"Johnny Carson" is a song by American rock 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 ...

from their 1977 album ''

The Beach Boys Love You ''The Beach Boys Love You'' is the 21st studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released April 11, 1977, on Brother/Reprise. Sometimes called the band's "punk" or "synth-pop" album, ''Love You'' is characterized for its pioneering u ...

''. It was 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 ...

as a tribute to one of his idols,

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

. The recording features

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 ...

on lead vocals, accompanied by an arrangement of synthesizers, organ, and piano.

Inspiration and lyrics

Johnny Carson Woody Allen The Tonight Show 1964

"Johnny Carson" expresses admiration for the host of the late-night television talk show, ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

'', and extols his ability to be a consistent entertainer. In 1977, Wilson wrote of the origins for the song: Conversely, in a later interview, Wilson explained that he wrote the song after overhearing another person in the room talk about Carson. "I told them I was gonna write a song about him and they didn't believe me. I had the whole thing done in twenty minutes." Wilson's 1991 memoir, '' Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story'', credits the impetus for the song to his psychologist,

Eugene Landy Eugene Ellsworth Landy (November 26, 1934 – March 22, 2006) was an American psychologist known for his controversial 24-hour therapy program and treatment of celebrity clients. Landy's regimen involved supervising and micromanaging his c ...

. It states that Landy suggested and helped Wilson write a song about Carson in order for Wilson to overcome his fear of appearing on ''The Tonight Show''. Biographer

Peter Ames Carlin Peter Ames Carlin (born March 14, 1963) is an American journalist, critic and biographer who has written for publications such as ''People'' magazine, ''The New York Times Magazine'', '' The Los Angeles Times Magazine'', and ''The Oregonian''. Sev ...

felt that the song resembled "a musical vision of a factory", elaborating "This guy's like a factory of brilliance as far as rian isconcerned. Just cranks it out ..which is what Brian has been told to do for his entire adult life. ..So he's giving it up to the guy who can really do it without losing his mind."

Critical reception

Carlin referred to the track as the album's "pivot point", one that "separates the normal from the freakishly bizarre." Biographers Andrew Doe and

John Tobler John Hugen Tobler (born 9 May 1943) is a British rock music journalist, writer, occasional broadcaster, and record company executive. With Pete Frame, he was one of the founders of ''ZigZag'' magazine in April 1969. The magazine focused on the ...

similarly write, "By now, the listener has either thrown the disc out of the nearest window, or is dancing around the room shouting 'yes, yes, more, more!!' It's that kind of track on that kind of album."*

Carson's reaction

Asked about the song in a 1979 interview, Carson answered, "Sure I heard it. Someone sent it over to the office. I don't think it was a big seller. I think they just did it for the fun of it. It was ''not'' a work of art."

References

{{The Beach Boys Love You 1977 songs The Beach Boys songs Songs written by Brian Wilson Song recordings produced by Brian Wilson Songs based on actual events Songs about comedians