Essay, Research Paper: The Beach Boys

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. 1971 'Surf's Up' was produced. It was a good seller and people gave it good reviews but wasn't popular for long.
1972 they produced a not so good album called 'Carl & The Passions - So Tough.' Week cause Bruce Johnson left the band and an injury to Dennis Wilson's hand that stomped him for drumming for a while stopped the band from recording. They then went on to Holland for the summer producing the Album 'Holland' which was a mild success and was also the group's last album of original material for three years.
1974 Capitol Records decided to produce an album with some of the group's best hits. The album was called 'Endless Summer.' The album was produced so fast that some songs were the incorrect versions. It raced to the top of the U.S chart and staid there for over a year. 1975 the album 'Spirit of America' made the the U.S Top 10.
Leaving Warners the band tried to figure a way to produce new material as fast as Capitol did. Their answer was to return to the studio and stage of Brian Wilson, who had been rarely involved since the 'Smile' album. '15 Big Ones' was a US top 10 album and a version of Chuck Berry's 'Rock & Roll Music' made the US top 5.
1977's 'The Beach Boys Love You' was more a Brian Wilson solo album. It was more like Dennis Wilson's solo album 'Pacific Ocean Blue'.
1978 the Beach Boys signed to James Guercio's Caribou label while still owing Warner brothers an album, so they produced an album 'MIU.' With the Caribou label they produced three albums in five years. The Albums were: 'La'(1979)-Bruce Johnson worked on it-'Keep The Summer Alive'(1980), 'The Beach Boys'(1985).
Since 1985 the band has been doing one-off single deals with little success. 1988 they produced 'Kokomo' from the film 'Cocktail.' It staid outside the charts for sometime then finally made its way to the top of the U.S chart. 1988 Brian Wilson
Dennis Wilson drowned December 1983. Not too long ago Carl Wilson was diagnose with cancer in the lungs and brain.