Bruce Johnston | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Benjamin Baldwin |
Born | Peoria, Illinois, U.S. | June 27, 1942
Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Genres | |
Occupations |
|
Instruments |
|
Years active | 1957–present |
Member of | |
Formerly of |
Bruce Arthur Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter who is a member of the Beach Boys. He also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Bruce & Terry, the Rip Chords, and California Music) and composed the 1975 Barry Manilow hit, "I Write the Songs". [1]
Born in Illinois, Johnston grew up in Los Angeles and studied classical piano in his early years. While in high school, he arranged and played on his first hit record, Sandy Nelson's "Teen Beat" (1959), and also worked with musicians such as Kim Fowley and Phil Spector. One of Johnston's first gigs was as a member of the surf band the Gamblers before becoming a staff producer at Columbia Records.
In 1965, Johnston joined the Beach Boys for live performances, initially filling in for the group's co-founder Brian Wilson. Johnston's first appearance on the band's records was as a vocalist on "California Girls" (1965). He later contributed original material to the group's albums, including "The Nearest Faraway Place" on 20/20 (1969), "Tears in the Morning" and "Deirdre" on Sunflower (1970), and "Disney Girls (1957)" on Surf's Up (1971).
Johnston left the Beach Boys in 1972 and subsequently embarked on a solo career. During this time, Johnston recorded one solo album, Going Public (1977), his latest to date. In late 1978, he rejoined the Beach Boys to co-produce the group's L.A. (Light Album) (1979). Since then, he has continued to tour as a member of the band.
Born in Peoria, Illinois in 1942 at the Florence Crittenden Home, he was adopted as a child by William and Irene Johnston of Chicago and grew up in the wealthy Los Angeles neighborhoods of Brentwood and Bel-Air. His adoptive family is of Irish descent, with his grandparents hailing from Markethill, County Armagh. [2] His adoptive father was president of the Owl Rexall Drug Company in Los Angeles after moving from Walgreens in Chicago. [ citation needed ]
Johnston attended the private Bel Air Town and Country School (later renamed John Thomas Dye School) and the University of California, Los Angeles. He also studied classical piano in his early years, training at Interlochen Arts Camp as a youth. [3]
In high school, Johnston switched to contemporary music. He performed in a few "beginning" bands during this time and then moved on to working with young musicians such as Sandy Nelson, Kim Fowley, and Phil Spector. [4] [5] Soon, Johnston began backing people such as Ritchie Valens, [6] the Everly Brothers, and Eddie Cochran. [7]
In 1959, while still in high school, Johnston arranged and played on his first hit record, "Teen Beat" by Sandy Nelson. [8] The single reached the Billboard Top Ten. The same year, Johnston made his first single under his own name, "Take This Pearl" on Arwin Records (a record label owned by Doris Day) as part of the Bruce & Jerry duo (Jerry Cooper was a high school friend of Bruce's). [9] The teenage Hot Rod film entitled "Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow" (1959), features the song "I Promise You" by Johnston and Judy Harriet.
In 1960, Johnston started his record production career at Del-Fi Records, producing five singles and an album – Love You So – by Ron Holden (many of the album's eleven tracks were written or co-written by Johnston). [10]
In 1962 and 1963, Johnston continued his recording career with a series of surfin' singles (vocal & instrumental) and an album, Surfin' 'Round the World, credited to Bruce Johnston, and another "live" album, the Bruce Johnston Surfin' Band's Surfer's Pajama Party. In 1963 came the first collaboration with his friend Terry Melcher (Doris Day's son), a mostly instrumental covers album credited to the Hot Doggers. [11]
The first artist that Johnston and Melcher produced was a group called the Rip Chords. The pair were then working as staff producers at Columbia Records, Hollywood, and by the time they were producing the million-selling "Hey Little Cobra", a knock-off of the Beach Boys car song vocal style, they also wound up singing every layered vocal part for the recording. [12] The two of them made a few recordings as Bruce & Terry and the Rogues, but Melcher began to focus more on his production career (with the Byrds, Paul Revere & the Raiders). [13]
On April 9, 1965, Johnston joined the Beach Boys in New Orleans, replacing Glen Campbell, who briefly filled in as a touring member for Brian Wilson, and had declined an offer to officially join the band. Johnston did not start playing bass until his first tenure with the Beach Boys, and the first contributions Johnston made as one of the Beach Boys was on Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) . For contractual reasons, however, he was not credited on a Beach Boys album cover until Wild Honey (1967) though he was photographed as a touring band member on the back sleeve of Pet Sounds (1966). [14]
In May 1966, Johnston flew to London and played Pet Sounds (1966) for John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Keith Moon. [15] Johnston provided backing vocals to six of the album's 13 tracks: "Wouldn't It Be Nice", "You Still Believe in Me", "That's Not Me", "God Only Knows" (also co-lead), "Sloop John B", and "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times". [16] He similarly contributed backing vocals to some of the subsequent Smile sessions. [17] In early 1967, Wilson discussed the extent of his personal relationship with Johnston to Melody Maker : "I'm afraid I only know Bruce superficially. [...] I only see him at recording sessions. [...] He's a very likeable person." [18]
Johnston did not participate in most of the 1967 Smiley Smile sessions [19] and played on only a few tracks on Wild Honey. [20] Reflecting on Smiley Smile, Johnston said it was "a thousand times better than the [original Smile] [...] It's just the most underrated album in the whole catalog for me." [21] He had an unfavorable opinion of the band's 1968 album Friends , calling the songs "wimpy". [21] The Beach Boys asked touring member Billy Hinsche to permanently replace Johnston in mid-1969, although Hinsche elected to focus on his studies at UCLA and Johnston was not aware of the offer at the time. [22]
Starting with the instrumental "The Nearest Faraway Place" from 20/20 (1969), Johnston's original compositions began appearing on the band's records. Johnston considered his favorite Beach Boys album to be Sunflower (1970). [23] In a 1970s interview, he described it as the last true Beach Boys album because, in his belief, it was the last to feature Wilson's input and active involvement. [24] He nonetheless regretted the inclusion of his two songs, saying that "Tears in the Morning" was "too pop" and that "I wish I hadn't recorded ['Deirdre'] with the group." [23]
Surf's Up (1971) included Johnston's most notable written composition for the band, "Disney Girls (1957)", which was subsequently recorded by, among others, Cass Elliot, Captain & Tennille, Art Garfunkel, Jack Jones, and Doris Day. [25] From a performance standpoint, he later cited 1971 as his favorite year of the group musically because their set lists focused on newer songs. [26] He also criticized Surf's Up as "a hyped-up lie." [27] His final contribution before departing consisted of backing vocals on their 1972 song "Marcella".[ citation needed ]
In 1972, Johnston was dismissed from the band. According to manager Jack Rieley, he fired Johnston at the request of the Wilson brothers. [28] Brian told an interviewer, "All I know is he got into a horrible fight with Jack Rieley. Some dispute, and they got into a horrible fight, and the next day Bruce was gone." [29] Dennis Wilson said, "There's less tension since Bruce left. [...] Musically, we didn't click [and] appreciate each other, so one day we both said, 'OK, that's it.' He's a good guy but he was writing stuff for a solo album. [...] We're a band." [30] Mike Love stated, "It was very amicable. The Beach Boys never threw him out. He was just on a tangent that was outside The Beach Boys for so many years." [31] Johnston himself said that he left the band partly due to his unhappiness with Brian's creative withdrawal from the group. [31] Later, in 1974, he said that he departed because he "didn't want to go on singing oldies for the rest of my life" and was "too frustrated being [considered as] a fifth of something – which was what I was with the Beach Boys." [32]
Although he was no longer an official member of the band, Johnston continued to make occasional appearances on their albums from the mid-1970s. [21] Concurrently, he embarked on a solo career. In 1977, he released his third solo album Going Public , which included among its tracks Johnston's own recording of "I Write the Songs" as well as a disco remake of his 1970 Beach Boys song "Deirdre". Johnston would also score a hit off the album on the disco charts with a dance-oriented remake of the Chantays' hit "Pipeline" after the recording was popularized by Manhattan-based underground DJ David Mancuso.
At the end of 1978, Johnston rejoined the Beach Boys at Brian Wilson's request to appear on (and co-produce) the album L.A. (Light Album) . [33] The following year he was credited as sole producer on the follow-up LP, Keepin' the Summer Alive . Johnston has remained with the Beach Boys ever since and was the only member to continue touring with Mike Love as the Beach Boys after the death of Carl Wilson.
Biographer Peter Ames Carlin approached Johnston during the writing of the 2006 book Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson . However, Johnston was reluctant to be interviewed and only offered a few comments via e-mail. [34] According to Carlin, Johnston remarked at one point, "I can tell that you are far deeper into the Beach Boys thing than I will ever be in 100 lifetimes! It's only business to me." [35]
Johnston still retains his equal ownership of the band's ASCAP publishing company, Wilojarston, and is the only member of the band to have earned a Grammy Award for Song of the Year. [36] [37] As of 2020, Johnston remains the longest-tenured active member of the Beach Boys on tour after Love.
In 1967, Johnston sang on "My World Fell Down", a minor hit for the Gary Usher-led studio group Sagittarius.
In the mid-1970s, he wrote "I Write the Songs", which was originally recorded by Captain & Tennille. The song became a Billboard number one hit by Barry Manilow, for which Johnston won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1977. [38] "I Write the Songs" would go on to be recorded by over two hundred artists, including Frank Sinatra, among others. Regarding the Grammy win, Johnston stated: "How can I get a Grammy for a song that I wrote in my car and The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson and Mike Love have not won? Why is fate being so uncool?" [39]
In 1977, Johnston provided vocal arrangements and sang back-up vocals on Eric Carmen's LP Boats Against the Current and can be heard on the hit single "She Did It", with inspiration taken from the 1968 Beach Boys' hit "Do It Again". Additionally, during this period Johnston wrote backing vocal arrangements and also sang on the recordings for Elton John including "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me". He also contributed vocals to several songs on Pink Floyd's album The Wall , [40] most notably in the song "The Show Must Go On", which Roger Waters specifically wrote for Beach Boys-style vocal harmonies.
In 2021, a reconstituted line-up of California Music was formed by Johnston with members of the Beach Boys and their family. Omnivore Recordings released their first album, California Music Presents Add Some Music, in April 2021. [41]
Bruce Johnston is one of the producers of The Weeknd's album Dawn FM (2022), in which he wrote and co-produced "Here We Go... Again" featuring rapper Tyler, the Creator.
Johnston married Harriet Johnston in 1976 and has four sons: Ozzie, Justin, Ryan, and Max. [42] He described himself as "a real conservative guy" and stated that he had never taken drugs other than alcohol in his life. [43]
Politically, he identified as a Republican as of 2012. He was subjected to criticism during the band's 50th anniversary tour, when a fan video during a meet and greet caught him being critical of then-US President Barack Obama, as well as 2012 Republican Presidential nominee, Mitt Romney. [44]
Albums
Year | Album details |
---|---|
June 1962 | Surfers' Pajama Party
|
July 1963 | Surfin' Round the World
|
May 1977 | Going Public
|
Singles
Date of release | Title | Label | Chart positions |
February 1962 | "Do the Surfer Stomp (Part One)"/"Do the Surfer Stomp (Part Two)" | Donna | never charted |
April 1962 | "Soupy Shuffle Stomp"/"Moon Shot" | Donna | never charted |
March 1963 | "The Original Surfer Stomp"/"Pajama Party" | Del-Fi | never charted |
August 1977 (UK) | "Pipeline"/"Disney Girls" | CBS Records | #33 (UK) |
September 1977 | "Pipeline"/"Disney Girls" + "Pipeline"/"Deirdre" (12") | Columbia Records | never charted |
1977 | "Rendezvous"/"I Write the Songs" | Columbia Records | never charted |
The Beach Boys are 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 friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by its vocal harmonies, adolescent-oriented lyrics, and musical ingenuity, the band is one of the most influential acts of the rock era. The group drew on the music of older pop vocal groups, 1950s rock and roll, and black R&B to create its unique sound. Under Brian's direction, it often incorporated classical or jazz elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways.
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and mastery of recording techniques, he is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and significant songwriters of the 20th century. His best-known work is distinguished for its high production values, complex harmonies and orchestrations, layered vocals, and introspective or ingenuous themes. Wilson is also known for his formerly high-ranged singing and lifelong struggles with mental illness.
Smiley Smile is the twelfth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on September 18, 1967. Conceived as a simpler and more relaxed version of their unfinished Smile album, Smiley Smile is distinguished for its homespun arrangements, "stoned" aesthetic, and lo-fi production. Critics and fans generally received the album and its lead single, "Heroes and Villains", with confusion and disappointment. The album reached number 9 on UK record charts, but sold poorly in the U.S., peaking at number 41—the band's lowest chart placement to that point.
Carl Dean Wilson was an American musician who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian and Dennis, and the group's de facto leader in the early to mid-1970s. He was also the band's musical director on stage from 1965 until his death.
Sunflower is the 16th studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on August 31, 1970 by Reprise Records, their first for the label. It received favorable reviews, but sold poorly, reaching number 151 on the US record charts during a four-week stay and becoming the lowest-charting Beach Boys album to that point. "Add Some Music to Your Day" was the only single that charted in the US, peaking at number 64. In the UK, the album peaked at number 29.
Wild Honey is the thirteenth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on December 18, 1967, by Capitol Records. It was the group's first foray into soul music and was heavily influenced by the R&B of Motown and Stax Records. The album was the band's worst-selling at that point, charting at number 24 in the US. Lead single "Wild Honey" peaked at number 31, while its follow-up "Darlin'" reached number 19. In the UK, the album peaked at number seven.
20/20 is the 15th studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released February 10, 1969 on Capitol Records. The LP was named for being their 20th overall release when factoring in live albums and compilations. Much of 20/20 consists of outtakes from earlier albums. It reached number 3 on UK record charts and number 68 in the U.S. Brian Wilson was absent during most of the album's recording after admitting himself into a psychiatric hospital, requiring brothers Carl and Dennis to retrieve several outtakes he had recorded years earlier. While Brian does not appear on the front cover, the inner gatefold of the original vinyl release features him alone, behind an eye examination chart.
Holland is the 19th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released January 8, 1973 on Brother/Reprise. It is their first album recorded without Bruce Johnston since 1965, their second with Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar, and their final studio album created under the de facto leadership of Carl Wilson and manager Jack Rieley. The LP was originally packaged with a bonus EP, Mount Vernon and Fairway, which consisted of a 12-minute fairy tale written and produced by Brian and Carl Wilson.
Surf's Up is the 17th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on August 30, 1971 on Brother/Reprise. It received largely favorable reviews and reached number 29 on the U.S. record charts, becoming their highest-charting LP of new music in the U.S. since 1967. In the UK, Surf's Up peaked at number 15, continuing a string of top 40 records that had not abated since 1965.
Carl and the Passions – "So Tough" is the 18th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released May 15, 1972 on Brother/Reprise. The album is a significant musical departure for the band and is the first to feature the Flames' Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar as additions to their official line-up. It sold poorly and was met with lukewarm reviews, but later gained stature as a cult favorite among fans.
"Heroes and Villains" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album Smiley Smile and their unfinished Smile project. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, Wilson envisioned the song as an Old West-themed musical comedy that would surpass the recording and artistic achievements of "Good Vibrations". The single was Brother Records' first release. While it failed to meet critical and commercial expectations, it was nevertheless a hit record, peaking at number 12 in the U.S. and number 8 in the UK.
"Surf's Up" is a song recorded by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks. It was originally intended for Smile, an unfinished Beach Boys album that was scrapped in 1967. The song was later completed by Brian and Carl Wilson as the closing track of the band's 1971 album Surf's Up.
"Surfin' Safari" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys, written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Released as a single with "409" in June 1962, it peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also appeared on the 1962 album of the same name.
"Add Some Music to Your Day" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys that was released in the US on February 23, 1970 as the lead single from their album Sunflower. It was written by Brian Wilson, Joe Knott, and Mike Love. Wilson later said that Knott "was a friend of mine who wasn't a songwriter but he contributed a couple of lines. But I can't remember which ones!"
"Our Prayer" is a wordless hymn by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1969 album 20/20 and their never-finished Smile project. Composed by Brian Wilson, it was originally planned to be the introductory track on Smile. He later rerecorded the piece for his 2004 version of Smile in medley with the 1953 doo-wop standard "Gee".
"Cabinessence" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1969 album 20/20 and their unfinished Smile project. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, Wilson described the song as a "rock and roll waltz" about railroads, while Parks offered that the pair were attempting to write a song that would end on "a freeze frame of the Union Pacific Railroad". The instrumentation includes banjo, cello, dobro, bouzouki, fuzz bass, trumpet, accordion, and percussion that was arranged to sound like the pounding of rail spikes.
Adult Child is an unreleased studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was produced in early 1977. Similar to the release it was meant to follow, The Beach Boys Love You, the album is essentially a semi-autobiographical solo effort by the band's chief songwriter and producer, Brian Wilson. The title refers to a theory that one's personality can be split into "adult" and "child" modes of thinking.
California Music was an American rock supergroup that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1974. It was originally a loose collective of studio musicians, with participation from Bruce Johnston, Terry Melcher, Gary Usher, Curt Boettcher, Dean Torrence, and Brian Wilson. Equinox Records released three singles by the group from 1974 to 1976, after which the band went inactive. In 2021, the group was reformed by members of the Beach Boys and their children. Omnivore Recordings released their first album: California Music Presents Add Some Music.
Lei'd in Hawaii is an unfinished live album by American rock band the Beach Boys that was produced shortly after the completion of their 1967 studio album Smiley Smile. It was initially planned to include the band's first live concert performances since their tour of Europe in May 1967.
The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. Since then, the band has undergone many variations in composition, with representation by fill-ins onstage. As of 2021, the only principal members included in the Beach Boys' touring band are co-founder Mike Love and 1965 addition Bruce Johnston.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)Bibliography