 | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject.(November 2021) |
Jon Stebbins | |
|---|---|
| Born | Livermore, California |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1970s–present |
| Musical career | |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Jangle pop |
Jon Stebbins is a Los Osos, California [1] -based musician, songwriter, documentary producer and author of four books about The Beach Boys, as well as two other books.
Stebbins was a member of a music band called 'The Point' which was active on the Los Angeles club circuit from 1979 to 1985. [2] The Point were often described as part of L.A.'s psychedelic revival scene known as the Paisley Underground. They released a self-titled four song EP in 1981 that was described by the L.A. Times as having a "purity of intent that recalls the haunting resonance of pre-psychedelic Northern California groups like The Beau Brummels."
The Point released a full-length album in 1983 called Magic Circle, (not to be confused with the 2005 album of the same title by Wizard.) The record was produced by Vitus Matare of The Last and recorded at Radio Tokyo studio in Venice, California and released on the Warfrat label. Magic Circle was also released in Europe in 1984 on the Lolita label. One of its songs, "All My Life" which was co-written by Stebbins and Point co-founder Tom Alford was included in a 2006 episode of the Gilmore Girls television show.
Stebbins and his former Point bandmate Tom Alford resumed their songwriting partnership in 2020. That year Alford recorded and released the Alford/Stebbins composition “Moving In To Love” which received international airplay and reached #65 on the Radio Indie Alliance chart.
Stebbins currently plays guitar (as J Uno) in the Atascadero, California-based free-form psychedelic band Juneau Teausday.
Stebbins' first book, on the subject of Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson is entitled Dennis Wilson, The Real Beach Boy. [3] Published in 2000, the book was ranked as the number two bestseller in MOJO magazine for that year. [4]
In 2007 Virgin Books Ltd, London, published The Lost Beach Boy, which Stebbins wrote with David Marks, one of the early members of the Beach Boys, and which tells the story of Marks' time with the band in 1962–1963, as well as Marks' experiences after he left the Beach Boys in late 1963.
Stebbins has also written The Beach Boys FAQ - All That's Left To Know About America's Band, an extensive reference style book for Backbeat Books which was published in September 2011.
Stebbins' fourth book on the Beach Boys was published in June 2013 by Backbeat Books. Co-written with Ian Rusten, the book is titled The Beach Boys In Concert - The Complete History of America's Band On Tour and Onstage and is an unprecedented day-by-day journal of the group's 50 year touring history.
In October 2012 Stebbins' first non-Beach Boys book was published, titled It Happened At Chez Jay's chronicling the history of a legendary Santa Monica restaurant and bar, and the colorful life of its playboy owner Jay Fiondella.
Stebbins is currently writing the 75 year plus history of Universal Attractions Agency a New York-based booking agency founded in 1945 and still in operation. UAA is best known for launching the career of soul icon James Brown along with dozens of other Rhythm and Blues legends. The book is scheduled to be published in 2022.
Stebbins contributed liner notes and project research to the 2008 Legacy Edition CD release of Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue which was Rolling Stone magazine's 2008 reissue of the year. He has also worked as a producer and creative contributor to television shows airing on BBC including the documentaries The Beach Boys- Wouldn't It Be Nice (2005) and Queen - Days Of Our Lives (2011), as well as two multi-episode series The Secret Map of Hollywood (2005) and I'm In A Rock And Roll Band (2010). Stebbins is also co-producer of the 2010 BBC television documentary Legends- Dennis Wilson, The Real Beach Boy which was nominated for a Royal Television Society award as best documentary. Stebbins appears as an interview subject in the ITV productions Autopsy, The Last Hours of Dennis Wilson (2017) and Breaking The Band (2018). He is a contributor and interview subject in the 2019 documentary Manson: Music from an Unsound Mind. [5]
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 their vocal harmonies, adolescent-oriented lyrics, 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. Under Brian's direction, they often incorporated classical or jazz elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways.
Bruce Arthur Johnston is an American singer, musician and songwriter who is a member of the Beach Boys. He also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher and composed the 1975 Barry Manilow hit, "I Write the Songs".
Dennis Carl Wilson was an American musician who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best remembered as their drummer and as the middle brother of bandmates Brian and Carl Wilson. Dennis was the only true surfer in the Beach Boys, and his personal life exemplified the "California Myth" that the band's early songs often celebrated. He was also known for his association with the Manson Family and for co-starring in the 1971 film Two-Lane Blacktop.
David Lee Marks is an American guitarist who was an early member of the Beach Boys. While growing up in Hawthorne, California, Marks was a neighborhood friend of the original band members and was a frequent participant at their family get-togethers. Following his departure from the group, Marks fronted the Marksmen and performed and recorded as a session musician.
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.
Friends is the 14th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on June 24, 1968, through Capitol Records. The album is characterized by its calm and peaceful atmosphere, which contrasted the prevailing music trends of the time, and by its brevity, with five of its 12 tracks running less than two minutes long. It sold poorly, peaking at number 126 on the Billboard charts, the group's lowest U.S. chart performance to date, although it reached number 13 in the UK. Fans generally came to regard the album as one of the band's finest.
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.
The Beach Boys Love You is the 21st studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released April 11, 1977, on Brother/Reprise. Sometimes called the band's "punk" or "synth-pop" album, Love You is characterized for its pioneering use of synthesizers and its juxtaposition of adolescent-oriented lyrics with the adult band members' gravelly vocals.
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.
M.I.U. Album is the 22nd studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on September 25, 1978. Characterized for its easy-listening sound, the album was produced by Al Jardine and touring member Ron Altbach during one of the most acrimonious periods in the band's history. It sold poorly, peaking at number 151 in the U.S, and was met with confused reactions from critics and fans.
"Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966 and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record charts in several countries including the United States and the United Kingdom. Characterized by its complex soundscapes, episodic structure and subversions of pop music formula, it was the most expensive single ever recorded. "Good Vibrations" later became widely acclaimed as one of the finest and most important works of the rock era.
All Summer Long is the sixth album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released July 13, 1964 on Capitol Records. Regarded as their first artistically unified collection of songs, as well as one of the first true concept albums, it marked the Beach Boys' first LP that was not focused on themes of cars or surfing. Instead, the songs are semi-autobiographical and relate to the experiences of a typical Southern Californian teenager, a theme encapsulated by the title track, "All Summer Long", and the often-imitated front cover, a modernist style photo collage depicting the band members fraternizing with young women on a beach.
"Little Deuce Coupe" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian. The song first appeared as the B-side to The Beach Boys' 1963 single "Surfer Girl". The car referred to is the 1932 Ford Model 18. "Little Deuce Coupe" became The Beach Boys' highest charting B-side, peaking on September 28, 1963, at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Feel Flows" is a song recorded by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1971 album Surf's Up. It was written by guitarist Carl Wilson and band manager Jack Rieley, and was one of Wilson's first songs.
"Hawaii" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band the Beach Boys. It was recorded in July 1963 and released on their 1963 album Surfer Girl. It is one of the first Beach Boy songs that Hal Blaine played on, contributing timbales, but regular drummer Dennis Wilson still played. In January 1964, it was released as a single in Australia, becoming a top-10 hit. "Hawaii" made its way into the Beach Boys repertoire almost 50 years later.
"Girls on the Beach" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1964 album All Summer Long. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the song is in the vein of the band's previous surf ballads and features Four Freshmen-inspired harmonies. The song also served as the title track to the movie The Girls on the Beach.
Many recordings and performances by the Beach Boys have attained some level of public circulation without being available as a legal release, and several albums by the band or its individual members were fully assembled or near completion before being shelved, rejected, or revised as an entirely new project. Since the early 1980s, numerous rarities compilations and album reissues have been released with studio outtakes included as bonus tracks.
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.
In May 1968, the American rock band the Beach Boys undertook a concert tour of the United States with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, their Indian meditation guru. The tour preceded the release of the Beach Boys' Friends album, which similarly reflected the influence of the Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique on the band, and was a commercial and critical failure. The program comprised a set of songs by the Beach Boys, followed by a lecture from the Maharishi on the benefits of meditation. Twenty-nine concerts were originally scheduled, many of them in college venues, but the venture was abandoned after three days of low ticket sales and hostile audience reaction to the Maharishi's segment. The guru's commitment to making a documentary film about himself, for Four Star Television, was cited as a further impediment.