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.

Members

Core Members

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• Brian Wilson (1961–1998)
• Carl Wilson (1961–1998)
• Dennis Wilson (1961–1983)
• Mike Love (1961–Present)
• Alan Jardine (1961–62, 1963–1998)
• Bruce Johnston (1965–72, 1978–Present)

Others

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Past Members

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• David Marks (1962–63, 1997–99)
• Ricky Fataar (1972–1974)
• Blondie Chaplin (1972–1973)
• Glen Campbell (1965)

Members of the current touring band along with Love and Johnston

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• Mike Kowalski (1968–Present) - Drums/Percussion
• Chris Farmer (1995–Present) - Bass, Baritone/Tenor Vocals
• Tim Bonhomme (1996–Present) - Keyboards, Bass/Baritone Vocals, Dennis Wilson's vocal parts
• John Cowsill (2000–Present) - Keyboards, Tenor/Falsetto Vocals, Carl Wilson and Al Jardine's vocal parts
• Scott Totten (2000–Present) - Lead Guitar, Tenor/Falsetto Vocals, Carl Wilson's vocal parts
• Randell Kirsch (2004–Present) - Guitar, Falsetto Vocals, Brian & Carl's vocal parts