The Beach Boys

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The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys are an influential pop music band in rock and pop music history. They recorded thirty-six U.S. Top 40 hits (including four #1 singles) and many best-selling albums.

The act first gained popularity as the musical spokesmen for surfing, girls, and cars, but their chief composer Brian Wilson's growing creative ambitions transformed them into a more artistically innovative combo.

The primary group comprised singer-musician-composer Brian Wilson; his brothers, Carl and Dennis; their cousin Mike Love, and friend Alan Jardine. This core quintet, along with David Marks and Bruce Johnston, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

Many changes in both musical style and personnel have occurred during their sometimes stormy career, notably Brian Wilson's mental illness, drug addiction, and eventual withdrawal from the group; the deaths of Dennis Wilson in 1983 and Carl Wilson in 1998; and continuing legal battles among surviving members of the group. After Carl Wilson's death, founding member Al Jardine was fired by Mike Love. However, Mike Love and Bruce Johnston leased the rights to the name from Brother Records and continue to officially tour as The Beach Boys.

History

Early years

The first Beach Boys promo record (released Dec 1961) after having their band name changed from The Pendletones

The group was formed in Hawthorne, California in 1960. The early inspirations of the group were the Wilsons' musician father, Murry and the close vocal harmonies of groups such as The Four Freshmen. From the beginning, the group relied on Brian Wilson; brother Dennis was later quoted as saying "Brian is the Beach Boys, and we are his messengers."

The group performed initially as The Pendletones, after the Pendleton woolen shirts popular then. In their earliest performances, the band wore the heavy wool jacket-like shirts, which were favored by surfers in the South. In 1962, The Beach Boys began wearing white pants and candy-striped button-down shirts as their touring uniforms. The shirts had blue/gray and white stripes, a button-down collar, short sleeves, and a front patch pocket on the left. The shirts also had a vertical front opening with buttons on the right side and buttonholes on the left. This was the band's signature look through 1966.

Although surfing motifs were very prominent in their early songs, Dennis was the sole actual surfer in the group. He suggested to his brothers that they do some songs celebrating his hobby and the lifestyle which had developed around it in Southern California.

In the fall of 1961, Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, along with Al Jardine and Mike Love, recorded the song "Surfin'" on Candix Records. It was a hit on the west coast, and peaked at #75 on the national pop charts. At first, Murry Wilson, by many accounts a hard-driving man, steered The Beach Boys' career, engineering their signing with Capitol Records in 1962. In 1964 Brian Wilson fired his father after a violent confrontation in the studio. Over the next few years, they became increasingly estranged; when Murry died some years later, Brian and Dennis did not attend the funeral. There have been numerous stories about the father being physically abusive to the boys as they were growing up.

File:Beachboys-ariola.jpg
German 1962 single release Surfin' Safari.

The Beach Boys' early material focused on California youth lifestyle (e.g., "All Summer Long", "Fun, Fun, Fun"), cars ("Little Deuce Coupe") and of course surfing ("Surfin' U.S.A.," "Surfin' Safari," and many others). Although their music was bright and accessible, even these early works contained remarkably sophisticated melodies and arrangements. During this period, Brian Wilson rapidly progressed to become a melodist, arranger and producer of world-renowned stature. Their early hits made them major pop stars in the United States of America and other countries, although their status as America's top pop group was usurped in 1964 by the emergence of The Beatles, who became The Beach Boys' major creative rival. In 1968, the Beatles recorded Back in the USSR as an affectionate spoof of Beach Boys music; Beach Boy Mike Love, who was in India with the Beatles at the time of the song's composition, has claimed credit for some of the song's lyrical content. The Beach Boys also drew competitive and creative inspiration from the innovations of songwriters and producers such as Burt Bacharach, and especially Phil Spector.

By kimberly==Brian's innovations and personal difficulties==

The stress of maintaining a high level of creativity was too much for Brian to bear. On December 23,1964, while on a flight to Houston, Brian suffered from an anxiety attack and announced his withdrawal from touring to concentrate entirely on songwriting and record production. Glen Campbell served as Wilson's replacement on tours, until his own career success required him to leave the group. Bruce Johnston was asked to locate a replacement for Campbell; having failed to find one, Johnston subsequently became a full-time member of the band, first replacing Wilson on the road and later contributing his own talents in the studio.

Jan & Dean, close friends with the band and opening act for them in concert in 1963 and 1964, encouraged Brian to use session musicians in the studio. This, along with Brian's withdrawal from touring, permitted him to expand his role as a producer. Wilson also wrote Surf City for his opening act. The Jan & Dean recording hit #1 on the U.S. charts in the summer of 1963, a development that delighted Brian Wilson but enraged father/manager Murry Wilson, who felt his son had "given away" what should have been the Beach Boys' first chart-topper.

By 1964, traces of Brian Wilson's increasing studio productivity and ideas were noticeable: "Drive-In," an album track from All Summer Long features bars of silence between two verses while "Denny's Drums," the last track on Shut Down, Vol. II, is a two-minute drum solo. As Wilson's musical efforts became more ambitious, the group relied more on nimble session players, on tracks such as "I Get Around" and "When I Grow Up."

1965 led to greater experimentation behind the soundboard with Wilson. Today! featured less focus on guitars, more emphasis on keyboards and percussion, as well as volume experiments and increased lyrical maturity. Side A of the album was devoted to sunny pop tunes, with darker ballads on the reverse side. The Boys followed up their #3 smash "California Girls" in November 1965 with another top 20 single, "The Little Girl I Once Knew." It is considered to be the band's most experimental statement prior to Pet Sounds, using silence as a pre-chorus, clashing keyboards, moody brass, and vocal tics. Perhaps too extreme an arrangement to go much higher than its modest #20 peak, it was only the band's second single not to reach the top 10 since their 1963 breakthrough.

Pet Sounds

Wilson's growing mastery of the recording studio and his increasingly sophisticated songs and complex arrangements would reach a creative peak with the acclaimed LP Pet Sounds (1966). The tracks "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "God Only Knows," showcased Wilson's growing mastery as a composer, arranger and producer. "God Only Knows" is said to have been the first pop single ever released in the U.S. to include the word "God" in its title; supposedly for this reason, it was denied radio airplay on many stations and only reached #39 on the national singles chart. "Caroline, No," also taken from Pet Sounds, was issued as a Brian Wilson solo single, the only time Brian was credited as a solo artist during the early Capitol years.

The album's meticulously layered harmonies and inventive instrumentation (performed by the cream of Los Angeles session musicians known as The Wrecking Crew) set a new standard for popular music. It remains one of the more evocative releases of the decade, with a distinctive strain of melancholy and nostalgia for youth. The album is still widely regarded as a classic of the rock era. Among other accolades, Paul McCartney has named it one of his favorite albums of all time (with "God Only Knows" as his favorite song). McCartney has frequently said that it was a major influence on the Beatles' album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, similar to Brian Wilson stating he was inspired to make Pet Sounds upon listening to The Beatles' Rubber Soul. Despite the critical praise it received, the album was poorly promoted by Capitol Records and failed to become the major hit Brian had hoped it would be (only reaching #10). Its failure to gain wider recognition hurt him deeply.

Because of his withdrawal from touring, Wilson was able to complete almost all the backing tracks for the album while the Beach Boys were on tour in Japan. They returned to find a substantially complete album, requiring only their vocals to finish it off. There was some resistance from within the band to this new direction. Lead singer Mike Love is reported to have been strongly opposed to it, calling it "Brian's ego music," and warning the composer not to "fuck with the formula."[1] Other group members also fretted that the band would lose its core audience if they changed their successful musical blueprint. At Love's insistence, Brian changed the title of one song from "Hang on to Your Ego" to "I Know There's an Answer." Another likely factor in Love's antipathy to Pet Sounds was that Wilson worked extensively on it with outside lyricist Tony Asher rather than with Love, even though Love had co-written the lyrics for many of their earlier songs and was the lead vocalist on most of their early hits.

Seeking to expand on the advances made on Pet Sounds, Wilson began an even more ambitious project, originally dubbed Dumb Angel. Its first fruit was "Good Vibrations," which Brian described as "a pocket symphony". The song became the Beach Boys' biggest hit to date and a US and UK # 1 single in 1966 — many critics consider it to be one of the best rock singles of all time. In 1997, it was named the "Greatest Single of All Time" by Mojo music magazine. In 2000, VH1 placed it at number 8 on their "100 Greatest Rock Songs" list, and in late 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed it at number 6 on their "500 Best Songs of All Time" list. It was also one of the more complex pop productions ever undertaken, and was reputed to have been the most expensive American single ever recorded at that time. Costing a reported $16,000 more than most pop albums, sessions for the song stretched over several months in at least three major studios.

In contrast to his work on Pet Sounds, Wilson adopted a modular approach to "Good Vibrations" — he broke the song into sections and taped multiple versions of each at different studios to take advantage of the different sound and ambience of each facility. He then assembled his favorite sections into a master backing track and added vocals. The song's innovative instrumentation included drums, organ, piano, tack piano, two basses, guitars, electro-theremin, harmonica, and cello. The group members recall the "Good Vibrations" vocal sessions as among the most demanding of their career.

Even as his personal life deteriorated, Wilson's musical output remained remarkable. The exact nature of his mental problems was a topic of much speculation. He abused drugs heavily, gained an enormous amount of weight, suffered long bouts of depression, and became paranoid. Several biographies have suggested that his father may have had bipolar disorder and after years of suffering, Wilson's own condition was eventually diagnosed as schizophrenia.

The story behind "SMiLE"

Main article: Smile (Beach Boys album)
File:Beachboys smile cover.jpg
The original cover of Smile. More than 400,000 Smile covers were produced; they were kept in a warehouse in Pennsylvania before being destroyed in the late '80s. Today, there are reportedly fewer than a dozen original Smile covers in existence.[2]

While putting the finishing touches on Pet Sounds, and just beginning work on "Good Vibrations," Brian met fellow musician and songwriter Van Dyke Parks. In late 1966, Brian and Parks began an intense collaboration that resulted in a suite of challenging new songs for the Beach Boys' next album, which was eventually named SMiLE. Using the same techniques as on "Good Vibrations," recording began in August 1966 and carried on into early 1967. Although the structure of the album and the exact running order of the songs have been the subjects of endless speculation, it is known that Wilson and Parks intended Smile to be a continuous suite of songs that were linked both thematically and musically, with the main songs being linked together by small vocal pieces and instrumental segments that elaborated upon the musical themes of the major songs.

But some of the other Beach Boys, especially Love, found the new music too difficult and too far removed from their established style. Another serious concern was that the new music was simply not feasible for live performance by the current Beach Boys lineup. Love was bitterly opposed to SMiLE and was particularly critical of Parks' lyrics; he has also since stated that he was deeply concerned about Wilson's escalating drug intake. The problems came to a head during the recording of "Cabinessence," when Love demanded that Parks explain the meaning of the closing refrain of the song, "Over and over the crow cries uncover the cornfield." After a heated argument, Parks walked out of the session, and shortly thereafter his creative partnership with Wilson came to an equally abrupt end.

Many factors combined to put intense pressure on Brian Wilson as SMiLE neared completion: Wilson's own mental instability, the pressure to create against fierce internal opposition to his new music, the relatively unenthusiastic response to Pet Sounds, Carl Wilson's draft resistance, and a major dispute with Capitol Records. Matters were complicated by Wilson's reliance on both prescription and illegal drugs, particularly marijuana and amphetamines, which only exacerbated his underlying mental health problems.

Just weeks before The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album was released, SMiLE was shelved. Over the next thirty years, the legends surrounding SMiLE grew, until it became the most famous unreleased album in the history of popular music. Some of the tracks were salvaged and rerecorded at Brian's new home studio, in drastically scaled-down versions. These were released, along with the completed versions of "Good Vibrations" and "Heroes and Villains", on the 1967 LP Smiley Smile, which would prove to be a critical and commercial disaster for the group.

Despite the cancellation of SMiLE, interest in the work remained high and versions of several major tracks—including "Our Prayer", "Cabinessence", "Cool, Cool Water", and "Surf's Up"— continued to trickle out. Many were assembled by Carl Wilson over the next few years, and included on later albums. The band was still expecting to complete and release SMiLE as late as 1972, before it became clear that Brian had been the only one who could have made sense out of the endless fragments that were recorded. A substantial number of original tracks and linking fragments were included on the group's 30th anniversary CD boxed set in 1993. The full SMiLE album did not surface until Wilson and Parks completed the writing and Brian rerecorded it as a solo project in 2004.

Mid-career brings changes

After their peak popularity with the song "Good Vibrations" came a period of declining commercial success. Smiley Smile and subsequent albums performed poorly on the U.S. charts (although they fared better in the UK). Their image problems took a further hit following their withdrawal from the bill of the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival as a result of Carl's draft problems. The event could have been crucial in establishing their new sound and staking a claim to relevance, had they been able to present their new material there.

The 1967 album Wild Honey, regarded by some critics as another classic, features exuberant upbeat songs written by Wilson and Love, including the hit "Darlin'", and a cover of Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made to Love Her". Friends (1968) is a quiet, tuneful, and largely acoustic album, influenced by the group's adoption of the practice of Transcendental Meditation. The title single, however, backed by Dennis' songwriting debut "Little Bird," was their least successful since 1962. This was followed by the single "Do It Again," a return to their earlier "fun in the sun" style, which was moderately successful in the US, but went to #1 in the UK.

As Brian's mental and physical health deteriorated in the late 1960s and early 1970s, his song output diminished and he became increasingly withdrawn from the group. To fill the void, the other members of the group began writing songs. Carl Wilson gradually took over leadership of the band, developing into an accomplished producer. To complete their contract with Capitol Records before signing with [Reprise Records/Reprise], they produced one more album, [20/20 (album)|20/20]' (1969), primarily a collection of leftovers (including remnants from "Smile"), cover songs, and several new songs by Dennis. One of those songs, "[Never Learn Not To Love]", featured uncredited lyrics by [Charles Manson][3] and was originally titled "Cease to Exist". Besides "Do It Again", the album included their cover of the Ronettes' "[I Can Hear Music]", their last new top 40 hit for seven years.

Their first two LPs for Reprise Records were '[Sunflower (album)|Sunflower]' (1970) and 1971's [Surf's Up], featuring new songs by Brian and all the group members, plus selections from the aborted "Smile" project. According to the liner notes for the 2004 version of '[Smile], Reprise expected the legendary missing album to be completed and released as part of the new contract, but this was never to be. However, the albums that did emerge included some of their most evolved and complex music since the Smile period.

The addition of [Ricky Fataar] and [Blondie Chaplin] in 1972 led to a dramatic departure in sound for the band. [Carl and the Passions-"So Tough"] was an uncharacteristic mix that included several songs drawn from Fataar and Chaplin's previous group, Flame; these are nearly unrecognizable as Beach Boys songs. Although it has its supporters, the album is widely considered to be one of their most muddled and inconsistent. Continuing with Fataar and Chaplin, and percussionist Kevin Michaels who played on "sail on Sailor" and "The Trader" '[Holland ](album)' (recorded in 1972 and released in 1973) was more successful, perhaps one of the most important albums which show that the band can produce very contemporary songs with wide appeal. The album's lead single "Sail on Sailor," a brief return to the collaboration between Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, was one of the more emblematic of Beach Boys songs. The Album rose to #37 on Billboard, Holland was popular on FM radio, which embraced tracks like Mike Love's "California Saga".

"Endless Summer"

In the summer of 1974, Capitol, in consultation with Love, released a double album compilation of the Beach Boys' pre-Pet Sounds hits. Endless Summer, helped by a sunny, colorful graphic cover, caught the mood of the country and surged to #1 on the Billboard album chart. It was the group's first gold record since "Good Vibrations", and remained on the album chart for three years.[4] The following year another compilation, Spirit of America, also sold well. These compilations revived interest in the classic Beach Boys sound.

In 1975, the Beach Boys staged a highly successful joint concert tour with Chicago, with each group performing some of the other's songs, including their previous year's collaboration on Chicago's hit "Wishing You Were Here". Beach Boy vocals were also heard on Elton John's 1974 hit "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me." But following Holland, the group produced no new music until 1976.

With the release of "Endless Summer", the Beach Boys suddenly became a hit again. But sadly, they were considered an oldies band. Nostalgia had settled into the Beach Boys hype. As stated earlier, the group produced no new material from 1973 to 1976. At concerts, they would play old material, especially their hits from the 1960s. The Beach Boys needed new material, and looked to Brian Wilson for help.

Brian's return

15 Big Ones marked the return of Brian Wilson as a major force in the group. This album included several new songs composed by Brian, and several of his arrangements of favorite old songs by other artists, including "Rock and Roll Music" (which made #5), "Blueberry Hill", and "In The Still of The Night". Brian and Mike's "It's O.K." was yet another return to their earlier "summertime fun" style, and was a moderate hit. The album was publicized by an NBC-TV special telecast in September of 1976, The Beach Boys: It's OK, produced by Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, and featuring appearances by cast members John Belushi and Dan Ayckroyd. Brian amiably agreed to poke fun at the rumors surrounding his 5-year hiatus from performing, and cameras recorded his (somewhat embarrassing) attempts to actually surf -- something he had never done in real life.

The 15 Big Ones album was trumpeted by Capitol Records with a Brian's Back advertising campaign, though Wilson was reportedly dismayed with the sentiment. As a response to Capitol, Mike Love recorded a lushly-orchestated, affectionate tribute titled Brian's Back, (featuring backup by the Beach Boys and verses by Carl Wilson), adding his comment, "They say that Brian is back... I never knew that he was gone." Though his sentiment was sincere, Brian was reportedly hurt by the song and requested that it not be publicly released, though it did appear on several unauthorized bootleg recordings. Fourteen years later, Brian's Back did surface on the 2000 compilation CD Endless Harmony.

In 1977 the Beach Boys released the LP Love You, a collection of 14 songs mostly written by Brian alone, including more "fun" songs ("Honkin' Down The Highway"), a mature love song ("Let's Put Our Hearts Together")—a quirky mix ranging from infectious to touching to downright silly. Although not a commercial success, the album is one of the more popular offerings in the Beach Boys' later oeuvre.

However, Brian's contributions diminished over the next several albums, until he again virtually withdrew from the group. Although he appeared sporadically with them in concert, he contributed little to their performances or recordings. Despite a much-publicized "Brian's Back" campaign in the late '70s, most critics believed the group was past its prime. Many expected that Brian Wilson would eventually become the latest in a long line of celebrity drug casualties.

Deaths of Dennis and Carl Wilson

In the late 70s, Dennis Wilson also suffered increasingly from drug and alcohol abuse. Some of the group's concert appearances were marred when he and other band members showed up on stage drunk or drugged. The band was forced to publicly apologize after a shambolic performance in Sydney in 1979, during which several members of the group appeared to be drunk. In spite of his own frequent drinking, Dennis Wilson managed to release his first solo work, Pacific Ocean Blue, and to launch the work-in-progress Bamboo, with friend and musician Carli Muñoz.

In 1980, the Beach Boys played a Fourth of July concert on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. before a large crowd. This gig continued for the next two years, but in 1983 Secretary of the Interior James Watt banned the group from playing on the Mall, saying that rock concerts drew "an undesirable element." [5] This drew howls of outrage from the many of the Beach Boys' American fans, who stated that the Beach Boys sound was a very desirable part of the American cultural fabric. First Lady Nancy Reagan apologized, and in 1984 the group appeared on the Mall again. Love and Johnston most recently appeared on the Mall in 2005 for the Fourth of July concert.

Dennis Wilson's problems continued to escalate, and he accidentally drowned December 28, 1983, while diving from a friend's boat. Dennis drunkenly tried to recover items he had previously thrown overboard in fits of rage. Despite Dennis's death, The Beach Boys soldiered on as a successful touring act: on July 4, 1985, The Beach Boys played to an afternoon crowd of one million in Philadelphia and the same evening they performed for over 750,000 people on the Mall in Washington (the day's historical achievement was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records). They also appeared nine days later at the Live Aid concert. They enjoyed a resurgence of interest later in the 1980s, assisted by tributes such as the David Lee Roth version of "California Girls." In 1987, they played with the rap group The Fat Boys, covering the song "Wipe Out" and filming a video for it.

They unexpectedly scored their first #1 in 22 years with the 1988 song "Kokomo." The song was featured on the soundtrack of the hit Tom Cruise movie Cocktail and despite having no involvement from Brian Wilson, became their biggest-selling hit ever. In 1996 they guested with Status Quo on a re-recording of "Fun, Fun, Fun," which was a British Top 30 hit.

Members of the band appeared on sitcoms such as Full House (starring sometimes drummer John Stamos) and Home Improvement in the late 1980s and 1990s, as well as touring regularly. In 1995, Brian Wilson appeared in the critically acclaimed documentary I Just Wasn't Made For These Times, which saw him performing for the first time with his now-adult daughters, Wendy and Carnie of the group Wilson Philips. The documentary also included glowing tributes to his talents from a host of major music stars of the '60s, '70s, and '80s.

On February 6, 1998, Carl Wilson died of lung cancer. Although Love and Johnston continued to tour as The Beach Boys, no other original members accompanied them. Their tours remained reliable draws, even as they came to be viewed as a nostalgia act. Meanwhile, Brian Wilson and Alan Jardine (both still legally members of the Beach Boys organization) each separately pursued solo careers with their new bands. Wilson and Jardine recently played some dates together.

Court Battles

Many legal problems arose from Wilson's psychological issues. In the early 1980s, the band hired controversial therapist Eugene Landy in an attempt to help him. Landy did achieve some significant improvements in Wilson's overall condition; from his own admissions about his massive drug intake, it was highly likely that Wilson would have died if Landy had not intervened. Landy successfully treated Wilson's drug dependence, and by 1987 Wilson had recovered sufficiently to record his first solo album. But Landy became increasingly possessive of his star patient. After accusations that Landy was using his control over Wilson for his own benefit, the band successfully entreated the courts to separate Landy from Wilson.

In addition to the challenges over the use of the band's name and over the best way to care for Wilson, there have been three significant legal cases involving the Beach Boys in recent years. The first was Wilson's suit to reclaim the rights to his songs and the group's publishing company, Sea of Tunes, which he had signed away to his father in 1967. He successfully argued that he had not been mentally fit to make an informed decision. While Wilson failed to regain his copyrights, he was awarded $25 million for unpaid royalties.

The second lawsuit stemmed from Wilson's reclamation of his publishing rights. Soon after Wilson won his Sea of Tunes case in 1989, Mike Love sued him in 1992 to gain credit for his co-authorship of a number of important Beach Boys songs, including "California Girls", "Catch A Wave," "I Get Around," "When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)," "Be True To Your School," "Help Me Rhonda," "I Know There's An Answer," and numerous others, winning $13 million in 1994 for lost royalties. In interviews, Mike revealed that on some songs he wrote most of the lyrics, on others only a line or two.

In November 2005, Love filed another lawsuit against Wilson. Love alleges that the UK publication The Mail on Sunday and Wilson’s representatives gave the false impression to the readers of The Mail on Sunday that their joint promotional giveaway of nearly three million copies of the CD called "Good Vibrations" was authorized by Mike Love and The Beach Boys. This free CD, Love alleges, includes five of Love and Wilson’s co-authored hit Beach Boys songs, and was done to promote Wilson's solo CD, Smile. Love also says that Smile and "Good Vibrations" were marketed using The Beach Boys’ names and images without permission. He is seeking several million dollars in damages, and also a million dollars to cover costs of advertising to correct the perceived damage to the band's reputation.

Love has stated: “Once again the people around Brian, my cousin and collaborator on many hits, who I love and care about, have used him for their own financial gain without regard to his rights, or my rights, or even the rights of the estates of his deceased brothers, Carl and Dennis, and their children... Unfortunately, history repeats itself. Because of Brian’s mental issues he has always been vulnerable to manipulation. I simply want to stop the infringers and stop the deception!”[6]

There has been speculation that Love's lawsuit is an attempt to pressure Wilson into agreeing to let him continue to use the profitable Beach Boys name for his and Johnston's touring efforts.[6]

Wilson’s website listed the following statement in response: “The lawsuit against Brian is meritless. While he will vigorously defend himself he is deeply saddened that his cousin Mike Love has sunk to these depths for his own financial gain.”

Pet Sounds 40th anniversary reunion

On June 13, 2006, the major surviving Beach Boys (Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and David Marks) all set aside their differences and reunited for a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the album Pet Sounds and the double-platinum certification of their greatest hits compilation, Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys, in a ceremony atop the Capitol Records building in Hollywood. Plaques were awarded for their efforts to all major members, with Brian Wilson accepting for his late brothers Carl and Dennis. Wilson himself implied there was a chance that all the living members (not having performed together since September 1996) would reunite again.

Awards and designations

The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988[7] and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998[8]. In 2001, the group recieved the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Brian Wilson was inducted into the UK Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in November 2006. [9]. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked the Beach Boys #12 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[10].

Personnel changes through the years

It has been suggested that this table and some introductory text be split into a new article entitled The Beach Boys lineups. (Discuss)
The Beach Boys lineups

1961 - 1962

1962 - 1963

1963 - 1964

1964 - 1965

with


1965 - 1968

with


1968 - 1972

with supporting musicians


1972 - 1974

with supporting musicians


1975 - 1976

with supporting musicians


1976 - 1980

with supporting musicians


1981 - 1983

with supporting musicians


1983 - 1988

with supporting musicians


1989 - 1994

with supporting musicians


1995 - 1996

with supporting musicians


1996 - 1998

with supporting musicians


1998 - 1999

with supporting musicians


1999 - 2000

with supporting musicians


2001 - 2004

with supporting musicians


2004 - present

with supporting musicians

From the start, The Beach Boys have undergone many variations in composition, being represented by fill-ins onstage as often as not. Wilson neighbor David Marks appeared on their first five albums, played with the group in its formative stages, and was a member from 1962 to 1963 as a temporary replacement for Jardine, who had left the group to pursue a career in dentistry. Jardine returned to the band in 1963 as an onstage fill-in for Brian Wilson, who was already feeling the stresses of touring. Marks rejoined the band in 1997, during Carl Wilson's last illness, and remained with them for two years.

Glen Campbell toured for several months with the group in 1965, as a touring replacement for Brian, who had played bass in concert. Campbell was subsequently replaced by Bruce Johnston, who later became a permanent member. During the mid-1970s drummer Ricky Fataar and guitarist Blondie Chaplin joined the band.

Though not corporate members of The Beach Boys, supporting players have featured many notable musicians over the years. Keyboard players Daryl Dragon & Toni Tennille, later famous as the pop duo The Captain & Tennille, toured with the band. Carli Muñoz, who had been playing keyboards with the band since 1970, in 1971 replaced Daryl Dragon as keyboard player until 1979. Mike Meros took over the position from May 1, 1979 to July 4th, 2000. Drummer Mike Kowalski and bass player Ed Carter were two of the first outside musicians to join the group in 1969. Percussionist/drummer Bobby Figueroa was added in the mid-seventies until 1984. Adrian Baker joined the band in 1981 as a vocalist/guitarist. Jeff Foskett replaced Baker in 1982 as a guitarist and vocalist and remained with the group until 1989, Foskett is currently a member of Brian Wilson's group. Adrian Baker re-joined the band in 1989 to 1993 as a vocalist/guitarist. Billy Hinsche, of Dino, Desi, & Billy fame, was also a longtime member of the supporting band throughout the '70s, '80s, and '90s. Matt Jardine, son of Beach Boy Al Jardine also joined the band in 1989 through 1998 as singer / percussionist. In 1998, Adrian Baker re-joined the band (for a record-breaking third time) in 1998 until 2004. Randell Kirsch replaced Baker in 2004 to present as falsetto vocalist/guitarist.

Some of the changes in The Beach Boys' organization were less formal. They enjoyed a casual collaboration with fellow Southern Californians Jan and Dean. Much to the consternation of other band members, Wilson composed "Surf City" and gave the song, without compensation, to Dean Torrence. Jan and Dean, at the time not nearly as popular as The Beach Boys, recorded the song and scored their first number one single, a year before the Beach Boys finally reached the same milestone. Years later, Torrence happened upon the studio where the Beach Boys were recording their "Beach Boys' Party!" album. He joined in the singing, and can be heard singing harmony in the "Barbara Ann" cut from that album.

To the surprise and delight of fans around the world, Wilson has mounted several major tours under his own name with a band containing members of The Wondermints and led by former Beach Boys guitarist Jeff Foskett plus other supporting musicians. Their note-perfect live performances of the entire Pet Sounds album earned some of the most glowing concert reviews of Wilson's career, with some commentators calling the shows "the concert of a lifetime". In 2003 and 2004, he and Van Dyke Parks reunited to complete the unfinished sections of Smile, and in 2004 Wilson and his band toured the world performing a live concert version of the album. They then recorded a new studio version of Smile using vintage recording equipment and including sessions at the fabled Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, where some of the original recordings were made.

Jardine toured for a while with the Beach Boys Family & Friends (which for legal reasons quickly became Alan Jardine Family & Friends Beach Band), featuring his sons Matt and Adam, Wilson's daughters Carnie and Wendy, and Carl's brother-in-law Billy Hinsche, among others. Jardine now tours as the Endless Summer Band which includes his two sons, Hinsche, and several other performers. He also tours with other artists, including Stevie Heger and members of the pop/rock band Tripsitter. Most recently, Brian Wilson and Jardine have announced several joint shows in honor of "Pet Sounds'" 40th anniversary.

The Wilsons' Hawthorne house, where the Wilson brothers grew up and the group began, was demolished in the 1980s to make way for Interstate 105, (the Century Freeway) and California Landmark #1041 at 3701 West 119th Street, dedicated on May 20, 2005, marks the location.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilations

Anthologies

Boxed sets

Unreleased albums

Hit singles

Chart positions refer to A-sides only. Charting b-sides appear separately.

Release date Title Chart Positions
US Charts UK Singles Chart
11/61 "Surfin'"/Luau #75 -
6/62 "Surfin' Safari/" #14 -
6/62 "409" #76 -
11/62 "Ten Little Indians"/County Fair #49 -
3/63 "Surfin' U.S.A./" #3 #34
3/63 "Shut Down" #23 -
7/63 "Surfer Girl/" #7 -
7/63 "Little Deuce Coupe" #15 -
10/63 "Be True To Your School/" #6 -
10/63 "In My Room" #23 -
12/63 "Little Saint Nick"/The Lord's Prayer #3 (Xmas chart) -
2/64 "Fun, Fun, Fun"/Why Do Fools Fall in Love #5 -
5/64 "I Get Around/" #1 #7
5/64 "Don’t Worry Baby" #24 -
8/64 "When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)"/She Knows Me Too Well #9 #27
10/64 "Wendy/" #44 -
10/64 "Little Honda" #65 -
10/64 "Dance, Dance, Dance"/The Warmth of the Sun #8 #24
11/64 "The Man With All The Toys"/Blue Christmas #3 (Xmas chart) -
2/65 "Do You Wanna Dance?/" #12 -
2/65 "Please Let Me Wonder" #52 -
4/65 "Help Me, Rhonda"/Kiss Me, Baby #1 #27
7/65 "California Girls"/Let Him Run Wild #3 #26
11/65 "The Little Girl I Once Knew"/There's No Other (Like My Baby) #20 -
12/65 "Barbara Ann"/Girl Don't Tell Me #2 #3
3/66 "Caroline, No1/" #32 -
3/66 "Sloop John B"/You're So Good to Me #3 #2
7/66 "Wouldn't It Be Nice/" #8 -
7/66 "God Only Knows" #39 #2
10/66 "Good Vibrations"/Let's Go Away for Awhile #1 #1
5/67 "Then I Kissed Her" - #4
7/67 "Heroes and Villains"/You're Welcome #12 #8
10/67 "Wild Honey"/Wind Chimes #31 #29
12/67 "Darlin'"/Here Today #19 #11
4/68 "Friends"/Little Bird #47 #25
7/68 "Do It Again"/Wake the World #20 #1
12/68 "Bluebirds Over The Mountain"/Never Learn Not to Love #61 #33
2/69 "I Can Hear Music"/All I Want to Do #24 #10
6/69 "Break Away"/Celebrate the News #63 #6
2/70 "Add Some Music To Your Day"/Susie Cincinnati #64 -
4/70 "Cottonfields"/The Nearest Faraway Place #103 #5
11/71 "Long Promised Road"/'Til I Die #89 -
6/72 "Marcella"/Hold On Dear Brother #110 -
1/73 "Sail On, Sailor"/Only With You #79 -
4/73 "California Saga (On My Way To Sunny Californ-i-a)"/Funky Pretty #84 #37
8/74 "Surfin' USA (re-release)" #36 -
3/75 "Sail On, Sailor (re-release)" #49 -
5/76 "Rock And Roll Music"/The TM Song #5 #36
8/76 "It's O.K."/Had to Phone Ya #29 -
8/78 "Peggy Sue"/Hey, Little Tomboy #59 -
2/79 "Here Comes The Night"/Baby Blue #44 #37
4/79 "Good Timin’"/Love Surrounds Me #40 -
6/79 "Lady Lynda"/Full Sail - #6
9/79 "It's A Beautiful Day"/Sumahama - #45
3/80 "Goin' On"/Endless Harmony #83 -
10/81 "The Beach Boys Medley"/God Only Knows #12 #47
11/81 "Come Go With Me"/Don't Go Near the Water #18 #97
5/85 "Getcha Back"/Male Ego #26 #6
7/85 "It's Gettin' Late"/It's O.K. #82 -
6/86 "Rock'n'Roll To The Rescue"/Good Vibrations (Live in London) #68 -
9/86 "California Dreamin'"/Lady Liberty #57 -
7/87 "Wipeout"2/Crushin' #12 #2
7/88 "Kokomo"/Tutti Frutti (with Little Richard) #1 #25
8/89 "Still Cruisin'"/Kokomo #93 #78
2/96 "Fun Fun Fun"3 - #24
Notes:
  1. Issued as by Brian Wilson
  1. Issued as by the Fat Boys with the Beach Boys
  1. Issued as by Status Quo featuring the Beach Boys on backing vocals

Non-charting singles:

  1. "Gettin' Hungry/Devoted To You" (Brother 1002/28 August 1967), credited to Brian and Mike
  2. "Slip On Through/This Whole World" (Brother 0929/29 June 1970)
  3. "Tears In The Morning/It’s About Time" (Brother 0957/November 1970)
  4. "Cool, Cool Water/Forever" (Brother 0998/February 1971)
  5. "Wouldn't It Be Nice (Live from The Big Sur Folk Festival)/The Times They Are A-Changin'" (B-side by Merry Clayton) (Ode 66016 /April 1971)
  6. "Surf's Up/Don't Go Near The Water" (Brother 1058/8 November 1971)
  7. "You Need A Mess of Help To Stand Alone/Cuddle Up" (Brother 1091/15 May 1972)
  8. "Child Of Winter (Christmas Song)/Susie Cincinnati" (Brother 1321/23 December 1974)
  9. "Everyone's In Love With You/Susie Cincinnati" (Brother 1375/1 November 1976)
  10. "Honkin' Down The Highway/Solar System" (Brother 1389/30 May 1977)
  11. "Livin' With A Heartache/Santa Ana Winds" (Caribou ZS9 9033/20 May 1980)
  12. "She Believes In Love Again/It’s Just A Matter Of Time" (Caribou ZS4 05624/2 October 1985)
  13. "Happy Endings (with Little Richard)/California Girls" (Critique 99392/November 1987)
  14. Somewhere Near Japan/Kokomo (Capitol 44475/January 1990)
  15. Problem Child/Tutti Frutti (with Little Richard) (RCA 2646/July 1990)
  16. Hot Fun In The Summertime/Summer Of Love (Brother 5247/July 1992)
  17. Under The Boardwalk (1994- Promo Only)
  18. Summer Of Love/I'm Always Here (other artist) (1995)
  19. Little Deuce Coupe (with James House) (1996) US Country Chart: 69
  20. I Can Hear Music (with Kathy Troccoli) (River North 3011/August 1996) US Country Chart: 73
  21. Long Tall Texan (with Doug Supernaw) (1996- Promo only) US Country Chart: 69

EPs

  1. Four By The Beach Boys (Capitol R 5267/21 September 1964) US: 44
  • A: Little Honda; Wendy
  • B: Don’t Back Down; Hushabye

Album availability

  • With the exception of Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys' Christmas Album, and the three albums since 1989, all the Beach Boys albums are available in a two-LP-on-one-CD "twofer" format. The reissues of the 1960s albums also include bonus tracks.
  • Pet Sounds is available on both CD and DVD-Audio. A four-disc box set including numerous outtakes and alternate versions is also available. One CD release has both the stereo and mono mixes of the classic album as well as an alternate session outtake entitled Hang On To Your Ego (an early version of I Know There's an Answer).
  • The Beach Boys' Christmas Album is available both on its own and as part of the Ultimate Christmas album, which includes tracks from an aborted 1977 Christmas album.
  • Still Cruisin', Summer in Paradise, and Stars and Stripes Vol. 1 are currently out of print, but can be found used on CD. Rarities is out of print but can be found as an import CD. Still Cruisin' can be downloaded online via Apple's iTunes service.
  • The 1993 box set Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys presents a comprehensive review of the group's career plus a number of rare tracks, including some from the legendary Smile sessions.

Three albums have been released since the group's split.

Notes

  1. ^ http://www.musicangle.com/feat.php?id=58
  2. ^ Psychedelicatessen, Topic: SMiLE Booklet?, tripod.com, retrieved on 2007-01-15
  3. ^ Urban Legends Reference Page: All I Want to Do, snopes.com, retrieved on 2007-01-15
  4. ^ Endless Summer, The Beach Boys, mp3.com, retrieved on 2007-01-15
  5. ^ http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040725/news_m1a25timelin.html
  6. ^ a b Brian Wilson and Mike Love: More bad vibrations, independent.co.uk, retrieved on 2007-01-15
  7. ^ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees: The Beach Boys, rockhall.com, retrieved on 2007-01-15
  8. ^ Vocal Group Hall of Fame Inductees: The Beach Boys, vocalgroup.org, retrieved on 2007-01-15
  9. ^ Led Zeppelin make UK Hall of Fame, bbc.co.uk, retrieved on 2007-01-15
  10. ^ "The Immortals: The First Fifty". Rolling Stone Issue 946. Rolling Stone.

References

  • Whitburn, Joel, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 1992.
  • Wilson, Brian (with Todd Gold), Wouldn't It Be Nice, My Own Story, 1991.

See also

External links

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