Celine joined other celebrities to support "World Children's Day", which raised money from more than 100 countries to benefit orphanages and children's health organizations. Dion also released the Francophone album 1 fille & 4 types (1 Girl & 4 Guys). This is "Tout L'amour des Hommes" ("All The Men's Gold)".
In 2004, Celine received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. After giving birth to a boy in March, she released the album Miracle, featuring the themes of motherhood and babies that included covers of Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World" and John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy". The album debuted at #4 in the U.S.
The Miracle project also included an 180-page book with photographs from Anne Geddes. Here is the title song.
Dion's worldwide sales had now reached 175 million, and she received the Chopard Diamond Award at the World Music Awards for topping 100 million career sales.
In 2007, Dion released the French-language album D'elles (About Them) which debuted at #1 in Canada and also reached #1 in France and Belgium. Here is "Et S'il N'en Restait Qu'une (Je Serais Celle-Là)", which means "If There Were Only One Woman Left (I Would Be That One)" in English.
Celine won the Legend Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Music Industry at the World Music Awards. We also want to feature "On s'aime à cause" ("We've Loved Each Other Because") .
This is "Je Ne Suis Pas Celle" ("I'm Not The One").
Celine also released the album Taking Chances, her first English album in four years. Her worldwide tour took her to five continents that included 132 shows, and Celine finished the year as the top concert draw in the world.
The album reached the Top 10 in virtually every country (#1 in Canada, #2 in France, and #3 in the U.S.) and topped one million in sales in the U.S. and three million worldwide. Here is her cover of the Heart hit "Alone".
Another solid track is the inspirational "New Dawn".
The title song, co-written by David Stewart of the Eurythmics, jumped to #6 on the Adult Contemporary chart and hit # 5 in Switzerland, #7 in France, and #9 in Canada. The song was originally going to be released as a single for Stewart's new group Platinum Weird. When they played it for Angéli, he loved it and Celine recorded it as well. Here is "Taking Chances".
In May of 2008, Deion received the highest award from France, the Legion of Honour, from President Nicolas Sarkozy. On August 22, 2008 Celine offered a free outdoor concert in Quebec City to commemorate the city's 400th anniversary. The show attracted 490,000 people, one of the largest concerts in history. The show was filmed and released on DVD as Céline sur les Plaines. While there, Celine received an honorary doctorate in music from the Université Laval. Dion also released the compilation My Love: Essential Collection, which went Gold.
In 2009, Dion finished the decade as the top-selling solo touring act, with a gross of $522 million.
Celine released the documentary film Celine: Through the Eyes of the World, now available on DVD. Dion returned to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for another three-year residency that when ended, was the second-most successful residency of all-time only to her previous engagement.
In 2012, Dion released the French album Sans attendre, which has topped 1.5 million in sales. She was nominated for World's Best Female Artist, World's Best Live Act, World's Best Entertainer of the Year and World's Best Album at the World Music Awards.
The following year, she released the album Loved Me Back to Life, which reached #1 in Canada and the Netherlands, #2 in the U.S. and Belgium, and #3 in the U.K., France, and Switzerland. Here is the title song.
On July 26, 2013, Celine received the Companion of the Order of Canada. She was nominated for World's Best Album at the World Music Awards. We also want to feature "Water And A Flame".
In 2014, Celine postponed all live appearances, including her concerts in Las Vegas, as René underwent the removal of a tumor and his health was deteriorating. She resumed the tour in August of 2015, but had to cancel again when René died from cancer on January 14.
In 2016, Celine received the Icon Award at the Billboard Music Awards. The French album Encore un soir made it to the Top 10 inCanada, France, Switzerland, and Belgium and has sold over one million copies.
Celine toured Europe and Canada with two sold-out tours in 2016 and 2017 and the Asia-Pacific region in 2018.
In 2019, Dion released the album Courage, #1 in the U.S., Canada, Switzerland, and Belgium and #2 in the U.K., Australia, and France, and #4 in Germany. Here is the title song.
Celine toured the world to support the album until the COVID-19 pandemic. Dion has resumed the tour now that we have finally made progress in masks and social distancing. Celine was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Music from the prestigious Berklee College of Music.
She is one of the most honored recording artists in history, winning 292 career awards and receiving 535 career nominations. Including in that amazing list are Knight of the Legion of Honor Award from France, Officer of the Order of Canada for Worldwide Musical Influence and Commitment to Numerous Humanitarian Causes, Officer of the Order of Canada for Outstanding Contribution to the World of Contemporary Music, 12 World Music Awards with 22 total nominations, 6 American Music Awards from 14 nominations, 4 Grammy Awards out of 16 nominations, 7 Billboard Music Awards from 41 nominations, the Eurovision Song winner in 1998, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one People's Choice Award from five nominations, two MTV Video Music Award nominations and a Blockbuster Entertainment Award out of six nominations.
Celine has sold over 220 million albums in her amazing career and recorded 23 hits with 10 of those going Top 10 and 4 #1 smashes. Among adults, Dion's star is even brighter, achieving 46 career hits, 22 Top 10's and 11 #1 songs, among the most impressive chart statistics in history for music fans over the age of 18.
Celine released the Christmas album These Are Special Times (#1 in Canada and the Netherlands and #2 in the U.S.) and the French-language album S'il suffisait d'aimer in 1998. The former, featuring complex orchestral arrangements, now boasts sales of 12 million copies and includes Celine's fourth #1 in the U.S.--"I'm Your Angel" (with R. Kelly).
Steve Dollar, in his review ofThese Are Special Times, opined that Dion was a "vocal Olympian for whom there ain't no mountain—or scale—high enough".
Celine won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Female Musical Performer and was nominated for Top Billboard 200 Album Artists - Female and Hot 100 Single Sales (for "I'm Your Angel") at the Billboard Music Awards. "The Prayer", her stunning duet with Andrea Bocelli, was featured in the movie Quest for Camelot and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.
Celine and Andrea were nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the Grammy Awards.
Dion's rise to the top was cemented by pulling off the rare feat of winning both Favorite Pop (Rock) Female Artist and Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist at the American Music Awards. Precious few of The Top 100 Artists* have ever done that. Two years after it's release, Let's Talk About Love was still on fire and was nominated in 1999 for Favorite Pop (Rock) Album.
Celine also gives one of the best performances of the classic reverent song "Oh Holy Night".
Celine appeared in VH1's Divas Live special and was awarded Officer of the Order of Canada. S'il suffisait d'aimer is now over four million in sales. Celine had come a long way indeed, and her compilation album All the Way...A Decade of Song in 1999, another universal #1, has gone over nine million in sales in the U.S. and 22 million worldwide.
Together with her biggest hits, the album also includes seven new songs, led by
this one, which was written and produced by Andreas Carlsson, Kristian Lundin and Max Martin, who have written a string of hits for Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys and NSync. "That's The Way It Is", #1 on the AC chart and #6 in America and #5 in Canada and Top 10 in nearly every country in the world.
Celine won World Music Awards for World's Best-Selling Female Pop Artist of the Year in 1999 and again in 2000. The album also features an overdubbed duet with Frank Sinatra on Frank's big hit--"All The Way", which Celine likes to perform in concert. The recording earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.
"Then You Look At Me" is the theme for the 1999 movie Bicentennial Man. James Horner and Will Jennings, who wrote "My Heart Will Go On", also wrote this one for Dion.
By the end of the decade, Celine had topped 100 million in sales, which only a small percentage of artists have done in a career. "My Heart Will Go On" was included in the Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts. Dion was nominated for Billboard Music Awards for Top Pop Artists - Female and Top Billboard 200 Artists - Female.
But Angélil had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and Celine to her credit took a break from recording and touring. In 2001, Celine gave birth to son René-Charles Dion Angélil and published her autobiography My Story, My Dream in 2001. She also won another American Music Award for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist and was nominated for Favorite Pop (Rock) Female Artist for the fourth time.
Dion returned following the 9/11 murders to sing "God Bless America" at the televised benefit concert America: A Tribute to Heroes. Of her performance, Billboard's Chuck Taylor wrote: "the performance ... brings to mind what has made her one of the celebrated vocalists of our time: the ability to render emotion that shakes the soul. Affecting, meaningful, and filled with grace, this is a musical reflection to share with all of us still searching for ways to cope." Dion performed the song again in 2003 before Super Bowl XXXVII in San Diego, California.
In early 2002, Dion announced what was to be a three-year 600-show deal to appear in a multimedia project called A New Day... at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Celine got the idea after seeing O by Franco Dragone during her hiatus. Caesar's Palace designed a 4,000-seat area specifically for the show and modelled after the Roman Colosseum. Dion premiered the show on March 25, 2003.
The lavish show, directed by Dragone and choreographed by Mia Michaels, sold out night after night. In 2005 alone, she had sold 322,000 tickets and grossed $43.9 million, and the phenomenal success led Celine to extend the contract into 2007. In 2006, A New Day... was the 6th biggest-selling tour in the U.S. The monumental show was the most successful residency in history, grossing over $385 million and drawing three million people. The Live in Las Vegas: A New Day... DVD was released in 2007.
In 2002, Celine released her first album in three years, the inspirational and personal A New Day Has Come, which debuted at #1 in 17 countries, including the U.S., the U.K., and Canada. The title song peaked at Canada and Switzerland, and although it topped the Adult chart in the U.S. for a record 21 weeks, it stalled at #22, another of The Top Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*. The song has sold over one million copies.
The album has now sold three million units in the U.S. and 12 million worldwide. Another of The Top Underrated Songs of the Rock Era* is the vibrant "I'm Alive", also featured on the soundtrack for the animated film Stuart Little 2. It reached #6 AC and peaked at #2 in Belgium, #4 in Germany, and #7 in Switzerland and France.
Dion won an American Music Award for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist, her third in that category, and she was again nominated for Favorite Pop (Rock) Female Artist. The single "Have You Ever Been In Love" hit #2 on the AC chart. It won an ASCAP Award for one of the Most Performed Songs.
Louis Biancaniello and Sam Watters teamed up to write "I Surrender". Biancaniello has written songs for Elton John, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Kelly Clarkson, the O'Jay's, Al Green and Shanice. Watters was a member of Color Me Badd ("I Swear", "All 4 (sic) Love" and I Adore Mi Amor") and co-wrote many songs with Biancaniello.
Celine performed on VH-1 Divas Live in 2002, which proceeds going to the Save the Music Foundation. She released the album One Heart in 2003, featuring her great cover of the Cyndi Lauper song "I Drove All Night".
Join us for Part Four of Celine Dion, only on Inside The Rock Era!
Celine's popularity had continued to grow with each release, but the Falling into You album in 1996 catapulted her into superstardom. The Diane Warren-penned song "Because You Loved Me", from the movie Up Close and Personal, became her biggest hit to date, topping charts in the U.S., Australia, and Canada and selling over two million copies. It remained at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for an incredible 19 weeks.
Dion was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the Grammys, for Hot 100 Single, Hot Adult Contemporary Single, Hot 100 Singles Airplay and Hot Adult Top 40 Single at the Billboard Music Awards and she was nominated for Favorite Female Artist -Pop and Favorite Song from a Movie at the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards.
Celine performed concerts throughout the world in support of the album. Falling into You reached #1 in the U.S. and nearly every other major country and has sold over 11 million copies to date in the U.S. alone and over 32 million worldwide. "It's All Coming Back To Me Now", written and produced by Jim Steinman, also sold over two million singles and topped charts in Canada and Belgium and the U.S. AC chart (#2 overall).
Dion captured Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Pop Album and she won Billboard Music Awards for Top Billboard 200 Album Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album Artist - Female and Hot Adult Contemporary Artist and was nominated for Top Pop Artist, Top Pop Artist - Female and Top Billboard 200 Album.
Her remake of the Eric Carmen song "All By Myself" peaked at #1 on the AC chart and #4 Popular in the U.S., #5 in France, #6 in the U.K., and #7 in Canada.
Celine was nominated for Favorite Pop (Rock) Female Artist and Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist two consecutive years at the American Music Awards, capturing the former award in 1998. "Falling Into You" reached #1 in Spain and Greece and was a Top 10 hit in the U.K. and Norway.
Dion performed "The Power Of The Dream" before a television audience of half a billion people at the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia in 1996. David Foster and Babyface combined to write the song, which includes accompaniment by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Here is Celine's remake of the song first recorded by Ike and Tina Turner made popular by the Four Tops & Supremes collaboration--"River Deep - Mountain High".
Dion won three World Music Awards, including World's Best-Selling Artist of the Year and World's Best-Selling Pop Artist of the Year. By singing "Seduces Me", Celine herself entered the world of seduction.
Dion's Let's Talk About Love album in 1997 featured several high-profile stars, an indication of how much her own star had risen since her debut.
Let's Talk About Love went to #1 in nearly every major country and has sold over 10 million in the U.S. and 31 million total. In Canada, it sold over 230,000 copies in its first week, an all-time record. "Tell Him" is the great duet between Celine and Barbra Streisand that earned the two superstars a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. The collaboration was initiated when Celine and Barbra met at the 1997 Academy Awards.
The song that would become Celine's signature song, though, was her unforgettable classic featured in the movie Titanic--"My Heart Will Go On". The song and movie are now so inextricably linked that it is impossible to hear the song or watch the movie without thinking of the other. It topped charts throughout the world and won four Grammy Awards, including the prestigious Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Academy Award and Golden Globe Awards for Best Original Song. It also earned Celine a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Song from A Movie.
Dion won Billboard Music Awards for Hot Soundtrack Single, Top Billboard 200 Album and Hot Soundtrack Album (for Titanic) and was nominated for Hot Adult Contemporary Single and Top Billboard 200 Album for Let's Talk About Love as well. The video was nominated for Best Video from a Film and Viewer's Choice at the MTV Video Music Awards. Once again, Celine toured the world to promote her album.
"Immortality" gave her a 14th #1 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart. It also reached #2 in Germany and #5 in the United Kingdom.
"Let's Talk About Love" was co-written by fellow Canadian Bryan Adams, who also plays guitar on the middle eight..
"I Hate You Then I Love You" is an adaptation of the Italian song "Grande grande grande" by Mina. Celine teamed with famed tenor Luiciano Pavarotti for this one.
Other guests on the album included Carole King, Sir George Martin, and Diana King.
"That unmistakable, incomparable, angelic voice that I have loved all my life! God bless you, Celine. Thank you for being a part of my life all these years."
"Celine Dion is awesome!"
"This woman is absolutely special."
"A beautiful woman with a golden voice."
"There are just a few true GREATS and this lady is one of them!!! My God, what a voice. Love to hear her sing!"
"The Queen of Music, living legend."
"One of the greatest of all-time."
"A legendary voice that is irreplaceable."
"She's the most romantic singer ever."
"One of the greatest voices of all-time."
"Her voice sends shivers up my spine and brings tears to my eyes. Incredible."
"Celine is an icon. Legendary."
"One of my favorite singers of all-time."
"Celine Dion forever. The real diva. Legendary."
"One of the best ever."
"Such an extraordinary voice!!!!"
"Her songs motivate me; they give me strength and courage to go on when I pass through difficult moments."
"Her music is beautiful and meaningful."
"Celine Dion is a legend. She has a way to evoke so much emotion and her voice is just mesmerizing and heaven-sent."
"Celine manages to make every song eternal."
"Her voice is so pure and angelic."
"She is magical, just heavenly."
"My favorite artist forever."
"Her voice is such a blessing to us."
"My favorite singer of all-time."
"Living legend--you are the best."
"Her voice is total precision, like a finely-tuned instrument."
Celine was ranked 10th in the 2014 book The Top 100 Female Artists of the Rock Era*. Her album sales have continued to soar since that time, to the point where now, Celine is the fourth-ranked female artist of all-time.
Celine Dion (named after the song "Céline", which had been recorded by Hugues Aufray two years before her birth) was born in Charlemagne, Quebec, the youngest of 14 children. Celine made her first public appearance when she sang at her brother Michel's wedding in 1973 at the age of five. Dion continued to perform with her siblings at Le Vieux Baril ("The Old Barrel"), her parents' small piano bar. Celine also was a member of Girl Guides of Canada.
When she was 12, Celine wrote her first song, "Ce n'était qu'un rêve" ("It Was Only A Dream", with her mother and brother Jacques. Michel sent the recording to music manager René Angélil. Angélil loved what he heard and set out to make her a star. Angélil was so committed that in 1981, he mortgaged his home to fund her first record, "La voix du bon Dieu", which became a big hit in Quebec.
The Bee Gees, Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, Carole King and Anne Murray are among the influences on Celine, all of whom eventually collaborated with her.
Dion competed in the 1982 World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo, Japan, and came home with the award for "Top Performer" and the gold medal for Best Song with "Tellement j'ai d'amour pour toi". The following year, she became the first Canadian artist to earn a Gold record in France for "D'amour ou d'amitié" ("Of Love Or Of Friendship"), and in 1988, Celine represented Switzerland in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest and won the contest singing "Ne partez pas sans moi".
By 1987, Dion had released eight French language albums, and her most recent, Incognito, boasted worldwide sales of 500,000. Dion had high ambitions and although Angélil was convinced she had the talent to be a big star, he also realized that Celine's image had to be changed to be able to market her worldwide. Celine underwent dental surgery and she was sent to the Ecole Berlitz in 1989 to improve her English.
Just two years after she learned English, Celine released her debut album Unison in 1990 with the help of producer David Foster. The single "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" was written by Taylor Rhodes, who has written songs for Journey and Loverboy, and Robert Johnson, who wrote many songs for Lynyrd Skynyrd. The song hit #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #4 overall in the U.S. and #6 in Canada.
The following year, Celine's duet with Peabo Bryson in the animated movie Beauty and the Beast gave her tremendous exposure, and the title song also reached the Top 10 and earned Celine a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and an Academy Award for Best Song from a Motion Picture. The message is that love can be strong no matter how different two people are. "Beauty And The Beast" rose to #2 in Canada, #3 on the AC chart and #9 Popular in the U.S. as well as in the U.K. and sold over one million singles.
Celine was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, for her self-titled album.
The single also appeared on Celine's self-titled album in 1992, which went Triple Platinum and reached #3 in Canada. The album has sold over five million worldwide. "If You Asked Me To", written by famed songwriter Diane Warren, reached #1 in Canada and #4 in the U.S. (#4 AC).
"If You Asked Me To" captured the ASCAP Pop Award for Most Performed Song and was nominated for a Billboard Music Award for Hot Adult Contemporary Single of the Year. Celine also earned a Billboard nomination for Hot Adult Contemporary Artist.
Dion performed this song for the first time on July 14 on The Tonight Show. The single "Nothing Broken But My Heart", another Warren tune, gave Celine her first U.S. #1 on the Adult chart and reached #3 in Canada and also won an ASCAP Award for Most Performed Song.
Walter Afanasieff, who co-wrote several songs with Mariah Carey, produced and arranged the song and also played keyboards and synthesized bass and oversaw the drum and rhythm programming. Michael Landau, who has played on albums by Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Rod Stewart, Phil Collins, James Taylor, Pink Floyd, Joni Mitchell, Boz Scaggs, Richard Marx, Stevie Nicks, Glenn Frey, and Seal, among many others, played guitar on the track.
Celine scored another Top 10 hit on the Adult Contemporary chart in the U.S., a song that unexplainably stalled at #36 overall. It is one of The Most Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*. Here is the inspirational "Love Can Move Mountains".
Celine may have taken longer to get off the ground without Warren (!), who also wrote this great track--"Water From The Moon".
Afanasieff also co-wrote this song with John Bettis--"If You Could See Me Now".
Here is another solid track--"If I Were You".
Dion and Angélil became romantically involved during this time, and were married in 1994. Dion released another French album, Dion chante Plamondon, which reached #2 in France and has now sold over two million copies worldwide.
Meanwhile, Dion released her third English album, The Colour Of My Love, which was a huge success, selling over six million in the U.S. alone, another two million in both the U.K. and Canada, and a total of 20 million globally. The album topped charts in the U.K., Australia, Canada, and Belgium, and reached #2 in the Netherlands and #4 in the U.S. Celine won World's Best-Selling Female Recording Artist of the Year at the World Music Awards.
The first hit of this song was Doris Day's version in 1952. "When I Fall In Love", with Clive Griffin, from the classic movie Sleepless in Seattle, was nominated for Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group at the Grammy Awards and hit #6 on the AC chart.
Celine's remake of the Jennifer Rush song "The Power Of Love" topped charts in the U.S., Australia, and Canada and reached #3 in France and #4 in the U.K. It has sold over two million singles in the U.S. alone. David Foster produced the song and also played keyboards on "The Power Of Love", the 8th-best-selling song of 1994.
"The Power Of Love" was nominated for an American Music Award for Favorite Popular (which for the last 65 years has been Rock) Single, a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and Billboard Music Awards for Hot 100 Single of the Year and Hot Adult Contemporary Single of the Year. Celine received nominations for Top Pop Artist - Female, Hot Adult Contemporary Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album Artist - Female and Hot 100 Singles Artist - Female at the Billboard Music Awards.
The great song "To Love You More" went to #1 on the Adult chart in the U.S. and peaked at #9 in Canada.
Aldo Nova, who had a minor hit with "Fantasy" in 1982, produced this song. "Think Twice" was a big hit in the U.K., landing at #1 for seven weeks and was only the fourth single by a female artist ever to top one million in sales.
Here is the beautiful "Love Doesn't Ask Why".
Celine continued to release albums recorded in French, including the live À l'Olympia, recorded at the Paris Olympia in 1994, and D'eux in 1995, which became the top-selling French-language album of all-time and has now achieved 10 million in worldwide sales.
"Pour que tu m'aimes encore" ("So That You'll Love Me Again") claimed the #1 spot in France for 12 weeks, was #1 for 15 weeks in Belgium, and also landed in the Top 10 in the U.K. and Ireland, one of only a handful of French songs to reach the Top 10 in those locations. It sold over one million copies in France alone and four million worldwide. It has become so popular that in 2015, it ranked #5 on Billboard's France Digital Songs Sales Chart, 20 years after its release!
In 1996, Celine won a World Music Award for World's Best-selling Female Recording Artist of the Year for the third straight time.
Dion impressed with her first few albums and was gaining popularity rapidly. In the next segment, she becomes a superstar!
The Beach Boys released the album Surf's Up in '71, another solid effort which featured the title song. Brian at this point devoted his energy to running a health food store called the Radiant Radish. But a Wilson interview with journalist and Beach Boys fan Jack Rieley led to Rieley eventually becoming the group's new manager. Rieley convinced Brian to release songs like this which Rieley said were more in tune with "issues of the day".
Johnston's waltz "Disney Girls (1957)" is one of the finest moments on the album. "I was able to weave the voices into it, oohs and aahs," Johnston said in a 2011 interview. "Not that it was ever a hit, but it sold millions of copies riding around other people's albums," he related. "People just loved the lyrical point of view. That's just one of those nice accidents."
Carl wrote and sang lead on "Long Promised Road", with lyrical help from Rieley. Jack told Record Collector Magazine in 2013 for their article "The Life of RIELEY":
This was the first Beach Boys lyric I wrote;
Carl asked me to have a hand in it. I felt
that I was onto something. I
was writing personal lyrics - love songs
with a sense of poetry. I was trying to tell
the tale of life and love that we go through
at different times in life. I adore the
English language so much [and it] gave
me the opportunity to stretch out. I
wanted to see Carl make something extraordinary. His vocal is so precious
on it. There's that screaming deep guitar
which holds the song together. I worked
very hard with him on his performance,
which was stellar.
Brian contributed the lyrics to "'Til I Die", a heartbreaking song which reflected the pain, mental problems and drug addiction, which caused the first two problems) he was going through. The lyrics "I'm a leaf on a windy day," he wrote. "Pretty soon I'll be blown away/How long will the wind blow? Until I die." reveal his despair.
The Beach Boys released the album Carl and the Passions - So Tough in 1972. The band filmed a concert in New York City's Central Park for ABC-TV in 1971 (Good Vibrations from Central Park). They released the album Surf's Up, which did better, but still nowhere near what they were capable of.
Johnston left the group after recording the album, replaced by Ricky Fataar and Blondie Chaplin. Carl and the Passions - So Tough was not well-received, so the Beach Boys regrouped by moving to the Netherlands in the summer of 1972. They rented a farmhouse which they converted into a recording studio. Reprise believed the project needed a strong single, which led to the recording of "Sail On, Sailor", featuring the lead vocal of Chaplin. "Sail On Sailor", which unbelievably stalled at #49 in 1973, is easily one of The Top Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.
The group released the album Holland in 1973, which includes "Cuddle Up". Dennis and Darryl Dragon co-wrote the song; Dragon and wife Toni Tennille were backing musicians for the group at this time and of course later formed the successful duo Captain & Tennille. When plans for a solo album were scrapped, Dennis re-recorded the song at Brian's home studio in Bel Air, California.
Holland was recorded at a time when there were two warring factions--the Wilson's, with a mostly-absent Brian, the fun-loving Dennis and the sweet Carl, who had mostly taken the group on his shoulders in Brian's absence, and the other members of the band. It is incomprehensible that the group which rode the giant wave of success in the '60's had resorted to petty arguments, which continue to this day.
The two factions recorded the album in two different studios. Listeners at the time could not comprehend the deep meaning in this song recorded by what they perceived as the happy-go-lucky Beach Boys. "The Trader" has the sweet sound of genuinely nice people, the recent controversies of Mike Love notwithstanding. But listen for a much deeper meaning, about the history of Western Europeans who came to America and basically enslaved everyone in sight.
The live release The Beach Boys in Concert in late '73 did go Gold. Chaplin, however, left in 1973 after an internal argument. The group's streak of what the radio industry refers to as "stiffs" (songs that failed to make the Top 10) reached 20 consecutive singles, and the Beach Boys by this time were just shadows of their former selves.
In 1974, one of the finest compilations of the group, Endless Summer, was released. It remained on the Album chart for two years and has now sold over three million copies. Although they hadn't enjoyed a Top 10 hit in years, the compilation again made the Beach Boys a major touring act.
Fataar left in 1974, replaced by James William Guercio, who also became the group's manager. But a planned album partially recorded at Guercio's Caribou Ranch studio in Colorado was not released, as the group focused on capitalizing on their newfound touring success. The group did record one of the great collaborations of the Rock Era with Chicago, the Top Five smash "Wishing You Were Here".
Guercio negotiated a 1975 joint concert tour with Chicago, and the Beach Boys were now the biggest live draw in the U.S.
Brian, meanwhile, "spent most of the time secluded in his room, a recluse, drinking, taking drugs, overeating, and exhibiting other self-destructive behavior", according to Peter Ames Carlin's 2006 book Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson.
The Beach Boys fired Guercio and replaced him with Love's brother Steve, who urged the return of Brian as the group's main producer. In October, Brian's wife Marilyn encouraged Brian to seek help from psychotherapist Eugene Landy, who prevented Brian from substance abuse, albeit with constant supervision.
But the doctor in whom Brian placed his care, was obsessive, verbally and emotionally abusive, and tragically did Brian more harm than good. That is painfully revealed in the amazing movie Love & Mercy, which features John Cusack (as Wilson in his later years) and a brilliant performance by Paul Dano (as the younger Brian).
Largely absent from the Beach Boys since Pet Sounds, Wilson returned to oversee the 1976 album, 15 Big Ones project. Like magic, the group made a comeback with not coincidentally their first Top 10 album since Pet Sounds. The album yielded the Top 5 smash cover of the Chuck Berry hit "Rock And Roll Music".
The group was featured in a 1976 television special on NBC. "It's OK' is another quality single from the album.
Brian occasionally appeared with the group in public and produced their next album, The Beach Boys Love You. But the Beach Boys had just signed a new deal with CBS and Reprise did little to promote it.
(photo by Lynn Goldsmith)
Brian went to work on a project called Adult/Child, but the other members didn't approve and it was scrapped. Wilson's concert appearances became fewer. There was increasing turmoil within the group, and in September of 1977, Dennis announced that he was leaving the band. The Beach Boys literally broke up for a few weeks until a meeting later in the month at Brian's house. The members agreed on a settlement that gave Love Brian's vote in the group, which allowed Love and Jardine to outvote Carl and Dennis Wilson.
All three Wilson brothers battled alcoholism and marital problems. Brian had fired Landy, but sadly slipped back into addiction. The group recorded and released the M.I.U. Album in 1978 to complete their contract with Reprise.
The Beach Boys' first album on CBS, L.A. (Light Album) was not well received by CBS prior to release. Realizing that Brian again was not able to contribute, the group brought Johnston back into the fold as producer. "Good Timin" from 1979 is another of their best songs outside their heyday.
The Beach Boys were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Johnston produced the 1980 release Keepin' the Summer Alive as well.
By 1981, Carl had left the touring group and pursued a solo career. Taking advantage of a popular trend at the time (medleys), the group released the single "The Beach Boys Medley" in 1981, which made it to #12 and alerted a new generation of the group's tremendous body of work.
Carl returned in 1982, but later that year, Brian overdosed on a dangerous combination of alcohol, cocaine, and other drugs. He was brought back under the care of Landy. Brian left the group at the request of the other members, and Brian went on a rigorous diet and health regimen. Along with long counseling sessions, Brian went from 311 pounds down to 185.
The Beach Boys performed Independence Day shows at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and drew large crowds. This led to the infamous comment from James Watt, President Ronald Reagan's Interior Secretary, who said that "rock bands who performed these Independence Day shows encouraged drug use and alcoholism and therefore would be banned. Watt later apologized after finding out that Reagan, First Lady Nancy Reagan, and Vice President George H.W. Bush all liked their music (and perhaps also that the Beach Boys weren't typical of "rock bands" who encouraged drug use).
By 1983, tensions between Dennis and Love had reached a breaking point, and each obtained a restraining order against the other. Wary that Dennis could spiral downward as Brian had done, the other members gave Dennis an ultimatum: check into rehab or be banned from live performances with the group.
Dennis chose the former, but on December 28, he drowned at the age of 39 in Marina del Rey while diving from a friend's boat.
Between 1983 and '86, Landy charged Brian about $430,000 a year. Brian withdrew more and more from the group and avoided his family at the suggestion of Landy. Landy said "I influence all of [Brian}'s thinking. I'm practically a member of the band. Love later said that "Landy's goal was to destroy us...[and become] the sole custodian of Brian's career and legacy."
The Beach Boys released five more studio albums after 1985. The compilation Made in the U.S.A. was released in 1986, and it has gone Double Platinum.
The Beach Boys toured often, playing before large crowds over the next several years. The group scored one more huge hit in 1988 when their song "Kokomo" was included in the Tom Cruise movie Cocktail and released as a single from the soundtrack album--it soared to #1 in the U.S. and Australia and reached #3 in Canada. The single sold over two million copies.
In 1988, the Beach Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 1989, Brian claimed the sale of the group's copyrighted songs represented fraud and sued to get those rights restored. Although he did not get the rights back in court, he was awarded $25 million in damages, including unpaid and underpaid royalties.
In 1995, the compilation The Greatest Hits - Volume 1: 20 Good Vibrations was released, a two-million seller.
In 1997, Carl was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer after years of smoking heavily. He continued to perform with the group on another tour with Chicago while undergoing chemotherapy. Carl died on February 6, 1998 at the age of 51.
"In My Room", "Good Vibrations", "California Girls" and the entire Pet Sounds album have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The surviving members appeared in the 1998 documentary movie Endless Harmony: The Beach Boys Story.
The Beach Boys were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as unquestionably one of its greatest groups.
In 2002, the album Good Timin': Live at Knebworth England 1980 went Gold. The following year, one of the group's better compilations, Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of The Beach Boys sold over three million copies.
In 2004, Pet Sounds was preserved by the Library of Congress in its National Recording Registry. Wilson recorded and released the solo album Brian Wilson Presents Smile, a reworking of the unfinished Smile project from years before.
On May 20, 2005, a Beach Boys Historic Landmark was dedicated to mark the location of the Wilsons' house in Hawthorne, California where the brothers grew up (3701 West 119th Street). It had been demolished in 1986 to make way for an interstate freeway.
In June of 2006, Wilson, Love, Jardine, Johnston, and Marks appeared together in a ceremony on top of the Capitol Records building in Hollywood to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Pet Sounds.
Capitol released the box set dedicated to Smile entitled The Smile Sessions, which won a Grammy Award for Best Historical Album.
In 2011, Wilson, Love, Jardine, Johnston, and Marks reunited for the album That's Why God Made the Radio (which debuted at #3) and a 50th anniversary tour.
In April of 2021, Omnivore Recordings released California Music Presents Add Some Music, which featured Love, Jardine, Marks, Johnson, and several children of the original group. The Beach Boys also released the Box set Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf's Up Sessions 1969-1971.
There has been discussion in social media as well as among some of the members for a 60th anniversary celebration next year, but nothing definitive has been announced at this time.
The Beach Boys piled up 54 career hits, with 15 reaching the Top 10 and 4 #1 songs. They have sold over 100 million albums.
