year later, Today! peaked at number six.
  The album was produced, arranged, and largely written by Brian Wilson with additional lyrics by Mike Love. Shortly before recording began, the group completed their album All Summer Long, intended to be their final statement on beach-themed music. In December 1964, Brian Wilson had a nervous breakdown while on a flight, and resigned from touring with the group to focus solely on writing and producing. He began using marijuana, which he later said had profound effects on his musical conceptions.
  Today! established the Beach Boys as album artists rather than just a singles band.
context_section_description: By the end of a particularly stressful 1964, the Beach Boys had released four albums in 12 months, dismissed the Wilsons' father Murry from his managerial position and recorded the advance hit singles "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)" and "Dance, Dance, Dance". Mid-1964 also saw the divorce of Mike Love from his first wife Frances St. Martin whom he had married in 1961. During the album's recording sessions, Love told Melody Maker that he and the band wanted to look beyond surf rock, wanting to avoid living in the past or resting on the band's laurels. Brian Wilson had written his last surf song in April 1964, intending All Summer Long (released July 1964) to be the group's final statement on beach-themed music.
  Wilson became physically and emotionally exhausted to a point that he suffered an anxiety attack on December 23, 1964, just hours after performing with the group on Shindig!. During the recording sessions of Today! in January 1965, he informed the band that he intended to retire from touring and focus his attention solely on creating and producing music, to which the band reluctantly agreed. Wilson expressed regret over not having done this sooner so that he could do "justice" to the band's recordings, saying "I was run down mentally and emotionally because I was running around, jumping on jets from one city to another on one-night stands, also producing, writing, arranging, singing, planning, teaching – to the point where I had no peace of mind and no chance to actually sit down and think or even rest." According to Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, in early 1965, Wilson phoned the couple to congratulate them on their new song "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", as Weil quotes Wilson: "Your song is the greatest record ever. I was ready to quit the music business, but this has inspired me to write again. I want to write with you guys."
caption: Performing on The Ed Sullivan Show in September 1964, three months before Brian's resignation from touring
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