"Heroes and Villains" is a song by the American rock band The Beach Boys, co-written by the group's leader Brian Wilson and lyricist Van Dyke Parks. Originally intended by Wilson to be the centerpiece of the ambitious but shelved album Smile, a re-recorded version of the song was released on Smiley Smile (1967). This version was also released as a single, with "You're Welcome" on the B-side, which charted at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 2004 Wilson released a new version of "Heroes and Villains" on his solo album Smile, and in 2011 an extended mix compiled of abandoned 1966 and 1967 material appeared on the belated release of The Beach Boys' The Smile Sessions.
Read more about Heroes And Villains: Writing, Recording, Effect On Brian Wilson, Releases, In Concerts
Famous quotes containing the words heroes and, heroes and/or villains:
“Myths and legends die hard in America. We love them for the extra dimension they provide, the illusion of near-infinite possibility to erase the narrow confines of most men’s reality. Weird heroes and mould-breaking champions exist as living proof to those who need it that the tyranny of “the rat race” is not yet final.”
—Hunter S. Thompson (b. 1939)
“Athletes are American princes and the locker room is their castle. Some of them behave in princely fashion, become legitimate heroes to us all. And some are jerks.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)
“Why do villains have so much influence? Because the honest people are terribly dense.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)