Who played electro-theremin on The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations"?

Paul Tanner played electro-theremin on The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations.”

Tanner was a jazz trombonist and former member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra who developed the Electro-Theremin with inventor Bob Whitsell in the late 1950s. The instrument imitated the eerie, sliding tone of a theremin but used a hand-operated pitch slider rather than the theremin’s antennas and hands-in-the-air technique.

Brian Wilson hired Tanner for the 1966 recording after seeking an unusual electronic sound for the song’s famous instrumental break. Although “Good Vibrations” is routinely described as featuring a theremin, the recording actually uses Tanner’s Electro-Theremin. That distinction is a common source of confusion, and the song helped create a lasting popular association between the Beach Boys and theremins.

Tanner also played the instrument on other Beach Boys recordings, including “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times” and “Wild Honey.” The single was released on October 10, 1966, and became one of the era’s landmark examples of studio experimentation.