"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:
“The heroes and discoverers have found true more than was previously believed, only when they were expecting and dreaming of something more than their contemporaries dreamed of, or even themselves discovered, that is, when they were in a frame of mind fitted to behold the truth. Referred to the world’s standard, they are always insane. Even savages have indirectly surmised as much.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“To have no heroes is to have no aspiration, to live on the momentum of the past, to be thrown back upon routine, sensuality, and the narrow self.”
—Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929)
“Why do villains have so much influence? Because the honest people are terribly dense.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)