"You're So Good to Me" is a song written by

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

and

Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who is one of the vocalists of the Beach Boys, of which he was an original member alongside his cousins Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Carl Wilson and their frien ...

for the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

, released on July 5, 1965, on their ninth studio album ''

Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) ''Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)'' is the ninth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on July 5, 1965, by Capitol Records. The band's previous album, ''The Beach Boys Today!'' (released March 1965), represented a depa ...

''. It was later included as the B-side of the group's single "

Sloop John B "Sloop John B" ( Roud 15634, originally published as "The John B. Sails") is a Bahamian folk song from Nassau. A transcription was published in 1916 by Richard Le Gallienne, and Carl Sandburg included a version in his '' The American Songbag'' ...

", which was released on March 21, 1966. ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

'' later wrote that the song was the closest the group had come to

northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

Background and recording

wrote "You're So Good to Me" while in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. He commented on the song, "The ones that aren't the hardest, right, they're the best... 'You're So Good to Me' was written in 20 minutes. I knew it was special. The songs that come the fastest are the ones I like the most." The basic track for "You're So Good to Me" was recorded at Western Studios in early May 1965. Take 24 was used as the master. On May 24, the lead and backing vocals for the song were recorded at Columbia Studios. Wilson wrote in 1990 that the track was "spearheaded by a guitar sent through a

Leslie speaker The Leslie speaker is a combined amplifier and loudspeaker that projects the signal from an electric or electronic instrument and modifies the sound by rotating a baffle chamber ("drum") in front of the loudspeakers. A similar effect is provided ...

. It gave it an eerie effect." Wilson dubbed it a "tongue song" for its repeated "''la, la, la''" backing vocals in the chorus. The repeated "''la, la, la''" in the chorus would later influence the song

Girl A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. While the term ''girl'' has other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.com, "Girl"'' Retrieved January 2, 2008. '' daughter'' or '' girlfriend'' regardless of age ...

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

Personnel

According to band researcher Craig Slowinski: The Beach Boys *

lead and backing vocals, piano, handclaps *

Al Jardine Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist, background vocalist, and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as number-one hit ...

backing vocals, electric rhythm guitar, bass guitar *

Bruce Johnston Bruce Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who is a member of the Beach Boys. He also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Bruce & Terry, the Rip Chords, and ...

backing vocals,

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

backing vocals *

Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian Wilson, Brian and Dennis Wilson, ...

backing vocals, electric lead and rhythm guitars *

Dennis Wilson Dennis Carl Wilson (December 4, 1944 – December 28, 1983) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their drummer and the middle brother of bandmates Brian Wilson, Brian and Carl Wilson as well as ...

drums Additional musicians *Ron Swallowtambourine *

Marilyn Wilson Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford (née Rovell; born February 6, 1948) is an American singer who is best known as the first wife of Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson. She was also a member of two girl groups, the Honeys in the 1960s and American Sprin ...

possible backing vocals

Alternate versions

In 2007, the compilation ''

The Warmth of the Sun "The Warmth of the Sun" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band the Beach Boys. It was released on their 1964 album ''Shut Down Volume 2'' and as the B-side of the " Dance, Dance, Dance" single, which charted at ...

'' released the first stereo remix of "You're So Good to Me". Previously, the song was only available in monophonic and duophonic capacities.

Cover versions

*1965 - Debra Swisher, single *1966 - The Factotums, single *1968 - The Kit Kats, single *1976 –

Design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

, single *1976 –

The Langley Schools Music Project ''The Langley Schools Music Project'' is a collection of recordings of children's choruses singing pop hits by the Beach Boys, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, and others. Originally recorded in 1976–77, they were found and rereleased 25 years later ...

, ''Lochiel, Glenwood, and South Carvolth Schools'' *1994 –

Velocity Girl Velocity Girl was an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in College Park, Maryland, and active in the Washington, D.C., area. The band released three albums before splitting up in 1996. The band reunited for a one-off concert in 2002 and f ...

, "

Your Silent Face In Modern English, the word "''you''" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from ...

" B-side *2001 –

Wilson Phillips Wilson Phillips is an American pop vocal group formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The group consists of sisters Carnie and Wendy Wilson, the daughters of Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, and Chynna Phillips, the daughter of John and Michelle Phi ...

, '' An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson'' *2005 –

Math and Physics Club Math and Physics Club are an American indie pop band based in Seattle, Washington, United States. Its members are Charles Bert (vocals, rhythm guitar) and Ethan Jones (bass, keyboards). James Werle played lead guitar until he died in 2018. Kevi ...

, '' Movie Ending Romance'' *2016 –

M. Ward Matthew Stephen "M." Ward (born October 4, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter, Grammy nominated producer and guitarist from Glendale, California. Ward's solo work is a mixture of folk and blues-inspired Americana analog recordings. He has r ...

, ''More Rain''

References

{{Authority control The Beach Boys songs 1965 songs 1966 singles Songs written by Brian Wilson Songs written by Mike Love Song recordings produced by Brian Wilson Capitol Records singles American soul songs