<P> The track was produced by Wilson, who intended to encapsulate the feel of the Drifters' version of "On Broadway". The instrumental was made on April 6, 1965 at United Western Recorders, requiring 44 takes before Wilson could deem a satisfactory performance . Problems had arisen from the tempo and guitar part in the introduction, which fatigued Wilson, engineer Chuck Britz, and the dozen - plus session players . The song did not appear to have lyrics or a title at this juncture, and Wilson can be heard calling the song "Oh Yeah" and "You're Grass and I'm a Power Mower". Wilson remembers: "When we got into the studio with Chuck, he said that he wanted Carl's twelve - string guitar in the intro to sound more direct . I didn't know what that meant .' Can he play it in the booth?' Chuck said . I had never thought about that before, but it seemed like a good idea . Carl was standing next to me in the booth and all the other musicians were out in the studio . I conducted it like an orchestra ." </P> <P> Vocal overdubs followed two months later on June 4 at CBS Columbia Square . Wilson recorded the Beach Boys' vocals using Columbia's new 8 - track recorder, allowing Love's lead vocals to be triple - tracked and the group's vocals spread over three more . "California Girls" was the first Beach Boys recording to feature vocals from Bruce Johnston, who had joined the group to substitute for Wilson on concert tours . Bruce's vocals can be heard at the end of the song . </P> <Dl> <Dt> The Beach Boys </Dt> </Dl> <Dt> The Beach Boys </Dt>

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