October 08, 2014

Pharrell, Elton John, and Every Other Celebrity Musician Sing “God Only Knows”

“God Only Knows” is the best pop song of all time. That’s a personal opinion, but one shared by plenty of more reputable authorities, including Paul McCartney. As such, the song has seen a good cover or three since its release, but none quite like the BBC’s latest, which has over 25 musicians each sing a line of the Beach Boys classic. It might not be the best rendition of the song, but it’s one of the more bizarrely entertaining, and certainly the most lavish.

Lavish may actually be an understatement. God only knows how many people are in this video, who many of them are, and why they are surrounded by butterflies and Bengal tigers. For a brief idea of the star power present, the video includes—deep breath—Pharrell, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Florence Welch, Lorde, Chris Martin, Kylie Minogue, Brian May, One Direction, Sam Smith, and Dave Grohl. Making a peripheral appearance is Brian Wilson, that guy who wrote the song. Some may remember BBC Music’s similar cover of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day,” but Elton John is the only singer in both videos.

The Guardian has a full list of the musicians involved.

1 Dave Grohl; 2 Alison Balsom; 3 Lorde; 4 Pharrell Williams; 5 Zane Lowe; 6 Sam Smith; 7 Paloma Faith; 8 Eliza Carthy; 9 Nicola Benedetti; 10 Chris Martin; 11 Jaz Dhami; 12 Martin James Bartlett; 13 Danielle de Niese; 14 Stevie Wonder; 15 Florence Welch; 16 Lauren Laverne; 17 Brian Wilson; 18 Jake Bugg; 19 Katie Derham; 20 Gareth Malone; 21 Kylie Minogue; 22 Chrissie Hyde; 23 One Direction; 24 Emeli Sande; 25 Elton John; 26 Baaba Maal; 27 Ethan Johns; 28 Jools Holland; 29 Jamie Cullum; 30 Brian May; 31 Tees Valley Youth Choir; 32 BBC Concert Orchestra1 Dave Grohl; 2 Alison Balsom; 3 Lorde; 4 Pharrell Williams; 5 Zane Lowe; 6 Sam Smith; 7 Paloma Faith; 8 Eliza Carthy; 9 Nicola Benedetti; 10 Chris Martin; 11 Jaz Dhami; 12 Martin James Bartlett; 13 Danielle de Niese; 14 Stevie Wonder; 15 Florence Welch; 16 Lauren Laverne; 17 Brian Wilson; 18 Jake Bugg; 19 Katie Derham; 20 Gareth Malone; 21 Kylie Minogue; 22 Chrissie Hyde; 23 One Direction; 24 Emeli Sande; 25 Elton John; 26 Baaba Maal; 27 Ethan Johns; 28 Jools Holland; 29 Jamie Cullum; 30 Brian May; 31 Tees Valley Youth Choir; 32 BBC Concert Orchestra

By Sharran Shetty

With thanks to Slate.

Paul McCartney on performing with The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson

Paul McCartney chats to Ronnie Wood about performing 'God Only Knows' with The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson and reflects on the power of music.

This clip is taken from The Ronnie Wood Show, an award-winning TV series first broadcast on Sky Arts. Every episode features top artists joining Ronnie for impromptu jamming, lively chat and reminiscing about the wild days of rock'n'roll.