The Beach Boys is 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. Distinguished by their vocal harmonies and their early surfing songs, they are one of the most influential acts of the rock era. The band is interested in jazz-based vocal group music, rock and roll 1950s, and R & amp; B to create their unique sound, and with Brian as composer, arranger, producer, and de facto leader, often incorporating classical or jazz elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways.
The Beach Boys started as a garage band, run by Wilsons' father, Murry, with musician Brian dominating their creative direction. In 1963, they became famous on a national level with a series of top-ten hits that reflected the culture of California's southern children's surfing, cars, and romance, later dubbed "California Sound". After 1964, they left the beach theme for more personal lyrics and ambitious orchestra. In 1966, the album Pet Sounds and "Good Vibrations" lifted the group's prestige as a rock innovator and formed the band as a symbol of the newborn era of counter-culture. After the dissolution of the Smile project in 1967, Brian gradually handed over production and songwriting tasks to the rest of the band, reducing his input due to mental health problems and substance abuse. The group's commercial momentum faltered, and despite attempts to maintain an experimental sound, they were dismissed by early rock critics as an archetype of "pop music copies".
Carl took over as band music leader until the late 1970s. Personal struggles, creative strife, and the continued success of the band's biggest hits album accelerated their transition into an oldies drama. Since the 1980s, much of the published legal debates about royalties, songwriting credits and the use of band names have materialized. Dennis sank in 1983 and Carl died of lung cancer in 1998. After Carl's death, much of the live configuration of the band fronted by Mike Love and Bruce Johnston went on tour into the 2000s while other members pursued solo projects. Although Wilson and Jardine have not performed with the band Love and Johnston since their one-time reunion tour in 2012, they remain part of the Beach Boys company, Brother Records Inc. (BRI).
The Beach Boys is one of the most critical, commercially successful, and influential bands of all time. The group has over eighty songs worldwide, thirty-six of them US Top 40 (most by American rock bands), four reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The Beach Boys has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making it one of the world's best-selling bands of all time and registered in No. 1. 12 on Rolling Stone's "2004" magazine list in "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". By 2017, an AllMusic catalog study indicates the Beach Boys as the most quoted artist in the database. The core quintet of three Wilsons, Love and Jardine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.
Video The Beach Boys
History
1958-1962: Formation
On his sixteenth birthday on June 20, 1958, Brian Wilson shared a bedroom with his brothers Dennis and Carl - each aged thirteen and eleven - at their family home in Hawthorne. He had watched his father, Murry Wilson, playing the piano, and listened intently to the harmonies of vocal groups like the Four New Students. After dissecting songs like "Ivory Tower" and "Good News", Brian will teach family members how to sing harmony background. For his birthday that year, Brian received a reel-to-reel tape recorder. He learned how to overdub, using vocals and people from Carl and their mother. Brian played the piano with Carl and David Marks, an eleven-year-old neighbor, playing the guitar they each received as a Christmas present.
Soon Brian and Carl loved to listen to KFOX Johnny Otis radio show. Inspired by the simple structure and vocals of the rhythm and blues song he heard, Brian changed his piano playing style and started writing songs. Family meeting brings Wilsons in touch with Mike Love's cousin. Brian teaches Love sister, Maureen, and a harmonious friend. Then, Brian, Love, and two friends perform at Hawthorne High School. Brian also knows Al Jardine, a high school classmate. Brian suggests to Jardine that they work with her cousin and her brother, Carl. Love gave the band its new name: "The Pendletones", a game of "Pendleton", a style of popular wool shirt at the time. Dennis was the only diligent surfer in the group, and he suggested that the group write songs that celebrate sports and inspired lifestyles in Southern California. Brian finished the song, titled "Surfin '", and with Mike Love, wrote "Surfin' Safari". Murry remembers, "They've written a song called 'Surfin', 'which I've never liked and still do not like, it's very crude and rude.'
Murry Wilson, who is sometimes a songwriter, arranges for Pendletones to meet his publisher, Hite Morgan. He said: "Finally, [Hite] agreed to hear it, and Mrs. Morgan said 'Drop it all down, we'll record your song I think it's good.' And he's in charge. "On September 15, 1961, the band recorded a" Surfin "demo with the Morgans. A more professional recording was made on October 3rd, at the World Pacific Studios in Hollywood. David Marks was not present at the session while he was at school that day. Murry brought a demo to Herb Newman, owner of Candix Records and Era Records, and he signed the group on December 8th. When the single was released a few weeks later, the band discovered that they had renamed "the Beach Boys". Candix wanted to name the group the Surfers to Russ Regan, a young promoter with Era Records, noting that there was already a group with that name. He suggested calling them Beach Boys. "Surfin '" is a regional hit for the West Coast, and reaches number 75 on the Hot 100 national Billboard chart. It was so successful that the number of unpaid orders for Candix was completely bankrupt.
1962-1967: The highlight of the year
Surfin 'Safari , Surfin' USA , Surfer Girl and Little Deuce Coupe
At this time the de facto manager of Beach Boys, Murry landed the group's first pay show (which they earned $ 300) on New Year's Eve, 1961, at Ritchie Valens Memorial Dance in Long Beach. In their earliest public appearance, the band wore thick shirts like the wool jackets that local surfers favored before switching to their trademarked striped shirts and white pants. In early 1962, Morgan asked some members to add vocals to some instrumental songs that he had recorded with other musicians. This led to the creation of the Kenny & amp; Cadet, led by Brian under the pseudonym "Kenny". The other members are Carl, Jardine, and mother of Audree Wilsons. In February, Jardine left the Beach Boys to study dentistry and was replaced by David Marks.
After being denied by Dot and Liberty, Beach Boys signed a seven-year contract with Capitol Records. This is the insistence of Capitol exec Nick Venet who signed the group, seeing them as the "teenage gold" he was looking for. On June 4, 1962, Beach Boys debuted on Capitol with their second single, "Surfin 'Safari" backed with "409". This release encourages national coverage in the June 9th edition of Billboard, which praises Love's main vocals and says that the song has a potent hit potential. "Surfin 'Safari" climbed to number 14 and found the game in New York and Phoenix, a surprise for the label. The Beach Boys finished their first album, Surfin 'Safari , and released in October 1962. The LP is unusual from other rock albums because it is almost entirely composed of original songs, mainly written by Brian with Mike Love and friend Gary Usher.
In January 1963, Beach Boys recorded their first top ten single, "Surfin 'U.S.A.", which started a very successful recording business. During the session for this single Brian made a production decision from then on to use double tracking on group vocals, producing deeper and more resonating sounds. Albums of the same name were followed in March and reached number 2 on the Billboard chart. His success pushed the group into the national spotlight, and it is very important to launch surf music as a national penchant. Five days before the release of Surfin 'USA. , Brian produces "Surf City", a song he wrote for Jan and Dean. "Surf City" reached number one on the Billboard charts in July, a pleasant development by Brian but angered Murry, who feels his son has "given" what should be the Beach Boys first chart-topper.
The creative interest and songwriting of Brian was changed after hearing the 1924 song "Be My Baby" Ronettes, produced by Phil Spector. The first time he heard the song while driving, and was so overwhelmed that he had to pull over to the side of the road and analyze the choir. Then, he reflects: "I can not really think of being a producer until the time when I'm really familiar with Phil Spector's work, and that's when I started designing an experience to be a recording rather than just a song." At the start of the tour to the Midwest in April 1963, Jardine rejoined the Beach Boys at Brian's request. Though he started playing the show right away again, Brian immediately left the road to focus on writing and recording. The results of this arrangement resulted in the album Surfer Girl , released Sept 16, and Little Deuce Coupe , released October 7th. Surfer Girl marks the first time the group has used an outside musician in a substantial part of the LP. Many of them are musicians Spector used for his Wall of Sound production. The Boyt's sextet incarnation did not go beyond these two albums, as Marks officially left the band in early October due to a conflict with manager Murry, pulling Brian back into the tour. To close 1963, the band released their own single-themed singles single, "Little Saint Nick", which is supported by an acappella song from the biblical song "The Lord's Prayer". A-side peaked at No. 3 on the Christmas chart of US Billboard .
English Invasion, Power Off , All Summer Long , and Christmas Album
The craze of surfing music, along with the careers of almost all surfing activities, is slowly being replaced by the British Invasion. After a successful Australasia tour in January and February 1964, the Beach Boys returned home to face their new competition, The Beatles. Both groups share the same record label in the US, and the Capitol support for the Beach Boys soon begins to diminish. This caused Murry to fight for the band on more labels than before, often visiting their offices without warning to "rotate the executive arm." Carl says that Phil Spector "is Brian's favorite rock type; he prefers [him] rather than the early Beatles songs." He likes Beatles' music later as they evolve and starts making intelligent and proficient music, but before that Phil. Mike Love, Carl follows The Beatles closer than anyone in the band, while Brian is the most "shaken" by The Beatles and feels tremendous pressure to "follow" them. For Brian, The Beatles finally "lost a lot of what we did... [they] outperformed the entire music world."
Brian wrote his last surfing song in April 1964. That month, during the recording of his single "I Get Around", Murry was released from his job as manager. When the single is released in May, it will rise to number one, their first single to do so, proving that Beach Boys can compete with contemporary British pop groups. In July, the album's song appeared, All Summer Long , reaching No. 1. 4 in the US. All Summer Long introduces an exotic texture to the Beach Boys sound that is exemplified by piccolos and xylophone from the title track. This album is a goose-track for wave music and cars, Beach Boys build their commercial position. Then the album takes a different style and lyrical path. Prior to this, a live album, Beach Boys Concert , was released in October until the 4th week of the table was at number one, listing a collection of previously recorded recordings and covers that they had not yet recorded.
In June 1964, Brian recorded most of The Beach Boys Christmas Album with a forty-one studio orchestra in collaboration with Four Freshmen arranger, Dick Reynolds. This album is a response to Phil Spector of A Christmas Gift for You (1963). Released in December, the Beach Boys' album is split between five new Christmas-themed songs, and seven reinterpretations of traditional Christmas songs. It will be regarded as one of the best holiday albums of the rock era. One single from the album, "The Man with All the Toys", was released, peaking at No. 1. 6 on the US Billboard Christmas chart. On October 29th, Beach Boys perform for The T.A.M.I. Show , a concert film intended to bring together a variety of hit-making musicians for a one-time show. The results were released to theaters one month later.
Today! , Summer Days , and Parties!
At the end of 1964, the stress of road travel, writing, and producing became too much for Brian. On December 23, while on a flight from Los Angeles to Houston, he experienced a panic attack just hours after performing with Beach Boys in various Shindig music! . In January 1965, he announced his retirement from the tour to concentrate fully on songwriting and production recording. For the rest of 1964 and into 1965, session musician Glen Campbell served as Brian's temporary replacement at the concert. Carl took over as band's music director on stage. Meanwhile, Brian became a full-time studio artist. He wants to move the Beach Boys beyond their surfing aesthetic, believing that their image is ancient and distract the public from his talent as a producer and songwriter. In the period after the tour of his resignation form, Brian puts more distance between him and his bandmates, and begins to expand his social circle to include a mix of worldly minded friends, musicians, mystics and business advisors. He is also increasingly interested in the growing Los Angeles "hip" scene and in drugs (especially marijuana, LSD, and Desbutal). Musically, he said he started "taking things I learned from Phil Spector and using more instruments whenever I can.I doubled the bass and tripled the keyboard, which made it sound bigger and deeper."
Released in January 1965, The Beach Boys Today! marks the first time the group experimented with an "album-as-art" form. The tracks on the one side feature the uptempo sounds that contrast the two sides, which mostly consist of an emotional ballad. Music writer Scott Schinder refers to "suite-like structure" as an early example of the rock album format used to make cohesive artistic statements. Brian also developed his new lyrical approach to autobiography; journalist Nick Kent writes that the subject of Brian's songs "suddenly is no longer the simple happy souls that align their sun-kinked fools and fight each other over the backdrop of honey-laced surf and sand. very vulnerable, a bit neurotic and full of insecurity. "In the book Ya Ya Ya: Modern Pop Story, Bob Stanley said that" Brian took aim at Johnny Mercer but came proto-indie. "In 2012, the album was voted 271 on the magazine's list of "The Best 500 Best Albums of All Time" from Rolling Stone .
Capitol continues to charge Beach Boys as "America's Top Surf Group!" and expect Brian to write more beach songs for the annual summer market. In April 1965, Campbell's own career success drew him away from group tours. Columbia Records staff producer Bruce Johnston was asked to find a replacement for Campbell; After failing to find one, Johnston himself became a full-time band member on May 19, 1965, first replacing Brian on the road and later contributing in the studio, starting with a June 4 vocal session for "California Girls", which first appeared on the band's next album < i> Summer Days (And Summer Nights !!) and finally charted at number three in the US while the album went to number two. The album also included a reworked arrangement of "Help Me, Rhonda" which became the band's number one single in the spring of 1965.
To meet the Capitol demands for the LP Beach Boys for the Christmas season of 1965, Brian contains the Beach Boys' Party! , a live-in-the-studio album consisting mostly of acoustic rock and R & Song B, alongside the covers of three Beatles songs, Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are a-Changin", and a unique re-recording of previous group hits. This album is the earliest predecessor of the "unplugged" trend. This includes the cover of Regent's song "Barbara Ann" which became the number two surprise when it was released a few weeks later. In November, the group released another top-twenty single, "The Little Girl I Once Knew". It's considered the band's most experimental statement so far. This single continues Brian's ambitions for bold settings, displaying unexpected tempo changes and many fake tips. This is the band's second single that did not reach the top ten since their 1962 breakthrough, peaking at number 20.
Pet Voice
In January 1966, Wilson began a recording session for Beach Boys' upcoming album 'Pet Sounds', which was largely a collaboration with jingle writer Tony Asher. This album is a refinement of the themes and ideas introduced in Today! . In some ways, the music is the hilarity of their previous style. When other Beach Boys returned from a three-week tour in Japan and Hawaii, they were presented with a large portion of the new album, and various reports indicated that they were fighting for a new direction. Musician Daniel Harrison wrote, "In terms of the structure of the song itself, there is little progress compared to what Brian has accomplished." In Marshall Heiser's Journal on the Art of Record Production, Marshall Heiser writes that Pet Sounds is different from previous Beach Boys efforts in several ways: the field of sound has a greater sense of depth and 'warmth'; these songs use more use of more inventive harmonies and chord chants, the use of prominent percussion is a key feature (as opposed to riding drum backbeats), while orchestration, sometimes, echoes the quirkiness of Les Baxter 'exotica' bandot, or 'cool' Burt Bacharach, more than Spector's teenage fanfares. "Tony Asher remembers watching the" tense "recording sessions in which bandmate Brian complained that the music" 'is not our kind of bullshit!' ".
For Pet Sounds, Brian wanted to make a "full statement," similar to what he believed the Beatles had done with their latest album, Rubber Soul, released in December 1965. Brian Immediately enamored with the album, recalling the impression that it lacked a filler track, a feature that was largely unheard of at a time when the 45 rpm single was considered more important than the full length LP. He then said: "It does not make me want to copy it but be as good as they are.I do not want to do the same kind of music, but on the same level." Thanks to reciprocal relations, Brian was introduced to former Beatles press officer, Derek Taylor, who was later employed as a Beach Boys publicity. Responding to Brian's request to rediscover the band's image, Taylor designed a promotional campaign with the slogan "Brian Wilson is a genius", a belief firmly held by Taylor. Taylor's prestige is very important in offering a credible perspective to the people outside, and his efforts are widely recognized as instrumental in the success of the album in the UK.
Released on May 16, 1966, Pet Voice was very influential and raised the band prestige as an innovative rock group. Initial reviews for albums in the US ranged from negative to positive while, and sales amounted to about 500,000 units, a significant drop from sales of millions of sales albums that soon preceded it. It is assumed that Capitol considers Pet Sounds a risk, more appealing to older demographics than younger female viewers, where the Beach Boys have built their commercial reputation. Within two months, the label surrendered with the release of the first greatest greatest group compilation, Best of the Beach Boys , which was quickly certified gold by the RIAA. In contrast, Pet Sounds received a very good critical response in England, where he reached number 2 and remained in the top ten for six months. The music press contained an ad that said it was "The Most Progressive Pop Album Ever!" It was aided by support from the British music industry, which embraced the record; Bruce Johnston claimed that Pet Sounds got a lot of publicity, "it forced EMI to release albums faster." In response to the hype, Melody Maker runs a feature where many pop musicians are asked if they believe the album is really revolutionary or progressive, or "peanut butter". The authors conclude that "the impact of recording on the artists and the people behind the artists has been considerable."
In his evaluation of Pet Sounds , the book 101 Album That Changed the Popular Music (2009) called it "one of the most innovative recordings in rock", and it "increased Brian Wilson from a talented bandleader for genius studio ". In 1995, a panel of many musicians, songwriters and producers assembled by MOJO chose Pet Sounds as the biggest record ever made. Paul McCartney often talks about his affinity with the album, citing "God Only Knows" as his favorite song of all time, and credits his melodic bass playing style to the album. He acknowledged that Pet Sounds was the prime impetus for The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Lost Pepper Club Band. According to author Carys Wyn Jones, the interaction between these two groups during the Pet Sound era remains one of the most important episodes in rock history. In 2003, when Rolling Stone magazine made a list of "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", the publication placed Pet Sounds seconds in honor of its influence on the highest-ranking album. , Sgt. Pepper's .
"Good Vibrations" and Smile
Throughout the summer of 1966, Brian concentrated on completing his next single, "Good Vibrations". During the making of Pet Voice , Wilson began to change his writing process. Instead of going to the studio with a finished song, he will record a song that contains a series of chore changes he likes, take home acetate disks, and then write melodic songs and write his lyrics. With "Good Vibration", Wilson said, "I have a lot of unfinished ideas, the fragment of music I call 'feels.' Every feeling represents the mood or emotion I feel, and I plan to fit it together like a mosaic. "Most of the structure and composition of the songs are written as recorded. Instead of working on a whole song with a large-scale syntactic structure that is clear, Brian limits himself to recording short, replaceable fragments (or "modules"). Through the ribbon connection method, each fragment can then be assembled into a linear sequence, allowing a larger number of structures and different moods to be produced at a later time. Coming at a time when pop singles are usually recorded in less than two hours, it is one of the most complex pop productions ever performed, with sessions for songs spanning over several months in four major studios in Hollywood. It was also one of the most expensive ever recorded up to that point, with production costs estimated at tens of thousands.
While in the midst of a "Good Traffic" session, Wilson invited session musician and songwriter Van Dyke Parks to collaborate as a lyricist for the next Beach Boys album project, soon titled Smile , approved by Parks. Wilson and Parks intend to Smile to be a continuous series of thematic and musical themed songs, with main songs linked together by small vocal pieces and instrumental segments described on the main music themes of the song , and explicitly American in style and subject, a conscious reaction to the dominance of British popular music at the time. Some music combines singing, cowboy songs, Indian and Hawaiian music explorations, jazz, classic tone poetry, cartoon sound effects, concert music, and yodeling. Wilson told Melody Maker : "Our new album will be better than Pet Voice This will be better than Voice because it's over < i> Day of Summer . "Derek Taylor continues to write articles in the music press, sometimes anonymously, in an attempt to speculate more about the album.
The recording for Smile lasts about a year, from mid 1966 to mid 1967, and follows the same modular production approach as "Good Vibration". Simultaneously, Wilson planned many different multimedia side projects, such as the collage of sound effects, comedy albums, and "health food" albums. The Capitol does not support some of these ideas, which led to the desire of the Beach Boys to form their own label, Brother Records. According to biographer Steven Gaines, Love is the "most receptive" to the proposal, wanting the Beach Boys to have more creative control over their work, and supporting Wilson's decision to hire his new best friend David Anderle as head of the label, the desire of band manager Nick Grillo. In a press release, Anderle stated that Brother Records will provide "an entirely new concept to the recording industry, and to provide total creative control and Beach Boys promotion of their products." The group founded a short-lived film production company, called Home Film. It should have created a live action film and television property starring Beach Boys. The company only completed one production, a music video for "Good Vibrations".
Released on October 10, 1966, "Good Vibrations" was the number one US hit number one, reaching the Hot Billboard top 100 in December, and became their first number one in the UK. That month, the record was their first sole gold certified by the RIAA. It became widely recognized as one of the greatest works of rock music. In December 1966, Beach Boys was voted the number one band in the world in the annual readers' poll conducted by NME , in front of The Beatles, Walker Brothers, Rolling Stones and Four Bosses. Billboard says this result may be influenced by the success of "Good Vibrations" when votes are given, along with recent tours, while The Beatles have no new singles or they tour the UK. throughout 1966; reporters added that "The sensational success of the Beach Boys, however, is taken as a sign that the popularity of Britain's top groups in the past three years has passed its peak."
The Beach Boys ended the final quarter of 1966 as the strongest selling action album in Britain, toppling the band's original three-year reign like The Beatles. In 1971, a writer in the Cue magazine noted that, from mid 1966 until the end of 1967, the band "was among the front rows in almost every aspect of counter culture." Biographer David Leaf writes that the success of "Good Vibration" "buys Brian for some time [and] closes the mouths of everyone who says that Brian's new way will not sell... his inability to quickly follow up [the single is what] a snowball problem. "
Collapse
In December 1966, Wilson had completed many traces of the supporters of Smile . When the Beach Boys returned from a month-long tour of Europe, they were puzzled by the new music he had recorded and the new tapper crowd that surrounded him. Gaines writes that David Anderle now appears to them as the leader of "a group of foreigners who have infiltrated and taken over the Beach Boys". On January 3, 1967 Carl Wilson refused to conscription, leading to criminal prosecution and prosecution which he challenged as a repellent of conscience. He was arrested by the FBI in early May, and it will take several years in court before the matter is resolved. Throughout the first half of 1967, the album release date was repeatedly postponed because Brian played with the recording, experimenting with different shots and mixes, unable or unwilling to give a full version of the album. Meanwhile, he suffered from delusions and paranoia, believing on one occasion that the song track "Fire" (also known as "Mrs O'Leary's Cow") caused a building to burn.
After months of recording and media sensation, the original Smile project was shelved due to many personal, technical, and legal issues surrounding its manufacture. The March 1967 lawsuit sought $ 255,000 (equivalent to $ 1.87 million in 2017) launched against Capitol Records for negligible royalty payments. In the lawsuit, there were also attempts to end the band's contract with Capitol before the end of 1969 November. Since the group's future on Capitol is in limbo state, the immediate release of Smile will be impossible regardless of whether the album has been completed. The band quarrel caused Park to leave the project in April 1967, with Anderle following a lawsuit weeks later. Brian then said: "Time can be spent in the studio to the point where you get so next to it, you do not know where you are with it, you decide to just throw it away for a while." He discussed the dotted Beach Boys "on many occasions," according to Anderle, "But it's easier, I think to get rid of outsiders like me rather than destroy the brothers You can not separate siblings."
In the decades after Smile ' s non-release, it became the subject of intense speculation and mysticism and gained status as the most legendary unreleased album in the history of popular music. Many supporters of the album believe that it has been released, it will change the direction of the group and set them in the vanguard of rock innovators. In October 1967, Cheetah published a "Goodbye Surfing, Hello God!" Magazine, a memoir by Jules Siegel who recorded his time with Brian during the Smile session. This article drives the mythology of Smile and Beach Boys and praises the collapse of the album to "an obsessive cycle of creation and destruction that threatens not only his career and wealth but also his marriage, friendships, relationships with the Beach Boys and, some friends his nearest worry, his mind ". Carl blamed the article and "a lot of things happened before" with "really turning off [ing Brian]." Some of the original Smile songs continue to flow out in the next release, often as filler tracks to offset Brian's reluctance to contribute. In 2011, Uncut magazine staff selected Smile to be "the greatest pirated record of all time".
1967-1969: Popularity decreases and Brian's engagement decreases
Monterey Pop Cancellation
In May 1967, the Beach Boys toured Europe, where critics described their appearance as "amateur" and "floundering". The group was blocked by the union of British musicians, who banned the band from using the four additional musicians they brought from the United States. A few days after announcing that Smile was removed, Derek Taylor ended his work with the group to focus his attention on organizing the Monterey Pop Festival, an event held in June that the Beach Boys refused to be headlines in the last minute. David Leaf explains: "Monterey is a gathering place for 'away' new rock voices, and the Beach Boys in concert really do not have exotic sounds (except" Good Vibrations ") to be displayed.The net result of all internal and external turmoil this is that the Beach Boys do not go to Monterey, and it is thought that this absence is what really transforms the 'underground' pairs against them. "According to Michael Vosse's friend, Brian thinks Beach Boys will be criticized by festival goers who intend to see British acid rock group.
Openly, the band said that they could not play Monterey because of Carl's military plan, but many people involved in the festival thought the group was too scared to compete with "new music". Love says that "Carl will show up in federal court on Tuesday after the concert, but for everything we know, they'll catch him again if he's onstage.... Not one of us is afraid to appear in Monterey." Steven Gaines writes that the decision "has a snowball effect" that came to represent "a burdensome confession that [Beach Boys] were wiped out." A controversy involving whether the band will be taken as a serious rock group developed among critics and fans. On December 14, 1967, Rolling Stone co-founder and editor Jann Wenner printed an influential article that denounced the Beach Boys as "just one outstanding example of a group that has decided to try to capture the Beatles. "Many rock fans have begun to exclude the group from" serious consideration ".
Smiley Smile and Wild Honey
The Beach Boys are still under pressure and contractual obligations to record and present the album to the Capitol. Carl remembers: "Brian just said, 'I can not do this We're going to make a woven version of Smile instead we'll just make it easy.'I'm going in to the pool and sing or Or let's go to the gym and do our parts' It's Smiley Smile . "The session for this new album runs from June to July 1967 in Brian's new home studio. Most albums featuring Beach Boys play their own instruments, rather than sessions of musicians employed in many of their previous jobs. This is the first album whose production is credited to the entire group, rather than just Brian. When asked if Brian "is still a producer of Smiley Smile ", Carl replied, "Very certain."
In July, the lead single "Heroes and Villains" was released, arriving after months of public anticipation, and reached number 12 in the US. It met with general confusion among underwhelming reviews, and in NME , Jimi Hendrix famously regarded singles as "psychedelic quartet barbershop". At that time, the group suit with Capitol was resolved, and it was agreed that Smile would not be the next band album. In August, the group embarked on a two-date Hawaiian tour. Bruce Johnston, absent for most of Smiley Smile records, did not accompany the group, even though Brian did. Their performances were filmed and recorded with the aim of releasing a live album, Lei'd in Hawaii , which is also unfinished and unreleased. Jesse Jarnow of Pitchfork argues that the Hawaiian show "definitely will not pass the Monterey acid test against the likes of Who and Jimi Hendrix." In an interview that month, Brian stated: "I think rock n 'roll-the pop scene-is happening, it's great, but I think basically, Beach Boys is a box.
Smiley Smile was released on September 18, 1967, and peaked at number 41 in the US making it their best-selling album of that date. It started a string of under-performing Beach Boys albums that will last until 1974. When released in the UK in November, it performs better, reaching number 9. Critics and fans are generally underwhelmed by the album. According to Scott Schinder, the album was released for "general understanding. While Smile may have shared Beach Boys fans after it was released, Smiley Smile just baffles them." Over the years, the album garnered a reputation as one of the best "chill-out" albums to be heard during the LSD comedy. In 1974, the writing staff of NME chose it as the 64th greatest album of all time.
The Beach Boys immediately recorded a new album, Wild Honey , which was a journey to soul music. Carl described it as "music for Brian to cool it down, he's still very limited." The album is a self-conscious effort by Beach Boys to "reassemble" themselves as rock bands contrary to their orchestral affairs more than the past. The music is different in many ways from previous Beach Boys recordings: it contains very few singing groups compared to previous albums, and especially features Brian singing on his piano. Once again, Beach Boys recorded mostly in his home studio. Love reflects that Wild Honey is "really out of the mainstream for what is going on at the time, all of which is hard rock/psychedelic music." It has nothing to do with what is going on, and that's the idea. "
Wild Honey was released on December 18, 1967 in a competition with The Beatles 'Magical Mystery Tour and the Rolling Stones' Their Demonic Demonstrators . It has a lower graph than Smiley Smile and stays on the ladder only for 15 weeks. Like Smiley Smile, contemporary critics consider it unimportant and it alienates fans whose wishes have been raised by Smile . That month, Mike Love told a British journalist: "People are confused and confused with Smiley Smile but it's a developmental problem.We have the feeling that we're going to go too far, lose touch, I think. and this new one brings us back to reality... Brian has been rethinking our recording program and in any case we all have a much bigger voice nowadays in what we get in the studio. " Wild Honey > remains the Beach Boys' last album to feature Brian as the main composer until 1977. Over the next few months, the non-comforming approach will be echoed in the album released by Bob Dylan ( John Wesley Harding ), Kinks (< i> Village Green Preservation Society ), and Byrds ( The Notorious Byrd Brothers ).
Friends , 20/20 , and Manson episodes
From 1968 onwards, Brian's songwriting output dropped substantially, but public narrative "Brian-as-leader" continues. After meeting Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at the UNICEF Variety Gala in Paris, France on December 15, 1967, Love, along with other famous celebrities such as the Beatles and Donovan traveled to Rishikesh in India during February and March 1968. Following album Friends has a song influenced by Transcendental Meditation taught by Maharishi. To support the album Friends , Love has arranged for Beach Boys to tour Maharishi in the US. Beginning on May 3, 1968, the tour lasted for five shows and was canceled when Maharishi had to withdraw to fulfill the film contract. Due to the disappointing number of audience and Maharishi withdrawals, twenty-four tour schedules were subsequently canceled at an estimated cost of $ 250,000 for the band. Friends , released on June 24, reached number 126 in the US. The Boys Beach backing track collection, Stack-o-Tracks , was released by Capitol in August. This album was the first of its kind by any artist, and became the first LP Beach Boys to fail on charts in the US and UK.
In June 1968 Dennis made friends with Charles Manson, a singer-songwriter, and their relationship lasted for several months. Dennis bought her time at Brian's home studio where the recording session was tried while Brian stayed in his room. Dennis then proposed that Manson be signed to Brother Records. Brian reportedly disliked Manson, and the deal was never made. In July 1968, the group released a single single, "Do It Again", written in their previous hit style. Around this time, Brian confessed himself to a mental hospital. His band friends wrote and produced the material in his absence. To complete their contract with Capitol, they produced another album, 20/20 , released in January 1969. It was largely composed of censorship and remnants of recent albums; Brian hardly produced a recording. In 1976, Dennis called it "the only Beach Boys disappointment that embarrassed me through and through... we had to find things that Brian did and try and put together." That's when there was no involvement [of him. " ] at all."
The Beach Boys recorded a song written by Manson without his involvement: "Stop There", rewritten as "Never Learn Not to Love", which was included in 20/20 , but was first released as B in next to the previous month. Manson was enthusiastic about the idea of ​​the group recording one of his songs, however, after earning huge monetary debts for the group, Dennis deliberately eliminated the credit of Manson on his release while also changing the composition and lyrics of the song, which made Manson angry. When the cult of his followers took over Dennis's house, Dennis gradually distance himself from Manson. In November 1968, three months after the Tate-LaBianca assassination, Manson was arrested by police, and his relationship with Beach Boys became the subject of media attention. He was later convicted of several counts of murder and conspiracy for murder. Dennis refuses to testify against him. Love reminded me: "He can not talk about it with anyone - family, friends, sympathizers...... Dennis, I think, just wants to lock the whole episode inside the deep depths of his soul".
Sale of band publishing
On April 12, 1969, the band reviewed their 1967 lawsuit against Capitol Records after they accused the audit of revealing that the band owed more than $ 2 million for royalties and unpaid production duties. The band's contract with Capitol Records ended on 30 June 1969, after Capitol Records removed the Beach Boys catalog from print, effectively cutting off the flow of their royalties. Brian collaborated with his father (credited under the pseudonym Reggie Dunbar) in "Break Away", the band's last single for Capitol Records under their original contract; although relatively unsuccessful in the US (peaked at number 63 on Billboard ), the song reached number 6 on the UK singles chart.
At a press conference held to promote "Break Away" to the European media shortly thereafter, Wilson hinted that "We owe a lot of money to everyone, and if we do not take our own support and have an immediate hit record, we will be in trouble worse... I always say, 'Be honest with your fans.' I do not understand why I should lie and say that everything is bright when it does not. "This burning statement eventually frustrated the old contract negotiations with Deutsche Grammophon. In August 1969, the Sea of ​​Tunes, the Beach Boys catalog, was sold to Irving Almo Music for $ 700,000 (equivalent to $ 4.67 million in 2017). Brian, according to his wife Marilyn Wilson, was devastated by the sale. Over the years, the catalog will generate over $ 100 million in royalty publishing, none of which Murry nor any band member ever received.
1970-1978: Reprise Era
Sunflower_and_Surf.27s_Up "> Sunflower and Surf's Up
The group was signed to Reprise Records in 1970. Scott Schinder described the label as "probably the most excited and most friendly main label at the time." The deal was brokered by Van Dyke Parks, who was later hired as a multimedia executive at Warner Music Group. The Reprise contract regulates Brian's proactive engagement with the band on all albums in response to the minimal involvement he has with 20/20 . Another part of the deal is to revive the Brother Beach Boys recording trail. By the time the Beach Boys ownership ended with the Capitol in 1969, they had sold 65 million records worldwide, closing decades as America's most commercially successful. groups in popular music.
After recording over 30 different songs and through several album titles, their first LP for Reprise, Sunflower , was released on August 31, 1970. Sunflower featuring a strong group presence with contributions significant writing from all band members. Brian was active during this period, writing or writing seven of twelve songs on Sunflower and performing in half the band's domestic concert in 1970. The album received critical acclaim both in the US and UK.. This was offset by an album that only reached 151 on the US record chart for four weeks, becoming the worst selling album of Beach Boys at the time. In his review for Rolling Stone, critic Jim Miller praised the album as "without a doubt the best Beach Boys album in recent memory, a coherent style of tour de force", " but muses: "It makes one wonder if someone is still listening to their music, or can care about it." In the UK, the album reached 29. Fans generally regard LP as Beach Boys 'best album - Pet Sounds' album . In 2003, it was placed at number 380 on Rolling Stone's ' s "Biggest Album of All Time" list.
One time in 1969, Brian opened a short-lived health food store called Radiant Radish. While working there, he met Jack Rieley radio journalist and presenter. Rieley talked to Brian for a radio interview, with the subject eventually turning to an unreleased song "Surf's Up", a song that has been taken on fame since the collapse of Smile's album three years earlier. Brian did not feel compelled to be released. On August 8, 1970, Rieley offered a six-page memo reflecting on how to stimulate "an increase in record sales and popularity for The Beach Boys." In the fall of 1970, Beach Boys hired Rieley as their manager. One of his initiatives is to encourage the band to record songs that feature more social-conscious lyrics. He also requested the completion of "Surf's Up" and arranged guest appearances at the Grateful Dead concert at Bill Graham's Fillmore East in April 1971 to put the Beach Boys transition into contra-culture. During this time, the group stopped wearing matching uniforms on stage.
On August 30, 1971 the band released Surf's Up , which included the title track. The album was quite successful, reaching the top 30 US, a marked improvement over their latest release. While recording mapped, Beach Boys added their new fame by doing a close-sell set at Carnegie Hall; Their live performances during this era included the reworked settings of many of the previous songs. Most of their set lists are taken from Pet Sounds and Smile . Music writer Domenic Priore noted, "They basically play what they can play at the Monterey Pop Festival in the summer of 1967." Dennis injured his hand during the Surf's Up session, leaving it temporarily unable to play the drums.
So Difficult , Holland , and the biggest click
Johnston ended his first job with the band shortly after the release of Surf's Up , reportedly due to a dispute with Rieley. At Carl's suggestion, the addition of Ricky Fataar and Blondie Chaplin in February 1972 led to a dramatic restructuring in the band's sound. Carl and the Passions album - "So Tough" is an unusual mix that includes two songs written by Fataar and Chaplin. For the next project, the band, their family, various associations and technicians moved to the Netherlands for the summer of 1972. They rented a farmhouse to be converted into temporary studios where a recording session for a new project would take place. At the end of their session, the band feels they have produced one of their strongest efforts. Reprise, however, feels that the album requires a strong single. This produces the song "Sail On, Sailor", a collaboration between Brian Wilson, Tandyn Almer, Ray Kennedy, Jack Rieley and Van Dyke Parks featuring Chaplin's main hearty vocals. Reprise was then approved and the resulting album, Holland , released in January 1973, peaked at number 37. Brian's children's music story, Mount Vernon and Fairway (A Fairy Tale) is included as an EP bonus.
In August 1973, the 41-song soundtrack for American Graffiti was released including the band's early songs "Surfin 'Safari" and "All Summer Long". The album became a catalyst in creating a wave of nostalgia that reintroduced the Beach Boys into American contemporary consciousness. In November 1973, a double album documenting the 1972 and 1973 tours, The Beach Boys in Concert, was another top-30 album and became the band's first gold record under Reprise. Rieley, who remained in Holland after the release of Holland, was released from his managerial duties at the end of 1973. Chaplin also left at the end of 1973 after an argument with Steve Love, the band's business manager (and Mike's brother). In June 1974, Capitol released Endless Summer, the largest pre-hits package of the biggest bands of Pet Sounds. This compilation climbs to the top of the Billboard album charts. It remained on the charts for two years, the longest of any Beach Boys release. The capitol is followed by a second compilation, Spirit of America , which is also selling well. With this compilation, Beach Boys became one of the most popular rock action, pushing themselves from the opening to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young being headliners who sold the basketball arena in a matter of weeks. Rolling Stone named Beach Boys as "Band of the Year" for 1974.
Fataar remained with the band until 1974, when he was offered the chance to join a new group led by future Eagles member Joe Walsh. Chaplin's successor, James William Guercio, began offering group career advice that made him their new manager. Under Guercio, Beach Boys held a successful 1975 concert tour with Chicago, with each group performing several other songs, including a previous year's collaboration with Chicago hit "Wishing You Were Here". While their concerts continue to be sold out, the stage acts slowly changing from contemporary presentations followed by parents featuring an entire show consisting mostly of pre-1967 music.
"Brian's Back! ", 15 Big Ones , and Love You
Brian spent most of his two years in his driver's residence, abusing alcohol, taking drugs (including heroin), overeating, and demonstrating other self-destructive behavior. Despite getting closed during the day, Wilson spent many nights at the home of singer Danny Hutton, hanging out with colleagues like Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop. In 1975, Brian tried to join California Music, a Los Angeles group that included Gary Usher, Curt Boettcher, and Bruce Johnston. The Beach Boys recently Endless Summer compilations sold well, and the band toured nonstop, making them the biggest live draw in the US. Guercio was later fired by the group and replaced by Steve Love, who urged the group to push Brian to return to the top production. According to Steve: "We are under contract with Warner Bros., and we can not get him in. If he's going to be productive, that's for the Beach Boys." Brian, already tired of working with the Beach Boys, was then officially ousted from California Music to focus his undivided attention on the band. In October, Marilyn persuaded Brian to admit himself under the care of psychotherapist Eugene Landy, who managed to keep Brian from engaging in substance abuse with constant scrutiny.
In late January 1976, Beach Boys returned to the studio with Brian provoking once more. At that moment, he felt: "It was a little frightening because [Beach Boys and I] were not that close." We've been away, personality-wise.Many of those people have developed new personalities through meditation... But we went into the studio with the attitude that we had to solve. "The group meeting was supervised by Landy, and discussions on each song for the record were reported to last up to eight hours. Brian decided the band had to do rock and roll albums and doo wop standards. Carl and Dennis disagree, feeling that the original album is much more ideal, while Love and Jardine want the album to come out as quickly as possible. Brian's production role is underestimated when group members overdub and remix tracks, unbeknownst to fight their passion for unfinished rough voices. He then connected his hoarse voice to the album with a laryngitis attack.
Released on 5 July 1976, 15 Big Ones is generally not liked by fans and critics when released. The main single, a cover of Chuck Berry's "Rock and Roll Music," became a top five hit. Carl and Dennis underestimated the album to the press. Dennis says: "It's a big mistake to put Brian in full control, he's always an absolute producer, but little does he know that in his absence people grow up, people become sensitive like the next guy Why did I give up my rights as an artist? a bit of bruising. "Brian says that" the new album is not too deep ", but still hopes that their next release will be the equivalent of the group's" Good Traffic ". The NBC-TV special of 1976 August, titled The Beach Boys , was produced by Saturday Night Live creator (SNL) Lorne Michaels, and performed by SNL cast of John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. In December, Brian was released from the Landy program due to a dispute over the doctor's monthly fees.
From late 1976 to early 1977, Brian spent his time making sporadic public appearances and producing the band's upcoming album The Beach Boys Love You, a collection of 14 songs that were mostly written, composed and self-produced. He then called Love You one of his favorite Beach Boys releases, saying that "That's when it all happened to me. That's where my heart is." The album's engineer, Earle Mankey, compared it with the surrealist film Eraserhead, and said that when it was "light" on the surface, it was meant to be "serious, autobiographical work". Writing for Pitchfork, D. Erik Kempke said the album "stands in stark contrast to the album that preceded and followed it, because it was the product of the original inspiration on Brian Wilson's part, with little outside interference." Al Jardine praised Carl and Dennis with "most related to the album... [they] pay homage to their brother."
Released on 11 April 1977, Love You peaked at number 53 in the US and number 28 in the UK. It's shared between fans and critics. Some see the album as a work of "eccentric genius" while others think of it as "childish and trivial". In a review for Circus, Lester Bangs called the Beach Boys "a bunch of sick bastards if ever there... But the magic is that Beach Boys has made the disease sound like healthy pink babyflesh." The album was released a few weeks after the band signed a new recording contract with CBS. Gaines hypothesizes that the lack of Reprise promotions put into Love You is a by-product of fallout between artist and label.
Band tension, solo career, and deleted album
After Love You was released, Brian collected Adult/Child , an unreleased effort consisting mostly of songs written by Brian from 1976 and 1977 with settings a great band of choice by Dick Reynolds. Though published as the next release of Beach Boys, Adult/Child caused tension within the group and ultimately shelved. After this period, his concert performances with the band gradually diminish and their appearance is sometimes uncertain. Internal fights arose after the show at Central Park on September 1, 1977, when the band was effectively divided into two camps; Dennis and Carl Wilson on the one hand, Mike Love and Al Jardine on the other hand with Brian remain neutral. After a confrontation at the airport runway, Dennis declared to Rolling Stone on September 3 that he had left the band: "It was Al Jardine who really pierced my heart when he said they did not need It was the decisive And all I told him was he could not play more than four chords They kept saying that I have my solo album now [ Pacific Blue Ocean ], as I was supposed to do go around the corner and leave the Beach Boys for them.This album really annoys them, they do not like to admit it does it well, they never even admit it in an interview. "
The band broke up for two and a half weeks, until the Sept. 17 meeting at Brian's home. Given the potential new Caribou Record contract, the parties negotiated a settlement resulting in Love gaining control of Brian's voice in the group, allowing Love and Jardine to defeat Carl and Dennis Wilson in any matter. Dennis began to withdraw from the group to focus on his second solo album, Bamboo . The album was suspended only because alcoholism and marital problems overcame all three of Wilson's brothers. Carl seemed drunk during the concert (especially on appearances for their 1978 Australian tour) and Brian gradually slid back into addiction and an unhealthy lifestyle.
Their last album for Reprise, M.I.U. Album (1978), recorded at Maharishi International University in Iowa upon Love's suggestion. Dennis and Carl make limited contributions; The album was mostly produced by Jardine and Ron Altbach, with Brian credited as an "executive producer". M.I.U. is largely a contractual obligation to settle their relationship with Reprise, which also does not promote the results. The record cemented the divisions in the group. Love and Jardine focuses on rock and roll-oriented material while Carl and Dennis choose the progressive focus they have set with Carl and the Passions and Holland albums.
1980s
After leaving Reprise, Beach Boys signed a contract with CBS Records. They receive a substantial down payment and are paid $ 1 million per album even when CBS considers their preliminary review
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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