Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. After signing with Capitol Records in 1962, Wilson wrote or co-wrote more than two dozen Top 40 hits for the group. In addition to his unorthodox approaches to pop composition and mastery of recording techniques, Wilson is known for his lifelong struggles with mental illness. He is often referred to as a genius and is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and significant songwriters of the late 20th century.
Smiley Smile is the 12th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on September 18, 1967. The album reached number 9 on UK record charts, but sold poorly in the US, peaking at number 41—the band's lowest chart placement to that point. Critics and fans generally received the album with confusion and disappointment. Only one single was issued from Smiley Smile: "Heroes and Villains". "Good Vibrations" and "Gettin' Hungry" were also released, but the former was issued a year earlier, while the latter was not credited to the band.
Sunflower is the 16th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released in August 1970, and their first on Reprise Records. Despite being met with largely positive reviews, the album suffered unexpectedly poor sales, reaching number 151 on U.S. record charts during a four-week stay, and becoming the lowest-charting Beach Boys album to that point. In the UK, the album performed better, peaking at number 29.
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 for its calm and peaceful atmosphere, which contrasted the prevailing music trends of the time, and for its brevity, with five of its 12 tracks running less than two minutes long. It sold poorly, peaking at number 126 on the US Billboard charts, the group's lowest US 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.
20/20 is the 15th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on February 10, 1969. The LP was named for being their 20th overall album release. Much of it consists of outtakes from earlier albums. It reached number 3 on UK record charts and number 68 in the US. 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.
Murry Gage Wilson was an American musician, record producer, and businessman who acted as the first manager of the Beach Boys, a rock band formed by his sons Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, his nephew Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. For most of the 1960s, Murry also worked as a music publisher for the band.
"Surf's Up" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks for American rock band the Beach Boys. Its title is an ironic nod to the group's earlier associations with surf music; nothing in the song is about surfing. Through its stream of consciousness lyric, the song details a man who experiences a spiritual awakening, resigns himself to God and the joy of enlightenment, and prophesies an optimistic hope for those who can capture the innocence of youth.
"Darlin'" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, recorded by American rock band the Beach Boys with Carl Wilson on lead vocal. It opens the second side of their 1967 album Wild Honey and was also released as a single, backed with "Here Today" from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. The single peaked at No. 19 in the United States and No. 11 in the United Kingdom. The song is also known by different lyrics and structure as "Thinkin' 'Bout You Baby", also written by Wilson and Love, and first recorded by singer Sharon Marie in 1964.
"Hey Little Tomboy" is a song written by Brian Wilson for American rock band the Beach Boys, released on their 1978 album M.I.U. Album, and as the B-side to their single "Peggy Sue". The song was to be included as a track on Adult/Child before the album was rejected.
Adult/Child is an unreleased studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, intended to follow the group's 1977 Love You. Like Love You, it is virtually a Brian Wilson solo project with other group members serving mainly as additional vocalists. After it was rejected by Reprise Records, the band released the 1978 M.I.U. Album in its place with an almost entirely revamped song list. A few projected tracks for Adult Child were eventually released on later albums and compilations. Currently, the album is available only as a bootleg recording.
Lei'd in Hawaii is an unfinished live album by American rock band the Beach Boys featuring performances recorded by the group shortly after the completion of their 1967 studio album Smiley Smile. Some of these recordings were released on subsequent compilation albums, box sets, and bootleg recordings. In 2017, all studio tracks and live performances were collected for the official compilations 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow, 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow 2: The Studio Sessions, and 1967 – Live Sunshine.
"Goodbye Surfing, Hello God!: The Religious Conversion of Brian Wilson" is an article written by Jules Siegel chronicling his experiences with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys during recording sessions for the unfinished studio album Smile and its collapse. It was first published in the magazine Cheetah in October 1967, and has since been anthologized in several formats. In 2011, it was made available by Atavist as an e-book.
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 1971. It was managed by Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, his cousin Steve Korthoff, and friend Arnie Geller.
Merry Christmas from the Beach Boys is an unreleased studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys. Planned for issue in November/December 1978, the album would have followed their twenty-first studio album Love You (1977) and their only Christmas-themed album The Beach Boys' Christmas Album (1964). Its content was a mixture of original songs penned by the group and traditional standards.
The songwriting of American musician Brian Wilson, co-founder and multi-tasking leader of the Beach Boys, is widely considered to be among the most innovative and significant of the late 20th century. His combined arranging, producing, and songwriting skills also made him a major innovator in the field of music production. In a 1966 article that asks "Do the Beach Boys rely too much on sound genius Brian?" brother and bandmate Carl Wilson said that while every member of the group contributes ideas, Brian was most responsible for their music. Dennis Wilson said: "Brian Wilson is the Beach Boys. He is the band. We're his fucking messengers. He is all of it. Period. We're nothing. He's everything."
The Beach Boys' failure to complete the album Smile is often reported as a pivotal episode marking the professional decline of the band and its leader Brian Wilson. Some of the difficulties and pressures surrounding the album's making included its cumbersome editing process, concerns over its potential reception, the Wilson family's resentment of Brian's new social circle, Carl Wilson's arrest for draft evasion, the band's attempt to terminate their contract with Capitol Records, their heavy marijuana consumption, and Brian's escalating mental health issues and creative dissatisfaction. Biographer Steven Gaines, who interviewed dozens of Beach Boys associates, stated that it is impossible to verify the true story due to the many differing accounts among those involved.
"Brian Wilson is a genius" is a tagline referencing the Beach Boys' leader Brian Wilson. It was created 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 Wilson "genius" as part of a campaign he initiated to rebrand the group and legitimize Wilson as a serious artist on par with the Beatles and Bob Dylan. The hype generated by Wilson's accolades ultimately bore a number of unintended consequences for the band's reputation and internal dynamic, and has been credited as a contributing factor to Wilson's professional and psychological decline.
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 artistic 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.
