Becoming the Beach Boys, 1961-1963


Book Description

They were almost The Pendletones--after the Pendleton wool shirts favored on chilly nights at the beach--then The Surfers, before being named The Beach Boys. But what separated them from every other teenage garage band with no musical training? They had raw talent, persistence and a wellspring of creativity that launched them on a legendary career now in its sixth decade. Following the musical vision of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys blended ethereal vocal harmonies, searing electric guitars and lush arrangements into one of the most distinctive sounds in the history of popular music. Drawing on original interviews and newly uncovered documents, this book untangles the band's convoluted early history and tells the story of how five boys from California formed America's greatest rock 'n' roll band.




Good Vibrations


Book Description

A founding member of The Beach Boys traces his half-century career, discussing the inspirations for his pop classic lyrics, his struggles with self-destructive habits, his spiritual life, and his partnerships with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson.




Fifty Sides of the Beach Boys


Book Description

“A vivid account . . . Young and old fans alike will enjoy” (Publishers Weekly). This book offer a unique journey through The Beach Boys’ long, fascinating history by telling the stories behind fifty of the band’s greatest songs from the perspective of group members, collaborators, fellow musicians, and notable fans. Filled with new interviews with music legends such as Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Alan Jardine, Bruce Johnston, David Marks, Blondie Chaplin, Randy Bachman, Roger McGuinn, John Sebastian, Lyle Lovett, Alice Cooper, and Al Kooper, and commentary from a younger generation such as Matthew Sweet, Carnie Wilson, Daniel Lanois, Cameron Crowe, and Zooey Deschanel, this story of pop culture history both explores the darkness and difficulties with which the band struggled, and reminds us how their songs could make life feel like an endless summer.




The Beach Boys and the California Myth


Book Description

How the Beach Boys created the myth of California in the early sixties.




The Beach Boys in Concert


Book Description

Chronicles the concerts, successes, tragedies, dramas, and adventures of the legendary American band, collecting rare photographs and never-before-seen memorabilia images.




Heroes And Villains


Book Description

The author "reveals the gothic tale of drugs, sex, music, greed, booze, and genius behind the wholesome image of the Beach Boys."--Jacket.




Good Vibrations


Book Description

An international, interdisciplinary exploration of the band that helped define 1960s America




The Beach Boys


Book Description

Johnny Morgan looks at the writing and recording of the band's catalogue and the evolution of the band and their music through the years, including the albums Surfin. . Safari, Surfer Girl, Summer Days, and more.




Why the Beach Boys Matter


Book Description

Of all the white American pop music groups that hit the charts before the Beatles, only the Beach Boys continued to thrive throughout the British Invasion to survive into the 1970s and beyond. The Beach Boys helped define both sides of the era we broadly call the sixties, split between their early surf, car, and summer pop and their later hippie, counterculture, and ambitious rock. No other group can claim the Ronettes and the Four Seasons as early 1960s rivals; the Mamas and the Papas and Crosby, Stills and Nash as later 1960s rivals; and the Beatles and the Temptations as decade-spanning counterparts. This is the first book to take an honest look at the themes running through the Beach Boys’ art and career as a whole and to examine where they sit inside our culture and politics—and why they still grab our attention.




Dennis Wilson


Book Description

This first full biography of the founding member of The Beach Boys. Sun drenched surfer on the beaches of California, with an insatiable sexual appetite and daredevil approach to life, Dennis was the wild and reckless brother who fired Brian Wilson's imagination and helped spark a cultural tidal wave in the form of The Beach Boys. His life was a short, brilliant, intoxicating ride ending in addiction, despair, and finally self-destruction at age 39.