Editing The Beach Boys (section)

===1978–1998: Continued recording and Brian's estrangement===

====''L.A. (Light Album)'' and ''Keepin' the Summer Alive''====
[[File:The Beach Boys 1979.jpg|thumb|right|The Beach Boys in 1979]]
The group's first two albums for CBS, 1979's ''[[L.A. (Light Album)]]'' and 1980's ''[[Keepin' the Summer Alive]]'', struggled in the US, charting at 100 and 75 respectively, though the band did manage a top-forty single from ''L.A. (Light Album)'' with "[[Good Timin' (The Beach Boys song)|Good Timin']]". The recording of these albums saw Bruce Johnston return to the band, initially solely as a producer and eventually as a full-time band member. In-between the two albums, the group contributed the song "[[It's a Beautiful Day (The Beach Boys song)|It's a Beautiful Day]]" to the soundtrack of the film ''[[Americathon]]''.  In an April 1980 interview, Carl reflected that "the last two years have been the most important and difficult time of our career. We were at the ultimate crossroads. We had to decide whether what we had been involved in since we were teenagers had lost its meaning. We asked ourselves and each other the difficult questions we'd often avoided in the past."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lloyd|first1=Jack|title=Surf Wasn't Always Smooth|publisher=Knight News Service|date=April 25, 1980}}</ref> By the next year, he left the touring group because of unhappiness with the band's nostalgia format and lackluster live performances, subsequently pursuing a solo career.{{sfn|Schinder|2007|p=124}} He stated: "I haven't quit the Beach Boys but I do not plan on touring with them until they decide that 1981 means as much to them as 1961."<ref name="Jarnow15">{{cite web|last1=Jarnow|first1=Jesse|title=Carl Only Knows: A New Biography of the Man Legally Known as the Beach Boys|url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/926-carl-only-knows-a-new-biography-of-the-man-legally-known-as-the-beach-boys/|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|date=October 12, 2015|access-date=April 21, 2020|archive-date=June 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616042103/https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/926-carl-only-knows-a-new-biography-of-the-man-legally-known-as-the-beach-boys/|url-status=live}}</ref> Carl returned in May 1982, after approximately 14 months of being away, on the condition that the group reconsider their rehearsal and touring policies and refrain from "Las Vegas-type" engagements.{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=373}}

{{Quote box
 |quote  = I think a lot of critics punish the band for not going beyond "Good Vibrations"&nbsp;... they love the band so much that they get crazy because we don't top ourselves.&nbsp;... [but] growth in this business is tough.
 |source = — Bruce Johnston, 1982<ref>{{cite news|last1=Racine|first1=Marty|title=The Past Is Present And The Future Is Tense|url=http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php?action=printpage;topic=6867.0|work=[[Houston Chronicle]]|date=August 22, 1982|location=Texas|access-date=May 13, 2018|archive-date=May 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513152021/http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php?action=printpage;topic=6867.0|url-status=live}}</ref>
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On June 21, 1980, the Beach Boys performed a concert at [[Knebworth]], England, which featured a slightly intoxicated Dennis. The concert would later be released as a live album titled ''[[Good Timin': Live at Knebworth England 1980]]'' in 2002. In 1981, the band scored a surprise US top-twenty hit when their cover of [[the Del-Vikings]]' "[[Come Go with Me]]", from the three year old ''M.I.U. Album'', was released as a single from ''[[Ten Years of Harmony]]'', a double compilation album focusing on the Reprise and CBS years.<ref>Whitburn, Joel (2004). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 51.</ref>

In late 1982, Eugene Landy was hired once more as Brian's therapist.<ref name="TelegraphObit">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/03/31/db3102.xml&sSheet=/portal/2006/03/31/ixportal.html|title=Eugene Landy obituary|access-date=April 16, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225202250/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2006%2F03%2F31%2Fdb3102.xml&sSheet=%2Fportal%2F2006%2F03%2F31%2Fixportal.html|archive-date=February 25, 2008}}</ref> This involved removing him from the group on November 5, 1982, at the behest of Carl, Love, and Jardine,<ref name="Goldberg1984">{{cite magazine|last1=Goldberg|first1=Michael|title=Dennis Wilson: The Beach Boy Who Went Overboard|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=June 7, 1984|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/the-beach-boy-who-went-overboard-19840607|access-date=June 20, 2018|archive-date=August 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830173430/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/the-beach-boy-who-went-overboard-19840607|url-status=live}}</ref> in addition to putting him on a strict diet and health regimen.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|pp=243–244}} Coupled with counseling sessions that retaught him basic social etiquette, this therapy restored Brian's physical health, slimming down from {{convert|311|lb|kg}} to {{convert|185|lb|kg}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Brian Wilson on the Beach Boys, Gershwin and his upcoming biopic|url=http://www.ifc.com/fix/2011/11/brian-wilson-on-biopic-the-beach-boys-gershwin|work=IFC|access-date=August 28, 2013|date=November 16, 2011|archive-date=October 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005021909/http://www.ifc.com/fix/2011/11/brian-wilson-on-biopic-the-beach-boys-gershwin|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Death of Dennis, ''The Beach Boys'', and ''Still Cruisin''{{'}}====
[[Image:Reagans with the Beach Boys.jpg|thumb|The Beach Boys with President [[Ronald Reagan]] and First Lady [[Nancy Reagan]] at the [[White House]], June 1983]]

By the late 1970s and early 1980s, Dennis had been embroiled in successive failed romantic relationships, including a tense and short-lived relationship with [[Fleetwood Mac]]'s [[Christine McVie]], and found himself in severe economic trouble resulting in the sale of [[Brother Studios]], established by the Wilson brothers in 1974 and where ''Pacific Ocean Blue'' was produced, and the forfeiture of his beloved yacht. To cope with the combination of devastating losses, Dennis heavily abused alcohol, cocaine, and heroin and was, by 1983, homeless and lived a nomadic lifestyle. He was often seen spending much of his time wandering the Los Angeles coast and often missed Beach Boys performances. By this point, he had lost his voice and much of his ability to play drums.<ref>{{cite AV media |last1=O'Casey |first1=Matt |title=Dennis Wilson: The Real Beach Boy |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1704872/ |via=IMDb |date=February 26, 2010}}</ref>

That year, tensions between Dennis and Love escalated to the point that each filed a restraining order against the other.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.brain-sharper.com/entertainment/beach-boys-ob/|title=Brian Wilson Explains Why The Beach Boys Will Never Get Back Together|publisher=BrainSharper|date=July 19, 2019|last=Foster|first=JJ|access-date=January 5, 2021|archive-date=March 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326061654/http://www.brain-sharper.com/entertainment/beach-boys-ob/|url-status=live}}</ref> Following Brian's readmission for Landy's treatment, Dennis was given an ultimatum after his last performance in November to check into rehab for his alcohol problems or be banned from performing live with the band again. Dennis checked into rehab for his chance to get sober, but on December 28, he drowned at the age of 39 in [[Marina del Rey]] while diving from a friend's boat trying to recover items that he had previously thrown overboard in a fit of rage.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=247}}

The Beach Boys spent the next several years touring, often playing in front of large audiences, and recording songs for film soundtracks and various artists compilations.{{sfn|Schinder|2007|p=126}} One new studio album, the self-titled ''[[The Beach Boys (album)|The Beach Boys]]'', appeared in 1985 and proved a modest success, becoming their highest-charting album in the US since ''15 Big Ones''. ''The Beach Boys'' was the group's final album for CBS. The following year they returned to Capitol with a 25th anniversary greatest hits album ''[[Made in U.S.A. (The Beach Boys album)|Made in U.S.A]]'', which featured two new tracks, "[[Rock 'n' Roll to the Rescue]]" and a cover of [[the Mamas and the Papas]]' "[[California Dreamin']]", with the latter featuring [[Roger McGuinn]] of [[the Byrds]] on lead guitar. ''Made in U.S.A'' eventually went double platinum.

Commenting on his relationship to the band in 1988, Brian said that he avoided his family at Landy's suggestion, adding that "Although we stay together as a group, as people we're a far cry from friends."<ref>{{cite news|last1=White|first1=Timothy|author-link1=Timothy White (writer)|title=BACK FROM THE BOTTOM|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/26/magazine/back-from-the-bottom.html?pagewanted=all|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 26, 1988|access-date=June 20, 2018|archive-date=June 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620130254/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/26/magazine/back-from-the-bottom.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}</ref> Mike denied the accusation that he and the band were keeping Brian from participating with the group.{{sfn|Love|2016|pp=333–334}} In 1987 the band scored a top-twenty single in collaboration with rap group [[the Fat Boys]], on their cover of [[the Surfaris]]' "[[Wipe Out (instrumental)|Wipeout!]]". The following year, the Beach Boys unexpectedly claimed their first US number 1 single in 22 years with "[[Kokomo (song)|Kokomo]]", which topped the chart for one week.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-beach-boys/chart-history/hsi/|title=The Beach Boys Kokomo (From"Cocktail" ) Chart History|magazine=Billboard|access-date=May 14, 2018|archive-date=November 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117203022/https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-beach-boys/chart-history/hsi/|url-status=live}}</ref> The track was featured in the film ''[[Cocktail (1988 film)|Cocktail]]''. Both "Wipeout!" and "Kokomo" were included on the band's next album, 1989's ''[[Still Cruisin']]'', which went platinum in the US.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IBEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA53|title=September RIAA certifications|date=October 25, 2003|magazine=Billboard|language=en|page=53|access-date=May 14, 2018|archive-date=June 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618111308/https://books.google.com/books?id=IBEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA53|url-status=live}}</ref>

During 1990 and 1991, the group's original Capitol-era albums (''Surfin' Safari'' through ''Live in London'') were released on CD for the first time, with ''The Beach Boys' Christmas Album'' and ''Pet Sounds'' being individual titles, and the remaining albums issued as two-fers (two albums on one CD). The Reprise and CBS albums (''Sunflower'' through ''The Beach Boys'') would eventually receive the same treatment in 2000. In 1991 the band contributed a cover of "[[Crocodile Rock]]" to the [[Elton John]] and [[Bernie Taupin]] tribute album ''[[Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin|Two Rooms]]''.

====Lawsuits, ''Summer in Paradise'', and ''Stars and Stripes, Vol. 1''====
{{See also|Andy Paley sessions}}
Carlin summarized: "Once surfin' pin-ups, they remade themselves as [[avant-garde pop]] artists, then psychedelic oracles. After that they were down-home hippies, then retro-hip icons. Eventually they devolved into none of the above: a kind of perpetual-motion nostalgia machine."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Carlin|first1=Peter Ames|author-link=Peter Ames Carlin|title=MUSIC; A Rock Utopian Still Chasing An American Dream|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/25/arts/music-a-rock-utopian-still-chasing-an-american-dream.html|date=March 25, 2001|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=May 13, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612204232/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/25/arts/music-a-rock-utopian-still-chasing-an-american-dream.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Music journalist Erik Davis wrote in 1990: "the Beach Boys are either dead, deranged, or dinosaurs; their records are Eurocentric, square, unsampled; they've made too much money to merit hip revisionism".<ref name="Davis1990"/> In 1992, critic Jim Miller wrote: "They have become a figment of their own past, prisoners of their unflagging popularity—incongruous emblems of a sunny myth of eternal youth belied by much of their own best music.&nbsp;... The group is still largely identified with its hits from the early Sixties."{{sfn|Miller|1992|pp=192, 195}}

Love filed a defamation lawsuit against Brian due to how he was presented in Brian's 1992 memoir ''[[Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story]]''. Its publisher [[HarperCollins]] settled the suit for $1.5 million. He said that the suit allowed his lawyer "to gain access to the transcripts of Brian's interviews with his [book] collaborator, Todd Gold. Those interviews affirmed—according to Brian—that I had been the inspiration of the group and that I had written many of the songs that [would soon be] in dispute."{{sfn|Love|2016|pp=353–354}} Other defamation lawsuits were filed by Carl, Brother Records, and the Wilsons' mother Audree.{{sfn|Love|2016|p=353}} With Love and Brian unable to determine exactly what Love was properly owed in royalties and songwriting credits, [[Love v. Wilson|Love sued Brian in 1992]], awarding him $5 million and a share of future royalties from Wilson.<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 13, 1994|title=Beach Boys' Mike Love Wins His Case, Stands to Collect Millions|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-12-13-fi-8511-story.html|access-date=March 10, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=February 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130215121946/http://articles.latimes.com/1994-12-13/business/fi-8511_1_beach-boys-lead-singer|url-status=live}}</ref> Thirty-five of the group's songs were then amended to credit Love.<ref name="Times1994">{{cite news |title=Beach Boys' Mike Love Wins His Case, Stands to Collect Millions |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-12-13-fi-8511-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=December 13, 1994 |access-date=October 1, 2012 |archive-date=February 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130215121946/http://articles.latimes.com/1994-12-13/business/fi-8511_1_beach-boys-lead-singer |url-status=live }}</ref> He later called it "almost certainly the largest case of fraud in music history".{{sfn|Love|2016|p=373}}

After dissolving his relationship with Landy, Brian phoned [[Sire Records]] staff producer [[Andy Paley]] to collaborate on new material tentatively for the Beach Boys.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|pp=273, 281}} After losing the songwriting credits lawsuit with Love, Brian told ''[[Mojo (magazine)|MOJO]]'' in February 1995: "Mike and I are just cool. There's a lot of shit Andy and I got written for him. I just had to get through that goddamn trial!"<ref name="MOJO1995">{{cite magazine|last1=Holdship |first1=Bill |title=Lost in Music |magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]] |date=August 1995 |url=http://www.petsounds.com/mojo1.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980630153958/http://www.petsounds.com/mojo1.pdf |archive-date=June 30, 1998 }}</ref> In April, it was unclear whether the project would turn into a Wilson solo album, a Beach Boys album, or a combination of the two.<ref name=Verna1995>{{cite magazine|last1=Verna|first1=Paul|title=From Brian Wilson to Jerry Lee Lewis, Andy Paley's Career Defies Description|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5QsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA88|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=April 22, 1995|volume=107|issue=16|pages=88–89|issn=0006-2510|access-date=May 13, 2018|archive-date=May 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513062940/https://books.google.com/books?id=5QsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA88|url-status=live}}</ref> The project ultimately disintegrated.{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=284}} Instead, Brian and his bandmates recorded ''[[Stars and Stripes Vol. 1]]'', an album of [[country music]] stars covering Beach Boys songs, with co-production helmed by [[River North Records]] owner [[Joe Thomas (producer)|Joe Thomas]].{{sfn|Carlin|2006|p=291}} Afterward, the group discussed finishing the album ''Smile'', but Carl rejected the idea, fearing that it would cause Brian another nervous breakdown.{{sfn|Love|2016|p=384}}

The 1990s saw the release of the critically acclaimed multi-CD box sets ''[[Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys]]'' (1993) and ''[[The Pet Sounds Sessions]]'' (1997), both featuring unreleased archive recordings, as well as two single-CD archival sets, ''[[Ultimate Christmas]]'' and ''[[Endless Harmony Soundtrack]]'' (both 1998), with the latter a companion to the official career-spanning documentary ''[[Endless Harmony: The Beach Boys Story]]'', which first aired on [[VH1]] and was later issued on VHS and DVD.