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.

Personnel changes through the years

From the start The Beach Boys have undergone many variations in composition, being represented by fill-ins as often as not. Wilson neighbor David Marks appeared on their first four albums 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. Marks rejoined the band in 1997, during Carl Wilson's last illness, and remained with them for two years.

Related Topics:
David Marks - 1962 - 1963 - 1997

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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, and keyboard player Daryl Dragon, later famous as half of the pop duo Captain & Tennille, toured with the band. Carli Muñoz, who had been playing percussion with the band since 1979, replaced Daryl Dragon as keyboard player until 1981. Jeff Foskett joined the touring band in 1980 as a guitarist and vocalist and remained with the group until 1991.

Related Topics:
Glen Campbell - 1965 - Bruce Johnston - 1970 - Ricky Fataar - Blondie Chaplin - Daryl Dragon - Captain & Tennille - Carli Muñoz - Jeff Foskett

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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, Brian 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, long before the Beach Boys 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.

Related Topics:
Jan and Dean - Surf City

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Due to the deaths of two original members, legal challenges over the ownership of the Beach Boys name, and Brian's career as a solo artist, the original group no longer exists as an active touring or recording unit. Love and Johnston's touring group, utilizing a variety of other musicians, still carries the "Beach Boys" name; they are sometimes jokingly referred to as "The Jukebox'".

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To the surprise and delight of fans around the world, Brian 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 Brian's career, with some commentators calling the shows "the concert of a lifetime". In 2003 and 2004, Brian and Van Dyke Parks reunited to finish the incomplete sections of Smile, and in 2004 Brian 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.

Related Topics:
The Wondermints - Jeff Foskett - Sunset Sound Studios - Hollywood

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Al 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, Brian's daughters Carnie and Wendy, and Carl's brother-in-law Billy Hinsche, among others. Jardine now tours with the Endless Summer Band which includes his two sons, Hinsche, and several other performers.

Related Topics:
Carnie - Wendy

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