Wild Honey is the 13th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released December 18, 1967 on Capitol Records. It was the group's first foray into soul music and was heavily influenced by the R&B of artists such as Stevie Wonder. The album was the band's worst-selling at that point, charting at number 24 in the US. Lead single "Wild Honey" peaked at number 31, while its follow-up "Darlin" reached number 19. In the UK, the album peaked at number seven. The album's sessions began immediately after the recording of Lei'd in Hawaii, a failed live album, and the release of Smiley Smile, their previous LP. Like Smiley Smile, Wild Honeys core instrumental combo consists of organ, honky-tonk piano, and electric bass. The Beach Boys were inspired to regroup as a self-contained rock band, partly in response to critical assertions that they were "ball-less choir boys". They also purposely distanced themselves from the prevailing rock trends of the time, which had been typified by psychedelia and high-scale recording or thematic conceits. It was the second album to credit "the Beach Boys" as producer instead of Brian Wilson, who gradually withdrew from the band following the difficult sessions for the aborted Smile project. At his request, bandmate Carl Wilson began contributing more to the recording process, a trend that continued on subsequent albums. Mike Love also returned as Brian's main songwriting collaborator for the first time since Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) (1965). It was the last Beach Boys album to feature Brian as a primary composer until The Beach Boys Love You (1977). Wild Honey presaged a back-to-basics approach that was subsequently adopted by the Beach Boys' contemporaries, including Bob Dylan and the Beatles, and it is credited with pioneering the DIY pop genre. Most critics initially disregarded the record, but after the mid–1970s, a greater appreciation formed around its simplicity and charm. In 1979, the track "Here Comes the Night" was redone by the group as a disco single. In 2020, Wild Honey was ranked number 410 on Rolling Stones list of the greatest albums of all time. A remixed and expanded edition, titled 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow, was released in 2017. Background The Beach Boys' previous LP Smiley Smile, released in September 1967, peaked at number 41 on US Billboard charts for what was their worst performing album to date. A controversy involving whether the band