query: occupation tony asher
supports: Top 40 is a music industry shorthand for the currently most-popular songs in a particular genre. When used without qualification it refers to the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. The term is derived from record music charts, a few of which traditionally consist of a total of 40 songs. Top 40 is also an alternative term for the radio format of such music, also known as Contemporary hit radio. Doo-wop is a genre of music that was developed in African-Americans communities of New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Detroit, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles in the 1940s, achieving mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. Built upon vocal harmony, doo-wop was one of the most mainstream, pop-oriented R&B styles of the time. Singer Bill Kenny (19141978) is often called the "Godfather of Doo-wop" for his introducing the "top and bottom" format which featured a high tenor singing the lead and a bass singer reciting the lyrics in the middle of the song. Doo-wop features vocal group harmony, nonsense syllables, a simple beat, sometimes little or no instrumentation, and simple music and lyrics. "God Only Knows" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher for American rock band the Beach Boys, released in May 1966 as the eighth track on the group's album "Pet Sounds". Two months later, it was released as the B-side of "Wouldn't It Be Nice" in the United States. In other countries, "God Only Knows" was the single's A-side, peaking at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. According to historian John Robert Greene, "God Only Knows" led to the reinvention of the popular love song. Surfing is a surface water sport in which the wave rider, referred to as a surfer, rides on the forward or deep face of a moving wave, which is usually carrying the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found in the ocean, but can also be found in lakes or in rivers in the form of a standing wave or tidal bore. However, surfers can also utilize artificial waves such as those from boat wakes and the waves created in artificial wave pools. Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer best known for being the multi-tasking leader and co-founder of the rock band the Beach Boys. After signing with Capitol Records in 1962, Wilson wrote or co-wrote more than two dozen Top 40 hits for the group. Because of his unorthodox approaches to song composition and arrangement and mastery of recording techniques, he is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and influential creative forces in popular music by critics and musicians alike. Pet Sounds is the eleventh studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on May 16, 1966. It initially met with a lukewarm critical and commercial response in the United States, peaking at number 10 in the "Billboard" 200, a significantly lower placement than the band's preceding albums. In the United Kingdom, the album was hailed by its music press and was an immediate commercial success, peaking at number 2 in the UK Top 40 Albums Chart and remaining among the top ten positions for six months. "Pet Sounds" has subsequently gathered worldwide acclaim from critics and musicians alike, and is widely considered to be one of the most influential albums in music history. Jazz is a music genre that originated amongst African Americans in New Orleans, United States, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Since the 1920s jazz age, jazz has become recognized as a major form of musical expression. It emerged in the form of independent traditional and popular musical styles, all linked by the common bonds of African American and European American musical parentage with a performance orientation. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in West African cultural and musical expression, and in African-American music traditions including blues and ragtime, as well as European military band music. Although the foundation of jazz is deeply rooted within the Black experience of the United States, different cultures have contributed their own experience and styles to the art form as well. Intellectuals around the world have hailed jazz as "one of America's original art forms". Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946  February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best remembered as their lead guitarist and as the youngest brother of bandmates Brian and Dennis Wilson. Albums of recorded music were developed in the early 20th century, first as books of individual 78rpm records, then from 1948 as vinyl LP records played at  rpm. Vinyl LPs are still issued, though in the 21st century album sales have mostly focused on compact disc (CD) and MP3 formats. The audio cassette was a format used from the late 1970s through to the 1990s alongside vinyl. Southern California, often abbreviated as SoCal, is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises California's 10 southernmost counties. The region is traditionally described as eight counties, based on demographics and economic ties: Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura. The more extensive 10-county definition, which includes Kern and San Luis Obispo counties, is also used based on historical political divisions. Southern California is a major economic center for the state of California and the United States. The UK Singles Chart (currently entitled Official Singles Chart) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-selling singles in the United Kingdom, based upon physical sales, paid-for downloads and streaming. To be eligible for the chart, a single is currently defined by the Official Charts Company (OCC) as either a 'single bundle' having no more than four tracks and not lasting longer than 25 minutes or one digital audio track not longer than 15 minutes with a minimum sale price of 40 pence. The rules have changed many times as technology has developed, the most notable being the inclusion of digital downloads in 2005 and streaming in 2014. Tony Asher ( born May 2 , 1939 ) is a British - American lyricist who co-wrote eight songs on the Beach Boys 1966 album Pet Sounds in conjunction with Brian Wilson , including `` God Only Knows '' and `` Would n't It Be Nice '' . Asher , who formally helped translate Wilson 's ideas into words , had a significant influence on the album . In Asher 's own words , `` The general tenor of the lyrics was often ( Brian 's ) , however the actual choice of words was usually mine . I was really just his interpreter . '' The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. They emerged at the vanguard of the "California Sound", initially performing original surf songs that gained international popularity for their distinct vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting a southern California youth culture of surfing, cars, and romance. Rooted in jazz-based vocal groups, 1950s rock and roll, and doo-wop, Brian led the band in devising novel approaches to music production, arranging his compositions for studio orchestras, and experimenting with several genres ranging from pop ballads to psychedelic and baroque styles. A studio orchestra is an orchestra that exists only in a recording, movie, video game, or television studio. That is, it does not perform in public concerts or for audiences generally. Studio orchestras are typically run by movie and television studios to produce film and television soundtrack recordings. Nearly all easy listening orchestras are studio orchestras. Some famous easy listening studio orchestras are the 101 Strings, the Living Strings, and the Hollyridge Strings. "Wouldn't It Be Nice" is a song written by Brian Wilson, Tony Asher, and Mike Love for American rock band the Beach Boys, released as the opening track on their 1966 album "Pet Sounds". The song was also released as a single two months after the album's release with "God Only Knows" as its B-side. In other countries, the sides were flipped, with "Wouldn't It Be Nice" as the single's B-side. Its lyrics describe a couple in love lamenting about being too young to run off to get married, fantasizing about how nice it would be if they were adults. Alan Charles "Al" Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician, singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist, and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as "Help Me, Rhonda" (1965), "Then I Kissed Her" (1965) and "Come Go with Me" (1978). In 2010, Jardine released his debut solo studio album, "A Postcard from California". John Robert ("Bob") Greene is an American historian who is the Paul J. Schupf Professor, History and Humanities, the director of the Social Science Program, and the College Archivist, at Cazenovia College in Cazenovia, New York. Greene specializes in American history, with research and writing interests in the American presidency. He has edited or written seventeen books, including works on Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush. He has also written several volumes of history of higher education. Michael Edward "Mike" Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist who co-founded the Beach Boys. Characterized by his nasal, sometimes baritone singing, Love has been one of the band's vocalists and lyricists for most of their career, contributing to each of their studio albums. He is often regarded as a malign figure in the band's history, a reputation he acknowledges: "For those who believe that Brian [Wilson] walks on water, I will always be the Antichrist."
candidates: archivist band commercial dean founder game general historian interpreter lyricist major military music production musician official pet producer professor r radio sales science singer songwriter surfer
answer: songwriter