The Beach Boys
Formation
Formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961, the group consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine managed by the Wilson father Murray they signed to Capitol records in 1962. Brian Wilson was a particularly gifted songwriter penning and producing what would later be known as surf rock and/or surf pop music which was a hitmaker late in 1962 to about 1966 in the psychedelic phase.
The Beach Boys became very popular across America very quickly due to their good looks, clever pop, their R&B inspired close vocal harmonies, fast tempo beats and lyrics reflecting southern California and suburbia youth culture about fast cars, women and oh yes also, surfing dude. The Beach Boys were considered an all “America’s Band” as being one of the biggest acts in 1964 to give the Beatles competition.
Brian Wilson’s early influences were the Four Freshmen with songs like ‘Ivory Tower’ and ‘Good News’. The Wilson family were very musical and would often all sing along playing piano and guitar and avidly listening to the radio. When Brain was 16 he got a reel to reel tape recorder for his birthday and learned how to record and overdub.
Soon Brian and Carl were listening to Johnny Otis (the Godfather of Rhythm & Blues), who discovered Little Esther, Big Mama Thornton, Jackie Wilson and Hank Ballard on KFOX. This influenced Brian Wilson into writing his own songs and practicing harmonies with Carl Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine with Dennis Wilson around even though he didn’t play an instrument at the time.
Mike Love sand lead and named their group The Pendeltones after the woolen shirt “Pendelton’s” favored by the surfers of the day in South Bay. Al Jardine was a big fan of folk music, Carl Wilson a fan of the current songs of rock & roll and Dennis was the only surfer of the group who inspired Brian Wilson to write songs about surfing as well as the teenage southern California lifestyle.
One day Al Jardine and friend Gary Winfrey went to the Wilson home to ask Brian’s help on a folk song they wanted to record called ‘Sloop John B’. Brian was not home, but they spoke to Brian’s father Murray who had some modest success in the music industry. Murray arranged for the Pendeltones to meet publisher Hite Morgan. The group didn’t impress Morgan until Dennis suggested the Brian penned unfinished original ‘Surfin’. Love and Brian finished composing the song and the group rented guitars, amps, mikes, and drums and practiced several days for the recording.
First Recordings
In October of 1961, the Pendeltones did twelve takes of ‘Surfin’ and a small number of copies were pressed on the Candix Records label. Unbeknownst to the group a promoter named Russ Regan changed the band’s name to the Beach Boys to capitalize on the new surf rock trend in vogue in southern California at the time. By December 1961, ‘Surfin’ was a hit in Los Angeles on KFWB and KRLA going to #3 locally and to #75 on the US Billboard charts.
Murray Wilson now the Beach Boys full-time manager got the band a gig New Years Eve for a Ritchie Valens memorial dance in Long Beach headlined by Ike & Tina Turner. To Brian’s surprise, the Beach Boys stuck out awkwardly as a group of innocent white boys in a black R&B hall, Brian described the gig as an “education” and inspired Brian Wilson to create songs with an R&B and rock & Roll style.
Early in 1962, Al Jardine temporarily left the band and was replaced by another childhood friend David Marks. On April 19th the band recorded at Western Studios in Los Angeles the songs ‘Lonely Sea’, ‘409’ and ‘Surfin’ Safari’, on June 9th they released ‘Surfin’ Safari’ reaching # 14 on the charts backed by ‘409’. The single attracted national Billboard coverage attention where the magazine praised Mike Love as the lead singer.
First Album
After being turned down by record labels Dot and Liberty, the Beach Boys were signed to Capitol Records. With Carl Wilson on lead guitar, Al Jardine on acoustic and rhythm guitars, David Marks replacing Jardine on rhythm guitar, Brian Wilson on bass, Dennis Wilson on drums and Mike Love as the front man lead singer and all of them singing harmony vocals, they recorded their first album.
The bulk of the songs were written by Brian Wilson with Gary Usher and Mike Love. Gary Usher was a rock & roll writer-producer who co-wrote the early hits with Brian for the Beach Boys and other surf rock bands including Dick Dale & the Del-Tones, Sagittarius and Gary Puckett & the Union Gap. He also produced albums for the Hondells, the Surfaris, the Byrds, Chad & Jeremy among others.
On October 1st, 1962 the Beach Boys released the album ‘Surfin’ Safari’ which reached #32 on a 37 week run on the American Billboard charts. The album brought 12 songs to the attention of America and was considered a success even though many local surfers had criticized the album for not representing the surf music sounds of other surf bands like Dick Dale & the Del-Tones and the Surfaris. This would change on their next album ‘Surfin’ U.S.A.’
Next, the Beach Boys released ‘Ten Little Indians‘ backed with ‘County Fair’ on November 26, 1962 charting at #49 which was more popular in the Midwest reaching #9 in Minneapolis ,#21 in Atlantic City/Philadelphia, the top 30 locally in cities such as Chicago, Dallas, Pittsburgh and #6 in Sweden.
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