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Nelson Bragg | |
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 Nelson Bragg live with Brian Wilson in 2017 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | August 14, 1961 (age 62) Dover, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) |
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| Years active | 1979 - Present |
| Website | www |
Nelson Bragg (born August 14, 1961) is an American percussionist, vocalist and songwriter based in Los Angeles, California.
Nelson Bragg was born in Dover, New Hampshire on August 14, 1961. [1] He played in several bands from 1979 to 1999, including positions as a pit drummer for more than twenty stage musicals. He later played at the Emerson College theater in Boston, Massachusetts and at the New London Barn Playhouse in New London, New Hampshire.
Bragg's bands include the horn-driven/post-punk dance band Big Noise (1981–1987) based in Woodstock, New York, and Farmhouse (1989–1992), a harmony-based folk rock group based in Northampton, Massachusetts. Bragg moved to Los Angeles in 1999. [2]
In 2000, Bragg joined several Los Angeles pop bands, including The Now People, The Quarter After, Twenty Cent Crush and Cloud Eleven. In 2001, Bragg joined Stew for his album, titled Naked Dutch Painter, and played subsequent shows promoting the album, which was named Entertainment Weekly's "Album of the Year" for 2002. Bragg also played with pop group The Negro Problem, Stew's former band and alter ego. [3]
In 2003, Bragg joined Brian Wilson's band as a percussionist-vocalist for live performances of Wilson's unreleased album Smile . The February 2004 premiere in London and subsequent tour was followed by a formal recording of "Smile", released in September 2004. "Smile" received multiple nominations for the 2004 Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Vocal Album [4] and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (for Mark Linett). [5] [6] The album later won a single Grammy, in the category of Best Rock Instrumental Performance, for the track "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow". [7]
In 2005, the Smile two-DVD set was released, featuring a full-length documentary of Brian Wilson's "Smile" story, and the making of it, both in 1966-1967 and newly again in 2004. The documentary aired on Showtime in October 2004, and was directed by Beach Boys authority David Leaf. A live concert performance of "Smile" is featured on the second disc.
Bragg's tours included performances at London's Royal Festival Hall, two nights at Carnegie Hall (broadcast on NPR radio, nationally on Thanksgiving Day 2004), two nights at The Sydney Opera House, The Hollywood Bowl, three nights with The Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2008, Royal Albert Hall, The Montreaux Jazz Festival, The New Orleans Jazz Festival, The Newport Folk Fest, Brandenburgh Gate - Berlin for the worldwide Live 8 benefit, and at The 2005 Glastonbury Festival in the United Kingdom.[ citation needed ]
Bragg has also performed with Brian Wilson's band on several television appearances, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and on The Late Show with Conan O'Brien.[ citation needed ]
Bragg's recordings include Brian Wilson's Christmas album, All I Really Want For Christmas, released in 2005 and That Lucky Old Sun, released in 2008. Between 2006 and 2007, the band performed the Pet Sounds album in the U.S. and Europe, celebrating its 40th anniversary (Beach Boy and Al Jardine joined the band for the U.S. leg of the tour). That Lucky Old Sun was an anticipated album that garnered mixed reviews. [8] [9]
In 2003, prior to his position with The Brian Wilson Band, Bragg started recording a solo album which was completed and released on Side B Music in 2007. The album features Nick Walusko, fellow Brian Wilson bandmate and Wondermint Mike Randle, guitarist with Baby Lemonade and longtime member of Arthur Lee and Love Morley Bartnoff, keyboardist with Burning Sensations and currently member of Dramarama Rob Campanella, organist-guitarist with The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Quarter After, Probyn Gregory, fellow Brian Wilson bandmate and Wondermint, Severo Jornacion, bassist with The Smithereens and Debbie Shair, keyboardist with Heart. The album also features the Stockholm String Ensemble on seven of its twelve tracks. Bragg performed all acoustics, vocals, drums and percussion among other instruments on the record. The record is influenced by CSNY, George Harrison, The Byrds, The dB's, and Canada's The Grapes Of Wrath, and was produced by L.A. pop-garage producer Steve Refling. As of 2012, Bragg completed his second solo record entitled We Get What We Want. Bragg's 3rd and final solo album "Gratitude Blues" was released on September 30, 2021. It too was produced with Steve Refling.
Bragg has been involved with many bands throughout his time as a professional percussionist. He has recorded albums with the Now People, The Quarter After, Cloud Eleven, The Mello Cads, Keven Kane (The Grapes Of Wrath), Andrew Sandoval and most notably The Mockers. Bragg has also garnered three tours of Spain with The Mockers in 2002, 2005 and 2007. 2008 brought Bragg back to Carnegie Hall as the house percussionist for Sting and Trudy's annual rainforest benefit.
In 2009, Bragg produced the album "Tangle Free World" for singer/songwriter Anny Celsi. Bragg also toured the UK and Europe with Celsi in 2009, 2010 and 2011, where the duo was augmented by guest musicians including Roland Wolff, Duncan Maitland, Richard Snow, and Nico J Wouters.
Bragg is the drummer-percussionist and harmony vocalist on several dozen records, but his most well-known recording other than "Smile" came in 2006, on the In My Room CD tribute to Brian Wilson, included with Mojo magazine's January 2007 issue. Bragg sang lead and drummed on The Mockers Beatlesque version of "God Only Knows." That recording was the largest exposure of Bragg's lead vocal to date with a pressing of over 200,000 copies worldwide. In the Spring of 2007, Bragg embarked on a 30-date tour of Europe and the U.S. with Brian Wilson and Al Jardine from The Beach Boys. The tour included a premiere in London of Wilson's new work That Lucky Old Sun. That Lucky Old Sun.
In 2009, Bragg completed work on his first musical production with singer-songwriter Anny Celsi. "Tangle-Free World" garnered three tours of Europe in 2009, 2010, and 2011, respectively.
In 2010, Bragg embarked on two album tours with Brian Wilson for the Disney-Pearl label; Brian Wilson Re-imagines Gershwin and an album of Disney songs were released in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Bragg was the percussionist on both records and also contributed some vocals to the set. "The Re-imagines" Gershwin record garnered The Brian Wilson Band an elaborate tour of North America and Wilson's first-ever complete tour of Canada.
Bragg participated in The Beach Boys 50th Anniversary Reunion Tour as the band's percussionist. John Voket wrote in his review that "...percussionist Nelson Bragg was amazing to watch as he deftly handled some of the unique hand instruments that flavored so many Beach Boys numbers while simultaneously contributing backing vocals to almost every tune." [10] Greg Kot, a Chicago Tribune music critic, also positively reviewed Bragg's performance. [11]
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.
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 for his lifelong struggles with mental illness.
Brian Wilson Presents Smile is the fifth studio album by American musician Brian Wilson, released on September 28, 2004 on Nonesuch. It features all-new recordings of music that he had originally created for Smile, an unfinished album by the Beach Boys that he abandoned in 1967. Revisiting Smile was an intense emotional undertaking for Wilson, as he had been deeply traumatized by the circumstances that had originally surrounded the project.
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".
Smiley Smile is the 12th 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.
Wild Honey is the 13th 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.
The Wondermints are an American rock band from Los Angeles that released four studio albums between 1995 and 2002. The main line-up consisted of Darian Sahanaja (keyboards); Nick Walusko, and Mike D'Amico (percussion). The band members are also known for serving as part of the backing band for Brian Wilson since 1999. Other contributors to the Wondermints have included Brian Kassan (bass), David Nolte (bass) and Probyn Gregory (various).
Terrence William "Blondie" Chaplin is a South African singer and guitarist from Durban, where he played in the band the Flames in the mid to late 1960s. From 1972 to 1973, he was a member of the Beach Boys and contributed to their albums Carl and the Passions – "So Tough" (1972) and Holland (1973). During his stint with the Beach Boys, he sang the lead on the popular song, "Sail On Sailor". Chaplin was a long-term backing vocalist, percussionist, and acoustic rhythm guitarist for the Rolling Stones on their recordings and tours over a 15-year period, starting in 1997. Chaplin has released two solo albums, Blondie Chaplin (1977) and Between Us (2008).
"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.
"Wonderful" 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, it was their only collaboration that resulted in a love song, telling the story of a young girl's sexual awakening and its disruption of her devotion to God and her parents.
Michael Edward Love is an American singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the Beach Boys which he co-founded 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, contributing lyrics to 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.
Darian Sahanaja is an American singer, songwriter, keyboardist, and arranger who is best known for co-founding Wondermints in 1992 and playing with Brian Wilson's supporting band since 1999. He has also performed alongside the Zombies and Heart as a session musician.
The Smile Sessions is a compilation album and box set recorded by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on October 31, 2011, by Capitol Records. The set is the follow-up to The Pet Sounds Sessions (1997), this time focusing on the abandoned recordings from the band's unfinished 1966–1967 album Smile. It features comprehensive session highlights and outtakes, with the first 19 tracks comprising a hypothetical version of the completed Smile album.
That's Why God Made the Radio is the twenty-ninth and most recent studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on June 5, 2012, on Capitol Records. Produced by Brian Wilson, the album was recorded to coincide with the band's 50th anniversary. It is their first studio album since 1996's Stars and Stripes Vol. 1, the first album to feature original material since Summer in Paradise in 1992, their first album to feature guitarist and backing vocalist David Marks since Little Deuce Coupe in 1963, and their first album since the 1998 death of co-founder Carl Wilson.
Smile is an unfinished album by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was intended to follow their 1966 album Pet Sounds. It was to be an LP of twelve tracks assembled from modular fragments, the same editing process used for their "Good Vibrations" single. 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.
"Guess I'm Dumb" is a song recorded by American singer Glen Campbell that was released as his seventh single on Capitol Records on June 7, 1965. Written by Brian Wilson and Russ Titelman, it is a love song that describes a man who regrets ending a relationship after he realizes he still harbors deep feelings for his former lover. The single failed to chart.
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 Pet Sounds 50th Anniversary World Tour was a worldwide concert tour by American musicians Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, and Blondie Chaplin held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Beach Boys' album Pet Sounds (1966). Scheduled for more than 100 dates, it marks Wilson and Jardine's final performances of the album.
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.
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