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Beach Boys
Beginning their career as the most popular surf band in the nation, the Beach Boys finally emerged by 1966 as America's pre-eminent pop group, the only act able to challenge (for a brief time) the overarching success of the Beatles with both mainstream listeners and the critical community. From their 1961 debut with the regional hit "Surfin," the three Wilson brothers — Brian, Dennis, and Carl — plus cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine constructed the most intricate, gorgeous harmonies ever heard from a pop band. With Brian's studio proficiency growing by leaps and bounds during the mid-'60s, the Beach Boys also proved to be one of the best-produced groups of the '60s, exemplified by their 1966 peak with the Pet Sounds LP and the number one single "Good Vibrations."
The Beach Boys were an enormously successful pop group of the 1960s whose popularity has lasted into the twenty-first century. They were led for much of their career by singer-musician-composer Brian Wilson.
They group was formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California, by brothers Carl, Dennis, and Brian Wilson with their cousin Mike Love and school friend Al Jardine. The group's close vocal harmonies were strongly influenced by The Four Freshmen. David Marks appeared on their first four albums and was a member from 1962 to 1963, a temporary replacement for Jardine. Marks also rejoined the band in 1997, during Carl Wilson's last illness, and remained with them for two years. Bruce Johnston worked with the group occasionally between 1965 and 1967, when he joined permanently. Glen Campbell was also a touring member during 1964.
At first, their career was steered by the Wilsons' father Murry, who engineered their signing with Capitol Records, but in 1965 Brian Wilson fired his father after a violent confrontation in the studio, and over the next few years they became increasingly estranged; when Murry Wilson died some years later, Brian did not attend the funeral.
The Beach Boys' early material focused on the Californian youth lifestyle (e.g., "All Summer Long", "Fun, Fun, Fun"), cars ("Little Deuce Coupe") and, as often as not, Dennis' hobby of surfing (as heard on "Surfin'", "Surfin' Safari," and many others). Although their music was bright and accessible, even these early works contained some remarkably sophisticated musical ideas, and during this period Brian rapidly progressed to become a melodist, arranger, and producer of world stature. Their early hits made them major pop stars in America and many other countries, although their status as America's top pop group was challenged by the emergence of The Beatles in 1964, who became the Beach Boys' major creative rivals.
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Artist Biography - Beach Boys
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 To the surprise and delight of fans around the world, Brian Wilson has mounted several major tours under his own name with a band containing members of The Wondermints and led by former Beach Boys sideman Jeff Foskett plus other supporting musicians. Their note-perfect live performances of the entire Pet Sounds album earned some of the most glowing concert reviews of Brian's career, with some commentators calling the shows "the concert of a lifetime".
Al Jardine tours with the Alan Jardine Family & Friends Beach Band, featuring his sons Matt and Adam, Brian's daughters Carnie and Wendy, and Carl's brother-in-law Billy Hinsche, among others. Due to a series of legal challenges in the mid-90s over the ownership of the Beach Boys name, and Brian's career as a solo touring artist, the original group no longer exists as a recording or touring unit.
As well as the challenges over the use of the band's name, there were two other significant legal cases involving the Beach Boys in recent years. The first was Brian's suit to reclaim the rights to his songs and the group's publishing company, Sea Of Tunes, which he had signed away to his father in 1967. Brian successfully argued that he had not been mentally fit to make an informed decision and ownership of the catalog reverted to him.
The second lawsuit stemmed from Brian's reclamation of his publishing--soon after Brian won his case, Mike Love sued him to gain credit for his co-authorship of a number of important Beach Boys songs, including "I Know There's An Answer."
The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.
In 2003 and 2004, Brian and Van Dyke Parks reunited to finish the incomplete sections of Smile, and in 2004 Brian and his band toured the world performing a live concert version of the album. They then recorded a new studio version of Smile using vintage recording equipment and including sessions at the fabled Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, where some of the original recordings were made.
Primary album discography
Surfin' Safari (1962)
Surfin' U.S.A. (1963)
Surfer Girl (1963)
Little Deuce Coupe (1963)
Shut Down Volume 2 (1964)
All Summer Long (1964)
The Beach Boys' Christmas Album (1964)
Beach Boys Concert (1964)
The Beach Boys Today! (1965)
Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) (1965)
Beach Boys' Party! (1965)
Pet Sounds (1966)
Smiley Smile (1967)
Wild Honey (1967)
Friends (1968)
20/20 (1969)
Sunflower (1970)
Live in London (1970)
Surf's Up (1971)
Carl and the Passions-"So Tough" (1972)
Holland (1973)
15 Big Ones (1976)
Love You (1977)
M.I.U. Album (1978)
L.A. (Light Album) (1979)
Keepin' The Summer Alive (1980)
Beach Boys (1985)
Still Cruisin' (1989)
Summer In Paradise (1992)
Stars and Stripes Vol. 1 (1996)
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For more information , enjoy the official homepage of Beach Boys
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