The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys are a pop music group formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961, whose popularity has lasted into the twenty-first century. The original group comprised singer-musician-composer Brian Wilson, his brothers Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Alan Jardine. Many changes in both musical style and personnel occurred in their sometimes stormy career, which has been marked by the mental and drug-induced illnesses of Brian Wilson, the deaths of Dennis Wilson in 1983 and Carl Wilson in 1998, and continuing legal battles among surviving members of the group. The Beach Boys continue to tour, albeit with but a fraction of the original members, as of 2005. They have recorded dozens of top-forty hits, many best-selling albums, and four US #1 singles, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

Early years

The group was formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California under the leadership of Brian Wilson, and included his brothers Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love and school friend Al Jardine.

Related Topics:
1961 - Hawthorne, California - Brian Wilson - Carl - Dennis - Mike Love - Al Jardine

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The early inspirations of the group were the Wilsons' musician father, Murry, and the close vocal harmonies of groups such as The Four Freshmen. The group performed initially as The Pendletones, after the Pendleton wool shirts popular in those years. 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.

Related Topics:
Murry - The Four Freshmen - Surfing

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At first Murry Wilson, by many accounts a hard-driving man, steered The Beach Boys' career, engineering their signing with Capitol Records. In 1964 Brian Wilson fired his father after a violent confrontation in the studio, and over the next few years they became increasingly estranged; when Murry Wilson died some years later, Brian and Dennis did not attend the funeral.

Related Topics:
Capitol Records - 1964

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The Beach Boys' early material focused on the 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, these early works contained remarkably sophisticated musical ideas. During this period Brian rapidly progressed to become a melodist, arranger, and producer of world-renowned stature. Their early hits made them major pop stars in America and other countries, although their status as America's top pop group was challenged by the emergence in 1964 of The Beatles, who became The Beach Boys' major creative rivals.

Related Topics:
California - Fun, Fun, Fun - Little Deuce Coupe - Surfing - 1964 - The Beatles

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Like the Beatles, the Beach Boys showed very fast development during the mid-60s, drawing upon the innovations of songwriters and producers such as Burt Bacharach and especially Phil Spector. They produced the enduring classic "California Girls" in 1965, a banner year for popular music which also saw similarly advanced singles by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Byrds, and James Brown. But it was the Beach Boys' role to create a myth of American freedom and dreams of adolescence, and increasingly, to articulate a dread of what lay after adolescence.

Related Topics:
Burt Bacharach - Phil Spector - California Girls - 1965 - The Rolling Stones - The Byrds - James Brown

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