The Beach Boys, The #16 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

 "The Beach Boys are awesome!"

"One of the best bands ever."

"The Beach Boys are an American institution."

"I just love listening to these guys."

"Brian Wilson is a musical genius."

"Legends".

"Magnifique!"

"Genius is in style in any era."

"The Beach Boys had an outstanding sound."

"Amazing, legendary band."

"The best vocals of all-time in my opinion."

"Immortal."

"The masters of vocal harmony."

"Long live the Beach Boys!"

"Their music gives me chills."

"They were trailblazers."

"It is so beautiful how the Beach Boys harmonized."

"Pure magic."

"Some of the best harmonies ever."

"This music is so phenomenal."

"The best songwriters are the ones who can make complicated melodies and harmonies appear simple, accessible, and singable.  Brian Wilson does that in spades."

"Their entire catalog is timeless."

"The Beach Boys are at the tippy top of best artists ever."

"Their harmony and songs were iconic."

"Awesome vocals.  Makes the soul cry."

"Their music appeals to all ages and generations."

"Such beautiful harmonies.  I love their sound."

"Phenomenal, iconic band."

Their innovative harmonies broadened popular music and influenced thousands of groups.  They worked magic in the studio, and were one of the only groups popular prior to 1964 to withstand the Beatles' onslaught.  

After listening to songs on the radio in Inglewood, California, 16-year-old Brian Wilson would teach brothers Dennis (13) and Carl (11) how to sing background harmonies.  Such is the childhood of a genius.  Brian received a reel-to-reel tape recorder for his birthday and he learned how to overdub, using the vocals of he and Carl and their mother.

Inspired by the R & B songs he heard on the radio, Brian changed his piano-playing style and began writing songs.  Brian, cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine teamed up with Carl and Dennis to form the group called the Pendletones.  Dennis was the only surfer in the group and suggested that the group write songs about the sport that had caught on so big in California.

Brian's first-such song was Surfin'".  The Wilsons' father, Murry, was a songwriter and he helped the group at times, but was physically abusive and would undermine them in the years to come.  Murry set up a meeting between the Pendletones and his publisher, Hite Morgan.  

Morgan loved the song and recorded the group performing "Surfin'" in September of 1961.  A more professional recording was made on October 3 in Hollywood.  Murry took the demos to Her Newman, owner of Candix Records and Era Records, which signed the group on December 8.

Candix didn't like the group name, and Russ Regan, a promoter with Era Records, suggested the Beach Boys.  That is the name that stuck.  "Surfin' was released as a single and it was a moderate hit.  Murry found the group a gig at a New Year's Eve dance in Long Beach, California.  In February of 1962, however, Jardine left the group to study dentistry, with David Marks replacing him.

Candix went bankrupt, and the Beach Boys were turned down by several labels in the search for a new deal.  Finally, the group signed a seven-year contract with Capitol Records.  This song from 1962 mentions all the hot spots in California for surfing:  Huntington, Malibu, Doheny State Beach, Rincon and Laguna Beach.  They also mention Cerro Azul in Peru.  The Beach Boys released the single "Surfin' Safari", which reached #14 in the U.S.

Besides surfing, the other passion was hot rods, and the group found plenty of inspiration for both.  The flip side got airplay as well.  Brian wrote "409" with Gary Usher, who told Songfacts:

     I was a hot rod freak. I had a 409. One day we were 

    driving up to Los Angeles looking for a part for my car, 

    and I said 'Let's write a song called '409'. We'll do a 

    thing 'giddy up, giddy up,' meaning horses for 

    horsepower,' just kidding around. We came back and 

    put it to three simple chords in five minutes, and it          

    developed into a multi-million dollar car craze."

 

The Beach Boys released the album Surfin' Safari later in the year.  In 1963, Wilson used double-tracking and added his falsetto to Love's lead vocal.  The Beach Boys released the single "Surfin' U.S.A.", their first Top 10 hit at #3.  

 

The album of the same name hit #2 and has been certified Gold.  Enjoy the amazing vocals on "Lonely Sea".

At this time, the Beach Boys were one of the only acts in history who wrote and produced their own songs.  "Record companies were used to having absolute control over their artists," Carl told Luis Sanchez for his 2014 book The Beach Boys' Smile.  "It was especially nervy, because Brian was a 21-year-old kid with just two albums," he continued.  "It was unheard of.  But what could they say?  Brian made good records."  

Jardine rejoined the group after a Midwest Tour, but Brian quit touring to instead concentrate on writing and recording.  The Beach Boys released the album Surfer Girl, which included outside musicians on many tracks.  The album peaked at #7 and went Gold as well.  Wilson was inspired to write the title song by his girlfriend, Judy Bowles.  "Surfer Girl" (the first song credited to Wilson as producer) reached #7.

 

The group followed with their first album to be certified Platinum, Little Deuce Coupe, just a few months later, but Marks left the band after recording.  The title song about a 1932 Ford Model 18 stalled at #15, one of The Top Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*. 

 

The follow-up song "Be True To Your School" gave the group another Top 10 hit.  The fight song featured is "On Wisconsin!", which was adopted by Hawthorne High School, where the Wilsons went to school.  The single is in a lower key and a faster tempo than the version that appears on the album.

 

But the personal introspective "In My Room", with a peak of #23, is another of The Top Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.  We have all been at a point where the world is too much, and we need some solace, a place to get away and relax.  When we are young, that place typically is our room.  Wilson wrote it with Gary Usher, who was a respected songwriter and producer who also worked with the Byrds, among other acts.

Usher explained in the liner notes of a later Beach Boys compilation album that "Brian was always saying that his room was his whole world" and the sensitivity in the song was very important to the idea that Wilson wanted to get across.  

 

This song, a development of a longer poem written by Roger Christian, describes a drag race between a Super-Stock 413 cu. in.-powered 1962 Dodge Dart and a fuel-injected 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray.  Although the song ends before the race is concluded, the narrator claims that he "shut you down".  "Shut Down" means to beat someone in the drag race. 

 

In 1964, the group released the album Shut Down, Volume 2, a Gold release but their first album not to make the Top 10 in four tries.  However, the single "Fun, Fun, Fun" hit the Top 5 and is one of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*.

 

The Beach Boys recorded "The Warmth Of The Sun" on the day that U.S. President John Kennedy was murdered.  Love said, "We didn't change the lyrics to conform to the event, but because of that event, when we recorded that song, it was charged with emotion.  There's no doubt about that.  And I think you can feel it in the lyric and the music combined."

 

We also want to feature "Keep An Eye On Summer".

Much more incredible music and sensational harmonies from the Beach Boys!