Here it is! Video footage of the BB recording Good Vibrations vocals!!!!

[Ron]

Gotta love Al.  He's the most 'respectable' Beach Boy left.  I'll bet he'd be pretty cool to hang out with too. 

I mean, imagine you're having a get together, you're going to watch oh... the Superbowl or something.  He just seems like the kind of guy who would bring the Beer. 

[grillo]

Man, it is SO great to see the guys singing around the mic like that, with soft and low Mike on his own. I guess the footage is staged but it is still amazing. There must be a documentary in the works...

[runnersdialzero]

Man, it is SO great to see the guys singing around the mic like that, with soft and low Mike on his own. I guess the footage is staged but it is still amazing. There must be a documentary in the works...

How d'you think it'd be "staged"?

[Ron]

I think it's probably staged, too.  I mean when the boys recorded that song they didn't know it was going to be the biggest thing ever, they wouldn't have filmed just the vocal session or whatever.  So they probably shot it for a promotional thing or something.  The other side of it would be that they just happened to have a camera there, for the vocal session, of the biggest thing they ever did?  I guess it could be but I think it's probably staged. 

Kind of like how Brian STILL stages studio footage. 

[Ebb and Flow]

I think it's probably staged, too.  I mean when the boys recorded that song they didn't know it was going to be the biggest thing ever, they wouldn't have filmed just the vocal session or whatever. 

Brian had been working on the song for months and whether it would be a big hit or not, it was the major single for the group for the 4th quarter of 1966.  The song was clearly a big milestone for the group and had cost a fortune to produce.  Also, Brian was the hot talent in Hollywood at the time...all eyes were fixed on what he would do next.  It's not unreasonable that someone would film him doing what he did in the studio at this point in time.

So they probably shot it for a promotional thing or something.  The other side of it would be that they just happened to have a camera there, for the vocal session, of the biggest thing they ever did?  I guess it could be but I think it's probably staged.

The footage feels very raw and authentic to me.  Just because it was shot for promotional purposes doesn't mean it was staged.  From the stills seen in the other video, Audree was present and the filming clearly spanned several recording sessions.

[Will C.]

This is the part where you link me to a bizarre 70s era interview with Al doing something ridiculous to prove me wrong. 

Not from the 70's, but...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slLIu5Yb1MI

Start around 3:00.

Well done, Bill Larson haha. "Be Veg, Go Green to save the planet!"  I knew somebody would post something bizarre.  This also cracked me up...

Gotta love Al.  He's the most 'respectable' Beach Boy left.  I'll bet he'd be pretty cool to hang out with too. 

I mean, imagine you're having a get together, you're going to watch oh... the Superbowl or something.  He just seems like the kind of guy who would bring the Beer.

[grillo]

Man, it is SO great to see the guys singing around the mic like that, with soft and low Mike on his own. I guess the footage is staged but it is still amazing. There must be a documentary in the works...

How d'you think it'd be "staged"?

Oh, it might've been recorded at a vocal session, but if that bass guitar clip is from that same session it must've been staged since we know the bass was already recorded with the rest of the track. Some of the other footage just seemed staged to me, but either way (I honestly do not care) the footage is frickin amazing fuckin sh*t, man!

[guitarfool2002]

The bass clip, those two seconds of it, could have been flown in from anywhere - it definitely doesn't fit the vocal session.

I think the word "staged" might be a loaded word in a way, because what that film is would have been standard practice of the time: To show a band or artist recording an upcoming release. All of these coming from 65-66, I have or have seen film of Frank Sinatra at United recording "It Was A Very Good Year" in front of a full orchestra and spectators filmed for CBS, The Mamas And Papas inside Western #3 filmed for an ABC music special in '67, Sonny And Cher recording at Gold Star in 1966 for a newsreel series called Hollywood Insider, The Beatles of course with All You Need Is Love and the film for the Day In The Life orchestra session, various sessions for teen shows like Where The Action Is, The Stones recording Sympathy, naturally the Inside Pop crew recording Smile vocal sessions...

Whether it was "staged" or not, these were actual sessions in the actual studios featuring the actual musicians and studio staff who made the records. Perhaps what we see was done for the cameras while another take was eventually used, but what was filmed was actually the way it was happening that day.

Priceless, inspirational stuff, those films.

[Ebb and Flow]

It's clear from the Good Vibrations video posted a few weeks ago that they've found video and still photos from several Good Vibrations sessions, including vocal and tracking sessions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEFEG3oVG10

I'd say aside from the HQ close-ups of the group that most of these shots are taken from moving footage.  The shots of Brian at the piano with Tommy Morgan and the wrecking crew look to be taken from video as well.  It's very likely that the bass footage is from a tracking session, not a vocal session...or as guitarfool said, flown in from somewhere else entirely.

Hopefully the entirety of this footage is released for the 50th.

[louielouie]

Geez! I have never thought one day I would watch footage of the boys recording Good Vibrations and Brian working on the control room, it is beyond fantastic!!I wonder what other unseen treasures they have been keeping unveiled for so many years. Unbelievable

[Jaspy]

Just noticed that the color photos from a vocal session at Columbia are probably from another session.
Mike is wearing a white shirt and a pullover on the photos, on the film it seems to be a dark, squared shirt. Al on the other hand seems to wear the same trousers and maybe same shirt.
So it would make sense the pic and film date from two sessions close to each other, except Al never changed clothes of course. Sorry, I just love these detective-speculations.
The GV vocal sessions took place on September 12 and September 21, 1966 according to AGD's timeline. But I guess there were more sessions not documented on this site. If not, the film + photos were probably taken in October when the boys did days of vocal-work at Columbia and indeed staged singing GV, but I doubt that. It looks like the boys were really working on the GV vocals and I doubt they had enough time to stage things at the studio.

[Ron]

I think it's probably staged, too.  I mean when the boys recorded that song they didn't know it was going to be the biggest thing ever, they wouldn't have filmed just the vocal session or whatever.  

Brian had been working on the song for months and whether it would be a big hit or not, it was the major single for the group for the 4th quarter of 1966.  The song was clearly a big milestone for the group and had cost a fortune to produce.  Also, Brian was the hot talent in Hollywood at the time...all eyes were fixed on what he would do next.  It's not unreasonable that someone would film him doing what he did in the studio at this point in time.

Your logic doesn't work, though.  You're saying he worked on the song for months, but just happened to have cameras on when he *finally* got around to recording the legendary vocals?  Huh?  Also there's no other film from any of the other sessions?  Why not?  If he was important enough to have film crews filming the song being recorded, wouldn't they have recorded other sessions?  

It's staged.  By 'staged' I mean, in my opinion the song was done already going to be released as a single or whatever, and they re-sang to the track for the cameras.  It may have been while they were in the studio working on something else or whatever, etc.

BTW I don't think anything's wrong with it, just like I don't think anything's wrong with Brian staging footage for his solo albums.  It's part of the business and is actually a pretty cool thing, that they want to let their fans see how they do what they do.  Either way, it's great footage. 

[Ebb and Flow]

Your logic doesn't work, though.  You're saying he worked on the song for months, but just happened to have cameras on when he *finally* got around to recording the legendary vocals?  Huh?  Also there's no other film from any of the other sessions?  Why not?  If he was important enough to have film crews filming the song being recorded, wouldn't they have recorded other sessions?

  If you actually study the footage from the recent video and the stills from the earlier video, the filming obviously spanned several sessions including at least one of the tracking sessions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEFEG3oVG10#t=1m56s

It's staged.  By 'staged' I mean, in my opinion the song was done already going to be released as a single or whatever, and they re-sang to the track for the cameras.  It may have been while they were in the studio working on something else or whatever, etc.

I don't even understand why you would form this opinion in the first place, much less defend it to the hilt.  Fact: the footage in both videos was shot at different recording sessions (one at a different studio), with the group wearing several different outfits.  If this footage was staged they went to a whole lot of trouble to make it seem authentic.

[Ron]

Staged. 

[Aegir]

and there's also the fact that the vocals don't completely sync up with the video...

[guitarfool2002]

Your logic doesn't work, though.  You're saying he worked on the song for months, but just happened to have cameras on when he *finally* got around to recording the legendary vocals?  Huh?  Also there's no other film from any of the other sessions?  Why not?  If he was important enough to have film crews filming the song being recorded, wouldn't they have recorded other sessions?  

There was film shot at other GV sessions, tracking sessions, and short of having the actual film to view I can point you to exactly where you can hear proof of a camera rolling in the studio as Brian worked on the track. Whether this is footage which the recent stills with Tommy Morgan were captured from remains to be seen, I just wanted to clarify that Brian was filming tracking sessions for GV other than that vocal session.

[guitarfool2002]

and there's also the fact that the vocals don't completely sync up with the video...

Sync issues weren't considered as important with promo clips of the 60's, in some cases: Ever see the "I Get Around" promo where the Boys are clapping their hands in front of a woodie station wagon, miming the song? Not an instrument in sight, but who cared at that point? Remember the Beatles released a promo of them supposedly recording "Lady Madonna" at Abbey Road, when it was revealed later that the song they were filmed recording was "Hey Bulldog", which they apparently decided to record after "staging" a session at Abbey Road just for the cameras. Why waste a few hours of studio time, let's record my new song!

[Jaspy]

Remember the Beatles released a promo of them supposedly recording "Lady Madonna" at Abbey Road, when it was revealed later that the song they were filmed recording was "Hey Bulldog"

Or the Beach Boys' promo for "I Can Hear Music", where you can see them recording "Time To Get Alone" at Brian's home studio.

But why would the boys film different promos for "Good Vibrations" anway? I mean, they did one in color with the firehats.
The now released footage looks semi-professional to me, like a private person filmed it. The mixboard-scene seems to date from the same day the Dennis darkroom/piano-footage on 'An American Band' comes from.

[Jon Stebbins]

Ever see the "I Get Around" promo where the Boys are clapping their hands in front of a woodie station wagon, miming the song? Not an instrument in sight, but who cared at that point?

FYI...That clip is actually a mimed TV performance not a promo (Red Skelton Show). Also, there are two instruments in sight, Carl and Al are miming the performance with guitars in hand.

[Rocker]

Here's part ne of a 10 part webseries just posted on facebook. Some more studio footage of Brian in the booth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw09zOhZ_Ck

[guitarfool2002]

Ever see the "I Get Around" promo where the Boys are clapping their hands in front of a woodie station wagon, miming the song? Not an instrument in sight, but who cared at that point?

FYI...That clip is actually a mimed TV performance not a promo (Red Skelton Show). Also, there are two instruments in sight, Carl and Al are miming the performance with guitars in hand.

This is definitely true, the clip is in AB, I guess I was thinking of the lack of drums, and weren't the guitars left unplugged? It just didn't seem to matter in a lot of cases what the band was doing and whether it was accurate, let alone being synced up with the track. Some of the clips, non-Beach Boys, are so bad in production value, but yet where else can you see the original band members when those records were new and not "oldies"?

[MBE]

Though this is a bit earlier this is just how Desper has decribed the 1967-71 vocal sessions. Amazing.