Jump to content
Main menu
Main menu
move to sidebar
hide
Navigation
Main page
Recent changes
Random page
Help about MediaWiki
Special pages
Niidae Wiki
Search
Search
Appearance
Create account
Log in
Personal tools
Create account
Log in
Pages for logged out editors
learn more
Contributions
Talk
Editing
The Beach Boys
(section)
Page
Discussion
English
Read
Edit
View history
Tools
Tools
move to sidebar
hide
Actions
Read
Edit
View history
General
What links here
Related changes
Page information
Appearance
move to sidebar
hide
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
===1970β1978: Reprise era=== ====''Sunflower'', ''Surf's Up'', ''Carl and the Passions'', and ''Holland''==== [[File:The Beach Boys Billboard 1971.jpg|thumb|240x240px|The Beach Boys in 1971; top left to right: Mike Love, Brian Wilson; middle left to right: Carl Wilson, Al Jardine, Dennis Wilson; bottom: Bruce Johnston]] The group was signed to [[Reprise Records]] in 1970.<ref name="allmusic" /> Scott Schinder described the label as "probably the hippest and most artist-friendly major label of the time".{{sfn|Schinder|2007|pp=121β122}} The deal was brokered by Van Dyke Parks, who was then employed as a multimedia executive at [[Warner Music Group]]. Reprise's contract stipulated Brian's proactive involvement with the band in all albums.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=150}} By the time the Beach Boys' tenure ended with Capitol in 1969, they had sold 65 million records worldwide, closing the decade as the most commercially successful American group in popular music.<ref>{{cite magazine| date=November 14, 1970 |title=The Best Kept Secret in the World: "The Most Dynamic Vocal Group Rock Has Produced" |magazine=Billboard Magazine |volume= 82 |issue= 46 |page=4 |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=sSkEAAAAMBAJ|page=4}} |access-date=April 27, 2013}}</ref> After recording over 30 different songs and going through several album titles, their first LP for Reprise, ''[[Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)|Sunflower]]'', was released on August 31, 1970.<ref name="White2000">{{cite AV media notes|title=Sunflower/Surf's Up|others=The Beach Boys|year=2000|first=Timothy|last=White|author-link=Timothy White (editor)|publisher=[[Capitol Records]]|type=CD Liner|url=http://albumlinernotes.com/Sunflower_Surf_s_Up.html|access-date=May 13, 2018|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006135103/http://albumlinernotes.com/Sunflower_Surf_s_Up.html|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Sunflower'' featured a strong group presence with significant writing contributions from all six band members.{{sfn|Bogdanov|Woodstra|Erlewine|2002|p=73}} Brian was active during this period, writing or co-writing seven of ''Sunflower'''s 12 songs and performing at half of the band's domestic concerts in 1970.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|pp=153β154}} The album received critical acclaim in both the US and the UK.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=153}} This was offset by the album reaching only number 151 on US record charts during a four-week stay,<ref name=White2000 /> becoming one of the worst-selling of the Beach Boys' albums at that point.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=154}} Fans generally regard the LP as the Beach Boys' finest post-''Pet Sounds'' album.{{sfn|Schinder|2007|p=122}} In 2003, it placed at number 380 on ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s "Greatest Albums of All Time" list.{{sfn|Moskowitz|2015|p=45}} [[File:Beach Boys Good Vibrations from Central Park 1971.jpg|thumb|left|The Beach Boys performing in [[Central Park]], July 1971{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=297}}|alt=]] In mid-1970, the Beach Boys hired radio presenter [[Jack Rieley]] as their manager. One of his initiatives was to encourage the band to record songs featuring more socially conscious lyrics.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=155}} He also requested the completion of ''Smile'' track "[[Surf's Up (song)|Surf's Up]]" and arranged a guest appearance at a [[Grateful Dead]] concert at [[Bill Graham (promoter)|Bill Graham]]'s [[Fillmore East]] in April 1971 to foreground the Beach Boys' transition into the counterculture.{{sfn|Gaines|1986|pp=241β242}} During this time, the group ceased wearing matching uniforms on stage,{{sfn|Carlin|2006|pp=155β156}} while Dennis took time to star alongside [[James Taylor]], [[Laurie Bird]], and [[Warren Oates]] in the cult film ''[[Two-Lane Blacktop]]'', released in 1971. Later in 1971, Dennis injured his hand, leaving him temporarily unable to play the drums.{{sfn|Schinder|2007|p=122}} He continued in the band, singing and occasionally playing keyboards, while [[Ricky Fataar]], formally of [[the Flames]], took over on drums.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=296}} In July, the American music press rated the Beach Boys "the hottest grossing act" in the country, alongside [[Grand Funk Railroad]].{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=297}} The band filmed a concert for [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC-TV]] in [[Central Park]], which aired as ''[[Schaefer Music Festival|Good Vibrations from Central Park]]'' on August 19.{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=243}} On August 30, the band released ''[[Surf's Up (album)|Surf's Up]]'', which was moderately successful, reaching the US top-thirty, a marked improvement over their recent releases.{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=242}} While the record charted, the Beach Boys added to their renewed fame by performing a near-sellout set at [[Carnegie Hall]]; their live shows during this era included reworked arrangements of many of their previous songs,{{sfn|Carlin|2006|pp=155β158}} with their [[set list]]s culling from ''Pet Sounds'' and ''Smile''.{{sfn|Priore|2005|p=140}} On October 28, the Beach Boys were the featured cover story on that date's issue of ''Rolling Stone''. It included the first part of a lengthy two-part interview, titled "The Beach Boys: A California Saga", conducted by [[Tom Nolan (actor)|Tom Nolan]] and David Felton.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=300}} Bruce Johnston left the Beach Boys in early 1972, with Fataar and another ex-Flames member, singer and guitarist [[Blondie Chaplin]], becoming official members of the band. The new line-up released ''[[Carl and the Passions β "So Tough"]]'' in May 1972. The original US release was a double album, the second disc being a reissue of ''Pet Sounds''.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=311}} After the upswing of ''Surf's Up'', ''Carl and the Passions'' was relatively unsuccessful in the US, charting at number 50. It was more successful in the UK, where it was issued as a single album without ''Pet Sounds'', peaking at number 25. The next album, ''[[Holland (album)|Holland]]'', was released in January 1973. Reprise initially rejected the album, feeling it lacked a strong single. Following the intervention of Van Dyke Parks, this resulted in the inclusion of "[[Sail On, Sailor]]".{{sfn|Carlin|2006|pp=184, 305}} Reprise approved, and the resulting album peaked at number 37. Brian's musical children's story, ''[[Mount Vernon and Fairway]]'', was included with the album as a bonus [[extended play|EP]].{{sfn|Carlin|2006|pp=181β182}} ====Greatest hits LPs, touring resurgence, and Caribou sessions==== After ''Holland'', the group maintained a touring regimen, captured on the double live album ''[[The Beach Boys in Concert]]'' released in November 1973, but recorded very little in the studio through 1975.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=323}} Several months earlier, they had announced that they would complete ''Smile'', but this never came to fruition, and plans for its release were once again abandoned.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=305}}{{refn|group=nb|Pursuant to the terms of their record contract, when the group missed their May 1973 deadline to deliver the ''Smile'' album, Warner Bros. deducted $50,000 from the band's next advance.{{sfn|Badman|2004|pp=305, 327}}}} Following Murry's death in June 1973, Brian retreated into his bedroom and withdrew further into drug abuse, alcoholism, [[chain smoking]], and overeating.{{sfn|Badman|2004|pp=329β330}} In October, the band dismissed Rieley as manager and appointed Mike Love's brother, Stephen, and [[Chicago (band)|Chicago]] manager [[James William Guercio]].{{sfn|Badman|2004|pp=331, 336}} Chaplin and Fataar left the band in December 1973 and November 1974, respectively, with Dennis returning to drums following Fataar's departure.{{sfn|Badman|2004|pp=332, 341}} The Beach Boys' greatest hits compilation album ''[[Endless Summer (The Beach Boys album)|Endless Summer]]'' was released in June 1974 to unexpected success, becoming the band's second number 1 US album in October.{{sfn|Dillon|2012|p=217}}{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=339}} The LP had a 155-week chart run, selling over 3 million copies.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=193}} The Beach Boys became the number-one act in the US,{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=339}} propelling themselves from opening for [[Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young]] in the summer of 1974 to headliners selling out basketball arenas in a matter of weeks.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|pp=193β194}} Guercio prevailed upon the group to swap out newer songs with older material in their concert setlists,{{sfn|Dillon|2012|p=216}} partly to accommodate their growing audience and the demand for their early hits.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=192}} Later in the year, members of the band appeared as guests on Chicago's hit "[[Wishing You Were Here]]".{{sfn|White|1996|p=287}} At the end of 1974, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' proclaimed the Beach Boys "Band of the Year" based on the strength of their live performances.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|pp=193β194}}{{sfn|Dillon|2012|p=218}} To capitalize on their sudden resurgence in popularity, the Beach Boys accepted Guercio's invitation to record their next Reprise album at his [[Caribou Ranch]] studio, located around the mountains of [[Nederland, Colorado]].{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=341}}{{sfn|Dillon|2012|p=217}}{{sfn|Carlin|2006|pp=194β195}} These October 1974 sessions marked the group's return to the studio after a 21-month period of virtual inactivity, but the proceedings were cut short after Brian had insisted on returning to his home in Los Angeles.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=341}} With the project put on hold, the Beach Boys spent most of the next year on the road playing college football stadiums and basketball arenas.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=195}}{{sfn|Dillon|2012|p=218}} The only Beach Boys recording of 1974 to see release at the time was the Christmas single "[[Child of Winter (Christmas Song)|Child of Winter]]", recorded upon the group's return to Los Angeles in November and released the following month. Over the summer of 1975, the touring group played a co-headlining series of concert dates with Chicago, a pairing that was nicknamed "[[Beachago]]".{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=196}}{{sfn|Dillon|2012|p=219}} The tour was massively successful and restored the Beach Boys' profitability to what it had been in the mid-1960s.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=347}} Although another joint tour with Chicago had been planned for the summer of 1976,{{sfn|Dillon|2012|p=219}} the Beach Boys' association with Guercio and his Caribou Management company ended in early 1976.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=362}}{{refn|group=nb|According to Gaines, Guercio may have been fired because members of the group "felt Caribou was being overpaid", although "many observers suggest the Beach Boys followed an old pattern of jettisoning personnel when their financial situation improved".{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=269}} Biographer Mark Dillon states that the tour evaporated due to Dennis' budding romance with [[Karen Lamm]], the ex-wife of Chicago keyboardist [[Robert Lamm]].{{sfn|Dillon|2012|p=219}} }} Stephen Love subsequently took over as the band's ''de facto'' business manager.{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=269}} ====''15 Big Ones'', ''Love You'', and ''Adult/Child''==== Early in 1975, Brian signed a production deal with [[California Music]], a Los Angeles collective that included Bruce Johnston and Gary Usher, but was drawn away by the Beach Boys' pressing demands for a new album.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|pp=198, 205}} In October, Marilyn persuaded Brian to admit himself to the care of psychologist [[Eugene Landy]], who kept him from indulging in substance abuse with constant supervision.{{sfn|Love|2016|pp=253β255}}{{sfn|Carlin|2006|pp=198β199}} Brian was kept in the program until December 1976.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=215}} [[File:Brian Wilson 1976.png|thumb|left|Brian Wilson behind [[Brother Studios]]' mixing console in early 1976]] At the end of January 1976, the Beach Boys returned to the studio with Brian producing once again.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=358}} Brian decided the band should do an album of rock and roll and [[doo wop]] standards. Carl and Dennis disagreed, feeling that an album of originals was far more ideal, while Love and Jardine wanted the album out as quickly as possible.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=358}} To highlight Brian's recovery and his return to writing and producing, Stephen launched a media campaign and paid the [[Rogers & Cowan]] publicity agency $3,500 per month to implement it.{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=287}} The band also commissioned an [[NBC]]-TV special, later known as ''[[The Beach Boys: It's OK!]]'', that was produced by ''[[Saturday Night Live|NBC's Saturday Night]]'' creator [[Lorne Michaels]].{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=215}} Released on July 5, 1976, ''[[15 Big Ones]]'' was generally disliked by fans and critics, as well as Carl and Dennis, who disparaged the album to the press.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=364}} The album peaked at number 8 in the US, becoming their first top-ten album of new material since ''Pet Sounds'', and their highest-charting studio album since ''Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)''.{{sfn|Badman|2004|pp=96, 364}} Lead single "[[Rock and Roll Music (song)|Rock and Roll Music]]" peaked at number 5 β their highest chart ranking since "Good Vibrations".{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=362}} From late-1976 to early-1977, Brian made sporadic public appearances and produced the band's next album, ''[[The Beach Boys Love You]]''.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=290}} He regarded it as a spiritual successor to ''Pet Sounds'', namely because of the autobiographical lyrics.{{sfn|Wilson|Greenman|2016|p=197}} Released on April 11, 1977, ''Love You'' peaked at number 53 in the US and number 28 in the UK.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=371}} Critically, it was widely praised, though it initially met with polarized reactions from the public.{{sfn|Schinder|2007|p=124}} Numerous esteemed critics penned favorable reviews, but casual listeners generally found the album's idiosyncratic sound to be a detriment.{{sfn|Dillon|2012|p=233}} ''[[Adult/Child]]'', the intended follow-up to ''Love You'', was completed, but the release was vetoed by Love and Jardine.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|pp=222β223}} According to Stan Love, when his brother Mike heard the album, Mike turned to Brian and asked: "What the fuck are you doing?"{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=223}} Some of the unreleased songs on ''Adult/Child'' later saw individual release on subsequent Beach Boys albums and compilations.{{sfn|Badman|2004|pp=256β371}} Following this period, his concert appearances with the band gradually diminished and their performances were occasionally erratic.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=226}} ====CBS signing and ''M.I.U. Album''==== At the beginning of 1977, the Beach Boys had enjoyed their most lucrative concert tours ever, with the band playing in packed stadiums and earning up to $150,000 per show.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|pp=217β218}} Concurrently, the band was the subject of a record company bidding war, as their contract with Warner Bros. had been set to expire soon.{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=294}}{{sfn|Carlin|2006|pp=216β217}} Stephen Love arranged for the Beach Boys to sign an $8 million deal with [[Sony Music|CBS Records]] on March 1.{{sfn|Gaines|1986|pp=294β295}} Numerous stipulations were given in the CBS contract, including that Brian was required to write at least four songs per album, co-write at least 70% of all the tracks, and produce or co-produce alongside his brothers.{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=295}}{{refn|group=nb|According to Gaines, "When Brian signed the contract, he cried, knowing he would now have to go back to the studio full-time."{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=295}}}} Another part of the deal required the group to play thirty concerts a year in the U.S., in addition to one tour in Australia and Japan, and two tours in Europe.{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=295}} Within weeks of the CBS contract, the band dismissed Stephen, with one of the alleged reasons being that Mike had not permitted Stephen to sign on his behalf while at a TM retreat in Switzerland.{{sfn|Gaines|1986|pp=295β296, 298}} For Stephen's replacement, the group hired Carl's friend Henry Lazarus, an entertainment business owner that had no prior experience in the music industry.{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=299}} Lazarus arranged a major European tour for the Beach Boys, starting in late July, with stops in Germany, Switzerland, and France.{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=299}} Due to poor planning, the tour was cancelled shortly before it began. The band dismissed Lazarus and were sued by many of the concert promoters, with losses of $200,000 in preliminary expenses and $550,000 in potential revenue.{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=300}} In July, the Beach Boys played a concert at [[Wembley Stadium]] that was notable for the fact that, during the show, Mike attacked Brian with a piano bench onstage in front of over 15,000 attendees.{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=301}}{{refn|group=nb|Love later explained that he had been "in a state of extreme sensitivity" after learning that his girlfriend was in a vegetative state following "a horrific car accident".{{sfn|Love|2016|p=427}}}} In August, Mike and Jardine persuaded Stephen to return as the group's manager,{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=302}} a decision that Carl and Dennis had strongly opposed.{{sfn|White|1996|p=321}}{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=302}} By this point, the band had effectively split into two camps; Dennis and Carl on one side, Mike and Jardine on the other, with Brian remaining neutral.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|pp=218β219}}{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=371}} These two opposing contingents within the group β known among their associates as the "free-livers" and the "meditators" β were traveling in different planes, using different hotels, and rarely speaking to each other.{{sfn|Gaines|1986|p=302}} According to Love, "the terms 'smokers' and 'nonsmokers' were also used".{{sfn|Love|2016|p=428}} On September 3, after completing the final date of a northeastern US tour, the internal wrangling came to a head. Following a confrontation on an airport apron β a spectacle that a bystanding ''Rolling Stone'' journalist compared to the ending of ''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]'' β Dennis declared that he had left the band.<ref name=Swenson1977>{{cite magazine|last1=Swenson|first1=John|title=The Beach Boys β No More Fun Fun Fun|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=October 20, 1977|url=http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php?topic=6867.0|access-date=February 1, 2015|archive-date=June 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150624043744/http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php?topic=6867.0|url-status=live}}</ref> The group was broken up until a meeting at Brian's house on September 17.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=371}} In light of the lucrative CBS contract, the parties negotiated a settlement resulting in Love gaining control of Brian's vote in the group, allowing Love and Jardine to outvote Carl and Dennis on any matter.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=371}} [[File:The Beach Boys Konzert Michigan 1978 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|The Beach Boys performing a concert in Michigan, August 1978]] The group had still owed one more album for Reprise. Released in September 1978, ''[[M.I.U. Album]]'' was recorded at [[Maharishi International University]] in Iowa at the suggestion of Love.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=224}} The band originally attempted to record a Christmas album, to be titled ''[[Merry Christmas from the Beach Boys]]'', but this idea was rejected by Reprise. These Christmas recordings would eventually be released in 1998 as part of the archival album ''[[Ultimate Christmas]]''. Dennis and Carl made limited contributions to ''M.I.U. Album''; the album was produced by Jardine and [[Ron Altbach]], with Brian credited as "executive producer".{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=225}} Dennis started to withdraw from the group to focus on his second solo album, ''[[Bambu (album)|Bambu]]'', which was shelved just as alcoholism and marital problems overcame all three Wilson brothers.{{sfn|Schinder|2007|p=124}} Carl appeared intoxicated during concerts (especially at appearances for their 1978 Australia tour) and Brian gradually slid back into addiction and an unhealthy lifestyle.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|pp=226β227}}{{refn|group=nb|At a concert in Perth, Carl was so inebriated that he fell over mid-performance. The next day, he apologized for his poor performance on national television.{{sfn|Love|2016|p=435}}}} After the tour, Stephen was dismissed in part due to an incident in which Brian's caregivers, [[Rocky Pamplin]] and [[Stan Love (basketball)|Stan Love]], physically assaulted Dennis.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Spokesman-Review - Google News Archive Search |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19861021&id=7TwVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hAgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7039,3470164 |access-date=2024-09-19 |website=news.google.com}}</ref>
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to Niidae Wiki may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see
Encyclopedia:Copyrights
for details).
Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Search
Search
Editing
The Beach Boys
(section)
Add topic