The Beach Boys :: Art

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys formed in 1961. The band members are; Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson who are all brothers, Al Jardine and Mike Love. All but Al Jardine lived in Los Angelas. They were first called the Pendletones which was a shirt brand , but a record label executive named them the Beach Boys. One of their first big hits was ‘Surfin’ that was credited for starting the ‘surfing craze.’ 1962 they released the album Surfin Safari with the song ‘Surfin Safari’ hitting the U.S Top 40. 1963 ‘Surfin U.S.A’ reached #3 on the charts. ‘Surfer Girl’ ended the the albums surfer cycle. Both the album and single made U.S top 10. Their next two albums, ‘Little Deuce Coupe,’ and ‘Shut Down’, went high on the U.S album charts. Mid 1964 the song ‘I Get Around’ off of the album ‘All Summer Long’ became their first U.S No.1 and their first UK top 10 hit. The year closed with album ‘Beach Boys Concert’ which became their first Us chart topping LP. Brian underwent the first of several nervous breakdowns and withdrew from regular touring for twelve years. He was first replaced by Glenn Campell and then later permanently replaced by Bruce Johnson. A re-recording of ‘Help Me Rhonda’ became the group’s second No.1 hit. ‘California Girls’ almost became a No.1 but never did. Free from touring Brian began to take more time writing and recording a attitude found in the album ‘Beach Boys Party.’ 1966 ‘Pet Sounds’ was one of the finest recorded by the Beach Boys. Off that album the songs: ‘Sloop John B’, ‘God Only Knows’, ‘Wouldn’t it be Nice’, and ‘Caroline, No’ all reached U.S top 40. Then they released their most famous song ‘Good Vibrations’ costing them $50,000. Mid 1967 an abandoned album ‘Smile’ was produced put was still bootlegged. Then produced ‘Smiley Smile’ which was an album which was almost identical as ‘Smile’. Off of ‘Smiley Smile’ the song ‘Heroes & Villains’ made top 20 Their Popularity was declining with the albums ‘Wild Honey’, ‘Friends’ and ‘20/20’ selling fewer and fewer copies and concert crowds thinned. 1968’s ‘Do it again’ was their last U.S Top 20 single for eight more years. 1970 their contract with Capitol Records expired and they then were offered their own record label ‘ Brother Records’ through Warner-Reprise. They produced their first album with the new management called ‘Sunflower’ it was a critical success but a commercial disaster.