The Beach Boys are an American rock band that 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 for their vocal harmonies, adolescent-oriented themes, and musical ingenuity, they are one of the most influential acts of the rock era. They drew on the music of older pop vocal groups, 1950s rock and roll, and black R&B to create their unique sound, and under Brian's direction, often incorporated classical or jazz elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways.
"California Girls" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album Summer Days . Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the lyrics detail an appreciation for women around the world and a wish that they all lived in the band's home state, California. It was released as a single, backed with "Let Him Run Wild", and reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also a top 10 hit in several other countries, becoming one of the band's most successful songs globally.
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.
L.A. is the 23rd studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on March 16, 1979, and their first issued through CBS Records. Recorded during a period of acrimony between the band members, it was a critical and commercial failure, peaking at number 100 in the U.S. and number 32 in the UK.
"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 and failed to meet critical and commercial expectations, although it was a hit record, peaking at number 12 in the U.S. and number 8 in the UK.
Sea of Tunes was a music publishing company founded in 1962 by Murry and Brian Wilson. Murry was the first manager of the Beach Boys, the father of Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson and the uncle of Mike Love. The intention of Sea of Tunes was to publish and promote the songs written primarily by Brian.
The Honeys were an American girl group, formed in Los Angeles in 1958, that initially comprised sisters Marilyn, Diane, and Barbara Rovell. Barbara was later replaced by their cousin, Ginger Blake. After 1962, the Rovell Sisters were rechristened "the Honeys" by the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, who envisioned the group as a female counterpart to his band. Wilson served as the Honeys' record producer and chief songwriter, and later married Marilyn in late 1964.
Michael Edward Love is an American singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bass-baritone singing, Love has been one of the band's vocalists and lyricists for their entire career, contributing to each of their studio albums and serving as their frontman for live performances. During the mid-1960s, he was one of Brian's main collaborators, co-writing hit records such as "Fun, Fun, Fun" (1964), "I Get Around" (1964), "Help Me, Rhonda" (1965), "California Girls" (1965), and "Good Vibrations" (1966).
"Fire" is an instrumental by American musician Brian Wilson that he originally composed for the Beach Boys' never-finished album Smile. Named after Catherine O'Leary and the Great Chicago Fire, the track was originally conceptualized as part of "The Elements", a four-part movement based on the four classical elements: Air, Fire, Earth, and Water. Wilson's friends, family, and colleagues later referred to its recording as heralding his period of psychosis and the unraveling of the Smile project.
David Anderle was an American A&R man, record producer, and portrait artist. He is best known for his business associations with the Beach Boys during the recording of their album Smile and the formation of their company Brother Records. Anderle also worked for MGM, Elektra, and A&M Records, and later acted as music supervisor on films including The Breakfast Club (1985), Pretty in Pink (1986), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), and Scrooged (1988).
Steven Gaines is an American author, journalist, and radio show host. His 13 books include Philistines at the Hedgerow: Passion and Property in the Hamptons; The Sky’s the Limit: Passion and Property in Manhattan; The Love You Make: An Insider's Story of The Beatles; Heroes and Villains: The True Story of the Beach Boys; Marjoe, the biography of evangelist Marjoe Gortner; Fool's Paradise: Players, Poseurs and the Culture of Excess in South Beach; and One of These Things First, a memoir. His 1991 biography of the fashion designer Halston was the basis for Ryan Murphy's 2021 Netflix series, for which Ewan McGregor won the Best Actor Emmy Award.
Rushton "Rocky" Pamplin is an American former college football player and model who was employed as a bodyguard and caretaker for the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson from 1977 to 1979.
Smile is an unfinished album by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was planned to follow their 11th studio album Pet Sounds (1966). It was to be a 12-track LP that drew from over 50 hours of interchangeable sound fragments, similar to the group's 1966 single "Good Vibrations". Instead, after a year of recording, the album was shelved and the group released a downscaled version, Smiley Smile, in September 1967. Over the next four decades, few of the original Smile tracks were officially released, and the project came to be regarded as the most "legendary" unreleased album in popular music history.
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.
Michael Vosse was an American journalist and A&M Records publicist. He is best known as assistant to Brian Wilson during the formation of the Beach Boys' Brother Records and the recording of the album Smile (1966–67). His work also included limited time serving as a television producer, and narrator.
The Radiant Radish was a health food store located at the corner of Melrose Avenue and San Vicente Boulevard in West Hollywood, California, from 1969 to 1970. It was managed by Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, his cousin Steve Korthoff, and friend Arny Geller. Arny's father-in-law, Jack Brooks, owner of Brooks Health Foods was nutritional consultant.
Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution is a 1967 American television documentary by David Oppenheim about young pop and rock musicians producing music as "a symptom and generator" of social unrest and generation gaps. Hosted by Leonard Bernstein, it was commissioned by CBS and broadcast on April 25, 1967. Musicians who appeared in the documentary included singer-songwriter Janis Ian, who performed her song "Society's Child", and Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson, who performed his song "Surf's Up".
"Brian Wilson is a genius" is a line that became part of a media campaign spearheaded by the Beatles' former press officer Derek Taylor in 1966, who was then employed as the Beach Boys' publicist. Although there are earlier documented expressions of the statement, Taylor frequently called Brian Wilson a "genius" as part of an effort to rebrand the Beach Boys and legitimize Wilson as a serious artist on par with the Beatles and Bob Dylan.
Lorren Daro was an American talent agent known for his involvement in the Los Angeles music scene in the 1960s. His contacts included Beach Boys member Brian Wilson, session musician Van Dyke Parks, jingle writer Tony Asher, and Byrds members David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Chris Hillman, and Roger McGuinn.
The Beach Boys and the California Myth is a 1978 biography of the Beach Boys that was authored by American writer David Leaf, editor and creator of the Pet Sounds fanzine. It was the first full-length book written about the band, and an early piece of writing that revealed much of their internal conflicts and family history.
