RIP Brian Wilson
A musical genius, gone at 82. Then again, who ever thought Brian Wilson would reach the ripe old age of 82? But he did, and gave us a lot of music along the way.
The Beach Boys were a family act that featured harmonies and had a fresh sound when they came on the scene:
Encapsulating the group’s import in “The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll,” critic Jim Miller wrote, “In the ’60s, when they were at the height of their original popularity, the Beach Boys propagated their own variant on the American Dream, painting a dazzling picture of beaches, parties and endless summer, a paradise of escape into private as often as shared pleasures. Yet by the late ’60s, the band was articulating…a disenchantment with the suburban ethos, and a search for transcendence.”
In other words, they went from early 60s music to late 60s music, much as the Beatles did only in their own special way, led mostly by Brian Wilson.
Wilson was a troubled guy and spent a lot of time dealing with that:
The product of a torturous relationship with his father, Wilson from the early ’60s on experienced a series of mental breakdowns (which led to his early withdrawal from live performances with the group), struggles with drug and alcohol abuse, thickets of litigation, and deepening acrimony with his bandmates, who included two brothers and a cousin. In 1982 he was officially fired by his own group.
However, Wilson fought off his demons and opened a bright second chapter in the late ’80s, cutting a string of solo albums and receiving renewed acclaim via live performances of his masterpieces “Pet Sounds” and “Smile.” On the 50th anniversary of the Beach Boys’ founding, he took to the road again with the band after a decades-long absence.
The Beach Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. Brian Wilson also gave the 1997 introduction for the induction into the same institution of another family group featuring harmonies and falsetto: the Bee Gees.
In trying to decide which Beach Boys song to feature here, I would think the obvious choice would be “Good Vibrations,” their later magnum opus. Or perhaps “God Only Knows,” a song whose lead vocalist was Brian’s brother Carl. For me, though, it’s the early-60s songs of the Beach Boys, full of optimism and fun, and a time when California was a dreamy place to be. My favorite of all was this one – “I Get Around.” This video has the song followed by two bonuses: a short interview, and then a performance of “When I Grow Up.” Note the outtro lyric to that second song: “won’t last forever.”:
Thanks for the music and the memories, Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys.
Sly Stone died the other day also at the age of 82.
I would say that it would be hard to top the ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice/God Only Knows’
single.
The isolated vocal tracks available on YouTube for them are perfection.
They are having so much fun. So good to see.
There was a documentary a few years back where someone drove around LA with Brian and they visited a bunch of places important to the Beach Boys and he was really interesting but very fragile at the same time. They went to the house that the Wilsons grew up in and Brian politely declined to get out of the car. Can’t remember what the doc was called but it was really good.
I figured it was only a matter of time after Brian’s wife who was basically his guardian died a few months back.
In 2013 at the Beacon Theatre in New York I saw Brian Wilson and Jeff Beck (which admittedly is a strange pairing) but they both were great and it was a wonderful concert. Beck died in 2023 at the age of 78 and now Brian Wilson is gone at the age of 82. It really is eye opening when I hear of all the talented performers whom I used to listen to are dying off. My favorite Beach Boys song is “Sloop John B.” Someone beat me to it in mentioning that Sly of “Sly and the Family Stone” also died the other day at age 82.
neo:
“Get Around” was a great choice. The Beach Boys spoke to a 60s teen dream most of us only imagined. I doubt Brian lived it either. Still a beautiful dream. I love “Be True to Your School” as well.
I woke up to Brian Wilson when “In My Room” hit the radio waves — a surprisingly introverted confession from the brain behind the Beach Boys.
–“The Beach Boys – In My Room (Visualizer)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdrSbHU3-Ak
Here’s my favorite Beach Boys cover, which is by Rebecca Pidgeon.
Pidgeon started as a folk-pop singer, became known as an actress, then David Mamet’s wife, also appearing in several of his movies. “The Spanish Prisoner” is my favorite.
She keeps her hand in music with solo albums, but has failed to break through beyond a particular indie-adult following. She has balanced her life between acting, children, yoga and music. Her music is high quality Some audiophiles use her music to audition speakers.
–Rebecca Pidgeon, “Wouldn’t it be Nice” (2008)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3lvcWbeN-I
Gorgeous.
Thanks for the tribute, Neo; that was a fun video!
I saw Brian a few years ago on his penultimate tour. The band was tight (the only other Beach Boys with him were Al & Blondie) and it was fun, with the crowd singing along. Unfortunately Brian was obviously in decline and his performance was quite disappointing.
I remember going to bed early in 1966 and having my small transistor radio on tuned to KIMN in Denver…the local rock/ pop station. The DJ comes on and said for everyone to stop and listen to this new song by the Beach Boys….it was Good Vibrations. I was blown away. So was the DJ. He played it 3 more times in a row. For a DJ at a radio station to do that was unprecedented with their strict time allotment etc. Next day at school it was all that everyone was talking about.
Id never heard rebecca pidgeon sing id seen her on the unit (where she was sort of a machiavellian character) and some of the roles in films
PhysicsGuy, oh Yeah! KIMN! In 66 I was Jr at CSU. Went to HS in Thornton, remember the Scotsman food joint. Good times.
Thanks for the song NEO. Too bad CA has descended into darkness.
The Beach Boys gave a concert here back in the 70’s, here being a pretty small town at the time. It happens that they had a thing for antiques and there was a small antique store in town that they wanted to visit, but it was closed after the concert. So they went to the owner’s house and asked her to open the store, singing a song at the door in exchange and proving they were who they said they were. She opened the store for them.
God Only Knows really is a pretty song.
Huxley–Rebecca Pidgeon was fantastic in “The Winslow Boy.”
I was not a big Beach Boys fan. But this news sure makes me think about the way the country has declined since their time. I’m sure I’m not alone here in thinking that it’s a worse place. I just wasn’t made for these times.
I associate the Beach Boys with my hitching out to California the summer before I started college. I met my LA cousins for the first time. Went to the Sierras with them. They lived a couple of miles from the beach. Saw Wilt Chamberlain at the beach—he played a lot of volleyball.
My cousin Sue, a year younger, had a “let the good times roll” air I had previously associated with the Beach Boys. Fun, Fun, Fun . Though with my cousin, it was not Daddy’s T-Bird, but Mama’s Mustang. Fun fun–such as driving 20-30 miles to see the Hollywood sign! Her future husband surfed until recently. So the California surfing deal wasn’t just hype. Her younger brother introduced me to Jimi Hendrix.
California back then seemed to be God’s Country—as an elderly woman told me in a park in LA. Now, it’s Gruesome Newsome–as my cousins would say.
Sloop John B
I really liked their harmonizing.
The Beach Boys! Soundtrack of my So Cal youth.
Love all their songs but ‘All Summer Long’ is a literal play by play of my teen years and first romance.
‘Sitting in my car outside your house,
‘Member when you spilled Coke all over your blouse? (I did that!)
Tee shirts, cutoffs and a pair of thongs…’
My boyfriend had a VW Bug we could push start when the battery failed.
I used baby oil to tan while he surfed. I have the skin cancer to prove it!
College decisions were based on which UC location offered the most fun.
Worries about being accepted – are you kidding?
And you’ll work off the tuition, room and board during the summer.
Maybe even, an APARTMENT!
San Diego or UCLA? Oh, you want to be a vet? UC Davis for you, too bad.
If we only knew.
Now California kids get riots and debt.
What a world.
A million thanks Brian and Godspeed on your journey.
My favorite of theirs is “Fun Fun Fun”. That first verse
Well she got her daddy’s car and she cruised through the hamburger stand now
Seems she forgot all about the library like she told her old man now
And with the radio blasting goes cruisin’ just as fast as she can now
And she’ll have fun fun fun till her daddy takes the T-bird away
Does that ever paint a picture! Fantastic songwriting. RIP Brian
Don’t forget “Don’t Worry, Baby.” Beautiful song and vocal by Brian.
@FOAF: My favorite of theirs is “Fun Fun Fun”. That first verse…
Indeed. Up there with any of Chuck Berry’s lyrics. And that’s saying something.
I love that breathless, putting you right in the picture, style.
@FOAF: My favorite of theirs is “Fun Fun Fun”. That first verse…
@ huxley in reply:Indeed. Up there with any of Chuck Berry’s lyrics. And that’s saying something.
Beach Boy lyrics succinctly capture teen age life in that era…cruising the gut…(though I doubt they had a song specifically about that. Instead, they have a song about a wild Granny terrorizing the streets of Pasadena).
It’s not just the lyrics that echo Chuck Berry. The opening riff of Fun Fun Fun reminds me of the opening riff of Johnny Be Goode.
As far as I know, the Kingston Trio never sued the Beach Boys for copying their striped short-sleeve shirts. 🙂
“The Little Old Lady (from Pasadena)” was a hit for Jan and Dean. The Beach Boys performed it on their Beach Boys Concert album. The song was co-written by Roger Christian, who co-wrote “Don’t Worry Baby” and other Beach Boys car songs.
The Beach Boys used the melody of Chuch Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen” in Surfin’ U.S.A.
Never cared for R&R back in the day. Didn’t buy a single, nor an album. Didn’t tune to a R&R station unless I needed to stay awake. Preferred folk in its various forms.
But you couldn’t get away from it.
Around 1995, had an informal fraternity reunion, classes maybe 64-69. No wives. Kind of somber. War stories. Most had served. Only lost one from our house.
On the way home, I hit a “classic rock” couple of hours. Stuff I recognized from high school and college. Took me back. But the Beach Boys….closest thing to time travel ever invented. Really grateful to have that experience that evening.