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Beach Boys' hit used an unusual technique

The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys in 1964, from left to right, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson (1944 - 1983) and Carl Wilson (1946 - 1998).
Fox Photos | Getty Images 1964

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Fifty years ago Monday the Beach Boys began recording what would become one of their most iconic songs: "California Girls."

Band leader and producer Brian Wilson was starting to experiment with new ideas about what you could put into a pop song. It took 44 takes before he was satisfied with the band's performance of the instrumental track.

And against his father's objections, he included an orchestral introduction that transitioned into a rhythm inspired by what he heard in cowboy songs.