Background Early in 1964, the Beach Boys completed their fifth album, Shut Down Volume 2, and embarked on their first tour of Australia and New Zealand, lasting from January 13 to February 2. The tour was highly successful, but led to the dismissal of their manager, Murry Wilson, who had frustrated the group with his overbearing practices and his disruptive behavior at recording sessions. Concurrently, the band were conscious of a new rival group, the Beatles, whose "I Want to Hold Your Hand" topped the U.S. charts on February 1. The Beach Boys' latest single, "Fun, Fun, Fun", then stalled at number five, with the Beatles occupying the top three positions. The fourth position was held by the Four Seasons, the act that most closely rivaled the Beach Boys before this point. By February 7, the British Invasion had officially commenced with the Beatles' arrival in New York City. Mike Love recalled, "To varying degrees, all of us in the Beach Boys were rattled, but most of all Brian [Wilson], who saw the Beatles as a challenge to his emerging position as a leader in pop music." Wilson said in a 1966 interview, "I knew we were good but it wasn't until the Beatles arrived that I knew we had to get going.[...] When we saw how everybody was screaming for the Beatles, it was like, 'Whooa!' We couldn't believe it. I was shook up as hell." His 1991 memoir, Wouldn't It Be Nice, states that he had "suddenly felt unhip[...] as if we looked more like golf caddies than rock and roll stars" and considered scrapping Shut Down Volume 2. After discussing the matter with Love, they concluded that competing with the Beatles in terms of public image was a pointless pursuit, leading them to concentrate their efforts on trying to outdo their rivals in the recording studio. Capitol Records, whose roster included both the Beach Boys and the Beatles, responded the next month by rush-releasing Shut Down Volume 2, becoming the first Beach Boys LP to miss the top 10 since their second, Surfin' U.S.A. (1963). Moreover, the record company had begun allocating much of their marketing resources to the Beatles. Band promoter Fred Vail recalled, "The Beach Boys had been it for two years, but now people thought the Beatles were the future. And loyalties ran thin at Capitol. Now they didn't have to cater to Murry