was chosen. 'God Only Knows' is a very special song. An extremely spiritual song and one of the best I've ever written." However, the promotion drew much of the same criticisms that were afforded to the BBC's 1997 version of "Perfect Day". Accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra, each of the following performers are listed in order of appearance, singing vocals unless otherwise specified: Lauren Laverne, Gareth Malone, and Zane Lowe also appear in the video. Personnel Per band archivist Craig Slowinski. The Beach Boys Carl Wilson – lead vocals, twelve-string electric guitar Bruce Johnston – backing vocals Brian Wilson – backing vocals Guest Terry Melcher – tambourine Session musicians (also known as "the Wrecking Crew") Hal Blaine – drums and sleigh bells Carl Fortina – accordion Jim Gordon – plastic orange juice cups Bill Green – flute and alto flute Leonard Hartman – clarinet and bass clarinet Jim Horn – flute and alto flute Carol Kaye – twelve-string electric guitar Larry Knechtel – harpsichord Jay Migliori – clarinet Frank Morocco – accordion Ray Pohlman – electric bass guitar Don Randi – tack piano with taped strings Alan Robinson – French horn Lyle Ritz – upright bass The Sid Sharp Strings Jesse Erlich – cello Leonard Malarsky – violin Sid Sharp – violin Darrel Terwilliger – viola Technical staff Chuck Britz – engineer (track) Ralph Valentin – engineer (vocals) "Don T." (uncertain) – second engineer (vocals) Charts Certifications Notes References Bibliography Further reading External links Lyrics Brian Wilson and George Martin dissect The Beach Boys’ ‘God Only Knows’ back in 1997 1966 songs 1966 singles 1960s ballads The Beach Boys songs Songs written by Tony Asher Songs written by Brian Wilson Song recordings produced by Brian Wilson Capitol Records singles Charity singles All-star recordings 2014 singles Brian Wilson songs Glen Campbell songs The Vogues songs Baroque pop songs Art pop songs Avant-pop songs Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements Experimental pop songs Pop ballads Rock ballads