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Becoming the Beach Boys 1961 1963 1st Edition James B.
Murphy Digital Instant Download
Author(s): James B. Murphy
ISBN(s): 9781476618531, 1476618534
Edition: 1
File Details: PDF, 113.92 MB
Year: 2015
Language: english
Becoming the Beach Boys,
1961–1963
This page intentionally left blank
 Becoming
the Beach Boys,
1961–1963
James B. Murphy

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers

Jefferson, North Carolina
 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING -IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Murphy, James B., 1956– author.
Becoming the Beach Boys, 1961–1963 / James B. Murphy.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-7864-7365-6 (softcover : acid free paper)

ISBN 978-1-4766-1853-1 (ebook)
♾
1. Beach Boys. 2. Rock musicians—United States—Biography. I. Title.
ML421.B38M87 2015 782.42166092'2—dc23 [B] 2015013949

BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

© 2015 Becoming the Beach Boys, LLC. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form

or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.

Cover graphics: Limited edition replica of a Pendleton

shirt as worn by the group when they were the Pendletones;
“Surfin’” on Candix 331, the Beach Boys’ first 45 rpm record;
yearbook photograph, March 1962 (Torrance,
California, High School 1962 Torch)

Printed in the United States of America

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers

Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
 For Bernadette
Only God knows what I’d be without you
This page intentionally left blank
 Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix
Preface 1
Introduction 3
A Note About Record Charts 7

1. Hawthorne High and Graduation Day 9

2. Hawthorne, California 24
3. Headed for Hollywood: Dorinda and Hite Morgan 34
4. On Our Way to Sunny California: Virginia and Donald Jardine 46
5. A Musical Education 56
6. Life After High School ( July 1960–July 1961) 68
7. Someone Should Write a Song About Surfing (August–October 1961) 81
8. Pendletones Become Surfers (November 1961) 100
9. CANDIX Enterprises, Inc. 111
10. “Call Them the Beach Boys”—Russ Regan 117
11. A Month of Firsts (December 1961) 124
12. Number 3 in LA ( January–February 1962) 137
13. One Hit Wonders (March 1962) 156
14. Making Tracks … to the Tower (April 1962) 168
15. A Capitol Contract (May–June 1962) 185
16. Safari, California Style ( July 1962) 201
17. Pandora’s Box and Azusa Teen Club (August 1962) 212
18. Beyond the Boys (September 1962) 226
19. An Album Debut and the Pressure’s On (October–December 1962) 239
20. A Sonic Tidal Wave ( January–March 1963) 259
21. Making Waves in the Midwest (April–June 1963) 281
22. 36 Cities in 45 days ( July–August 1963) 297

vii
viii Table of Contents

23. The Greatest Second Chance in Rock ’n’ Roll (September–October 1963) 309
24. “The Warmth of the Sun” (November–December 1963) 319

Coda: The Hite Morgan Tapes—Discovery, Illumination, and Litigation 324

Appendix 1: The Beach Boys’ Personal Appearances, 1961–1963 343
Appendix 2: Timeline of “Surfin’” Releases 368
Appendix 3: “Surfin’” Chart Position History 369
Appendix 4: “Surfin’” Revenue and Expense Stream, and Production Flow 370
Appendix 5: Standard Songwriter’s Contract for “Surfin’” Dated
September 15, 1961 371
Appendix 6: Floor Plan of Hite and Dorinda Morgan’s Home, 2511 Mayberry
Street 372
Appendix 7: Floor Plan of CANDIX Enterprises, 6425 Hollywood Boulevard 373
Appendix 8: American Federation of Musicians Contract Dated February 8, 1962 374
Appendix 9: Letter of Intent and Agreement from Murry Wilson to Hite B.
Morgan Dated March 29, 1962 375
Appendix 10: Floor Plan of Stereo Masters, 5534–5538 Melrose Avenue 376
Appendix 11: The Beach Boys’ Midwest Tour, April 24–May 5, 1963 377
Appendix 12: “Dennis” by Dorinda Morgan 378
Chapter Notes 379
Bibliography 400
Index 405
 Acknowledgments

My goal with Becoming the Beach Boys, 1961–1963, was to further our understanding
of the early history and recording career of the Beach Boys.
A debt of gratitude is owed to the many writers and historians who have researched
and documented the Beach Boys story, contributing immeasurably to our understanding of
the band. This book would not be possible without their invaluable, and often ground-
breaking, work. I wish to thank: Kingsley Abbott, Eric Aniversario, Keith Badman, David
Beard, Alan Boyd, Dave Burke, Peter Ames Carlin, Brian Chidester, Mark Dillon, Andrew
G. Doe, Brad Elliott, Steven Gaines, Christian Haschke, Steve Hoffman, David Leaf, Mark
Linett, Stephen J. McParland, Tom Nolan, Jerry Osborne, Byron Preiss, Domenic Priore,
Peter Reum, Ian Rusten, Manfred Schmidt, Gene Sculati, Ken Sharp, Craig Slowinski, Jon
Stebbins, Alan Taylor, John Tobler, Paul Urbahns, Timothy White, and Paul Williams.

You Need a Mess of Help

I am appreciative and humbled by the kindness of the many people willing to assist
with this project. Many of the women interviewed for this book have married or changed
their surnames. To avoid confusion, and with all due respect, I refer to them by the names
they used during the time period of this book.
For their generous contributions I would like to extend a warm thank you to: Neil
Anson (East Bakersfield High School, ’63), Patrick E. Auerbach (Alumni Relations, Uni-
versity of Southern California), Robina Aziz (Stanislaus County Library, Modesto, Cali-
fornia), Tony Bacon ( Jawbone Press/Backbeat UK), John Baker (Hawthorne High School
alumni website cougartown.com), Charles Bates (Allen County, Ohio, Historical Society),
Jolie Bergman, Derek Bill, Paula Biondi-Springer, Jed Birmingham, Jeanette Berard (special
collections librarian, Thousand Oaks, California, Library), Mike Bricker, Michael Brown-
ing, Neal Burdick (St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York), Sue Burin (El Camino
Community College, Torrance, California), Janie Campbell (Brigham Young University),
Gordon Carmadelle (American Federation of Musicians, Local 47), Karen Caruso (Prince
George’s County, Maryland, inter-library loan officer), Les Chan, Drew Cherven (Petoskey,
Michigan, Library), Peter J. Chinnici (archivist, Marlborough School), Don Conder, Paul
Coombe (Mahanoy, Pennsylvania, Area Historical Society), Jill Cox (Modesto, California,
Public Library), Perry D. Cox, Karl Crawford (Greenwood Cemetery, genealogical research,
Petoskey, Michigan), Eileen Crosby (Holyoke History Room and Archives, Holyoke, Mas-
sachusetts, Public Library), Dominick Jabbia (Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling,

ix
x Acknowledgments

West Virginia), Vivian Darakjian (Glendale, California, Community College), Dave Diet-
meyer (1957 Ford Fairlane research), Erin Dinolfo (archivist, Rochester Institute of Tech-
nology, Rochester, New York), Walt Dixon, Andrew G. Doe, Pat Duffy (KFWB), Miranda
Eggleston (National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences), Chris Fabian (New Cas-
tle, Pennsylvania, Public Library), Edward Allan Faine, Sean Fanning, Louis Farace, David
Flynn (for demystifying delta numbers and record pressing plants), Mark Galloway, Michael
Federspiel (Little Traverse History Museum, Petoskey, Michigan), Michael George (Tor-
rance, California, Public Library), Michael Gillman (Sacramento Public Library), Barbara
Gossett (Garden Grove, California, Historical Society), Cathy Griffith, Peg Guinan Gri-
galonis (Lakewood Park, Pennsylvania), Thomas B. Ham, Ken Hamm (North Bakersfield
High School, ’63), Jeffrey Hammett (East Bakersfield High School, ’65), R. Lee Hammett
(East Bakersfield High School, ’63), Raymond M. “Duke” Hammett, Luke Herbst (Nashville
Public Library), Paula Hill (Librarian, Christian Science Reading Room, Annapolis, Mary-
land), Chris Hogard (Greenwood Cemetery, Genealogical Research, Petoskey, Michigan),
Randy Holmes (Kay guitar and silvertone.com), Pete Howard (postercentral.com), the
estate of Robert and Regina Jensen, Gary and Wayne Johnson (Rockaway.com), Terry John-
son (East Bakersfield High School, ’63), Ulf Johnsson, Jennifer Joseph (New Castle, Penn-
sylvania, Public Library), Noel Kalenian (Western History and Genealogy Department,
Denver, Colorado, Public Library), Mark Kennedy, Susan Kersten (Bert-Co), Phil Kimball,
Paul Knapp (Hawthorne Cable Television), Ellen Knight (and the document delivery team
at the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona), Lou Kousouris (Camp Puh’Tok, Monkton,
Maryland), Howard Kramer (former curatorial director, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and
Museum), Jim Kurtz, Joy Lampe (East Bakersfield High School, ’63), Dani Lassetter, David
Leaf, Alice Lillie (BBFUN), Jean Lythgoe (Local History and Genealogy Room, Rockford,
Illinois, Public Library), Ed Martinez (El Camino Community College, Torrance, Califor-
nia), Terry Martinez (Redondo Union High School, Redondo Beach, California), Jimi Mas-
tronardi (The Fame Bureau), Stephen D. McClure, Mike McIntire, Don McKeon, Susan
Mester (Bowie Public Library, Maryland), Andrew Morris (American Federation of Musi-
cians, Local 47), Kerry A. Mullaney, Bob Noguera (Strider Records, New York City, for
putting it all in motion), Brian O’Beirne, Steven O’Brien, James Osborne, Cathy J. Palmer
(Burbank High School alumni website), Scott Paton, Dave Peckett (New Gandy Dancer),
Bill Petersen (La Crosse, Wisconsin, Public Library), Petoskey Museum and Historical
Society, Alice Plaster (Bowie Public Library, Maryland), Norm Reeder (Torrance, Califor-
nia, Public Library), Peter Reum, Patrick Reynolds, Ian Rusten, Diane Sambrano (Historical
Society of Centinela Valley, Westchester, California), Kathryn Santos (archivist, California
State Railroad Museum Library), Dina Sheets-Roth (Four Freshmen Management, Inter-
national Ventures Incorporated), Kathleen Sheppard (William Howard Taft High School,
Woodland Hills, California), Craig Silsbee, Richard Silvers, Doug Simmons, Brian Stafford,
Bill Ste. Marie (Bellflower High School, ’63), Jon Stebbins, Gary Steelburg (William
Howard Taft High School, ’64), David Swain, Jeanne Teague (William Howard Taft High
School, ’63), Terry Thomas (Garden Grove Historical Society), Diane Thrower (Pacific
High School Library, San Bernardino), Dave Towers, Robert Treff, Rebecca Troy-Horton
(New Hampshire State Library), Barbara Vasquez (Los Angeles City College), Ines Walloch,
Bri Webber (Inglewood Public Library), “Wolf,” Chris Woods, and Claude B. Zachary (Uni-
versity of Southern California).
 Acknowledgments xi

Interviews
The following people graciously granted interviews. Without their contributions, the
story could not have been told and I am sincerely grateful for their assistance: Don Allen
(Hawthorne High School [HHS] ’63), Steve Andersen (HHS ’60), Jack Andrews, Kevin
Antrobus, Theresa Kara Armijo (HHS ’60), Ross Barbour (the Four Freshmen), Don Bar-
rett, Bob Barrow (HHS ’60), Chuck Block, Chuck Blore, Mike Borchetta, Judy Bowles,
Don Brann (HHS ’63), Jerry Calkins (HHS ’58), Milton Calkins (HHS ’62), Vickie Amott
Calkins (HHS ’60), Barret H. Collins, Stephen Curtin (HHS ’64), Gerry Diez, Albert Dix,
Karl Engemann, Irene Callahan Fernandez (HHS ’60), Bob Flanigan (the Four Freshmen),
Jodi Gable, Michael Z. Gordon (the Marketts), Bill Griggs (Buddy Holly historian), Eric
Groves (Roller Gardens, Wagon Wheel Junction, 1961–1963), John Hagethorn (HHS ’60),
Jim Hess (HHS ’65), Richard Hoffman (the Vibrants), Steve Hoffman, Randy Holmes,
Paul Johnson (the Belairs), Vickie Kocher (aka Victoria Hale), Dino Lappas, Bob Levey,
Steve Love, Mandi Martin, Wink Martindale, David McClellan, Dick McGrane, Jackie
McKnight Saner, Hessie McKnight, Richard Miailovich (USC, Class of ’62), Bruce Morgan,
Randy Nauert (the Challengers), Pat O’Day, Jimmy O’Neill, Cathy Palmer, Gary Peeler
(the Dartells), Lana Abbey Peterson, Val Poliuto, Randy Ray (the Dartells), Russ Regan,
Faye Reis, Jim Roberts (the Belairs), Joe Saraceno, Al Schlesinger, Harriet Schock, Bruce
Snoap (the Kingtones), David Stadler (the Vibrants), Robert Stafford, Helen Stillman, John
Tefteller, Louis Thouvenin, Paul Urbahns, Fred Vail, Patricia Valdivia, Lyn Vandegrift, Jane
Veeder, Nik Venet, Jr., Ted Venetoulis, Bill Wagner, Don Winfrey (HHS ’64), and Gary
Winfrey (HHS ’59).

A Note About the Images

The images in the book were digitally scanned by Dave Smith of U-Photo in Beltsville,
Maryland (uphoto.com). Dave, Fran, his wife, and their colleague Robin Wright made a
daunting task cheerful and enjoyable. On a personal note, speaking as a veterinarian, Dave
and Fran are exceptionally kind and generous people. They routinely open their hearts to
stray kittens and cats, shouldering their medical costs, and working tirelessly to find them
a loving home, which, on more than one occasion, has been their own. Perhaps it was kismet
that a veterinarian and first-time author should find his way to their pleasant little shop.

In Memoriam
I had the great privilege of speaking with Ross Barbour and Bob Flanigan of the Four
Freshmen. These gentlemen were kind and humble, and generous with their time and rec-
ollections. Ross and Bob passed away while I was working on the manuscript. There can be
no doubt the heavenly choir is a little stronger now in its four-part harmony.
While this book was being written, Bob Hanes, Les Chan, and Derek Bill, friends and
long-time Beach Boys enthusiasts, each passed away. They contributed immeasurably to
our collective understanding and appreciation of the Beach Boys recording career. Their
xii Acknowledgments

untimely loss is grieved by everyone in the Beach Boys community. I had hoped Bob, Les,
and Derek would have enjoyed this book. Let’s hope they still will.

And on a Personal Note…

Every book owes a personal debt to the author’s family for the years spent researching
and writing the manuscript. This book could not have been possible without the cheery
encouragement, first-defense proofreading, and skilled editing of my lovely wife, Bernadette.
That she can still listen to the Beach Boys is testament to her love and support. Whenever
I hear “God Only Knows,” especially that angelic choral ending, it is her I see.
To Natalie and Bernard Murphy, the finest parents anyone could hope for, thanks for
filling our home with love, laughter, and music. Mario Lanza, Marty Robbins, Frank Sinatra,
Cole Porter, and Rodgers and Hammerstein are still among my favorites. Right behind,
well, you know who.
To my sister Eileen, a reluctant believer in the Beach Boys, and my brother Richard
who, at its very heart, is responsible for this book, a lifetime of love and gratitude. It is said
one cannot choose one’s family. Well, then, I hit the jackpot, didn’t I?
To my nephews, Brian and Kevin, who still accuse me of trying to sell them in exchange
for tickets to a Beach Boys concert (an apocryphal story that is, at best, only partially true),
thanks for never failing to make me smile and laugh. To my niece Kerry, thanks for all your
work converting the manuscript, at a time when it was just slightly shorter than Atlas
Shrugged, from Word Perfect to Word, an unenviable task even on Record Store Day. Some-
where there’s a pile of mulch waiting for you. Bernadette and I are exceptionally proud of
all three of you.
To my friends Jed Birmingham, Mike Browning, Mike Doyle, Don McKeon, John
Mulligan, Rich and Cathy Silvers, and Jim Wise, thank you for your encouragement, support,
and enthusiasm for this project. But, most of all, your friendship.
To Dr. Daniel J. Murphy and Lynn Murphy, and everyone at Capitol Hill Animal
Clinic in Washington, D.C., thank you for your support, professional camaraderie, and
friendship.

To My Faithful Writing Companions

Writing is a solitary endeavor and my three terriers—Wendy and Tinker, adopted as
strays, and Gabby, gifted to me by a client, provided me with steadfast canine company. An
untold number of problems in the manuscript were resolved in the solitude and serenity
of our daily walks through the woods. My life as a veterinarian is interwoven with so many
marvelous, often mystical, dog stories, convincing me dogs are the finest animals on Earth.
Perhaps a gift from God, providing a roadmap that will one day lead us back to Paradise.
Although I suppose they had no choice, I believe they took a measure of joy and comfort
in listening to the Beach Boys musical canon. Pet Sounds, indeed.
 Preface

Books are born out of many admirable intentions. A desire to educate, explore, enter-
tain, agitate, and inspire. This one was born out of frustration.
Perhaps no other American rock ’n’ roll band has been the subject of more books than
the Beach Boys. Several career-spanning works have chronicled them at various points along
a musical journey now in its sixth decade. Three band members have been the subject of
individual biographies. Two of the group’s landmark albums have received in-depth treatises.
Writers have tackled the band’s intimidating discography, documenting every recording ses-
sion, song released, and what treasures may remain in the vault. Others have undertaken
their unrelenting schedule of personal appearances. One ambitious tome dissected Brian
Wilson’s songs note by note, probing their harmonic structure for clues to his musical edu-
cation and inspiration. Another traced the Wilson family genealogy in exhaustive detail.
Still others have tilled the rather rich soil of their human foibles and missteps.
The Beach Boys have sold more than 100 million records, including thirty-seven Top 40
hits, fifty-eight Top 100 hits, and four number-one singles (“I Get Around,” “Help Me Rhonda,”
“Good Vibrations,” and “Kokomo”). Rolling Stone ranked them twelfth on their list of the
100 Greatest Artists of All Time. They are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Vocal
Group Hall of Fame, and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. They celebrated
their 50th anniversary in 2012 with their twenty-ninth studio album, the critically acclaimed
That’s Why God Made the Radio, and embarked on a seventy-three date tour performing to
sell-out crowds over four continents. In August 2013, Capitol/Universal Music Group released
Made in California, a six compact disc box set chronicling their unparalleled musical legacy.
So, how did five young guys with little musical training form a group, write a song,
rent instruments, make a record, release it on an indie label, watch it climb the charts, sign
with a major record company, and go on to become one of the most creative and successful
groups of all time?
I have always been fascinated with that question. But every account of how the Beach
Boys got started, the origin story of America’s seminal band, left me with more questions
than answers. Their early history is a convoluted, contradictory puzzle, obfuscated by mar-
keting, sophomoric journalism, revisionism, and the ravages time exacts on memory. The
situation was exacerbated by writers content to accept the status quo, regurgitating what
had already been written, regardless of how utterly nonsensical it was when you actually
studied it.
I decided to write the book I wanted to read. I hope it will stimulate robust debate,
peeling back additional layers, revealing hidden truths, and further illuminating the intri-
cacies of the band’s early history.

1
2 Preface

I also wrote this book as a thank you to the Beach Boys—Brian Wilson, Mike Love,
Dennis Wilson, Carl Wilson, Al Jardine, David Marks, and Bruce Johnston—for sharing a
good part of their souls through the music they created. Music that continues to provide
me, and so many others, a generous measure of happiness and wonderment.
Carl Wilson, perhaps, said it best when he recalled, “I asked Brian one time why he
thought we succeeded in such a big way. He said, ‘I think the music celebrated the joy of
life in a real simple way. It was a real direct experience of joyfulness.’”1

A Request
If you would like to share memories, stories, recollections, photographs—anything
at all—about the early history of the Beach Boys, please visit the author’s website at
becomingthebeachboys.com. You’ll also find supplemental reading, additional photographs,
questions and answers and a reader’s feedback forum.
 Introduction

On a brisk Saturday in October 1966, my sixteen-year-old brother Richie raced home

from a neighborhood basketball game dripping with perspiration and excitement. He burst
into our second-floor apartment on Gun Hill Road in the Bronx and demanded, “C’mon,
grab your coat. We’re going out. I don’t know what I just heard on the radio, but I’ve never
heard anything like it. We’ve got to find that record. We’ve got to find it right now.” I slipped
my jacket on and asked, “What’s it called?” He shook his head. “I don’t know. The deejay
didn’t say. All I know is that some of the words are ‘good, good, good vibrations.’” Then,
with a mix of surprise and skepticism washing over his face like a wave at Orchard Beach,
he added, “I think he said it’s by the Beach Boys.”
We bounded down a flight of stairs and headed up White Plains Road, under the
shadow of the Third Avenue El, an elevated subway, in search of this mysterious record.
We walked past Babbins Hardware, Regina’s Pizzeria, Pappantonio’s Laundromat, and the
A&P. At Frank’s Record Shop, our go-to spot for records, Richie recited what he knew of
the lyrics. Frank, a stocky man in his forties, stood with his hands outstretched on the
counter. Behind him a wall of 45s, each nestled in its own horizontal cubbyhole, arranged
in chart order, waiting to be taken home. Frank knew the song immediately, but he was sold
out. But now we had a title. We headed further north to Melody Music, but struck out
there, too. We trekked a mile east to MusicRama on Boston Post Road, but had no better
luck. We zigzagged back through a residential neighborhood without a record store in sight.
Venturing farther north, we crossed the border into Mount Vernon and found a little
Jamaican record store, but the owner didn’t know the song. By now it was getting dark, and
we were starting to get cold and hungry. We headed home dejected. Then Richie remem-
bered the radio and appliance store. Didn’t they carry a few records? It was still open so we
figured we had nothing to lose. We strode up the center aisle anxious to cross the store off
our list and head home. At the back of the store, beyond the rows of Admiral, RCA, and
Zenith television sets, was a bin in front of the cash register with maybe fifty forty-fives. I
watched as my brother flipped through them, pausing just long enough to read the title.
Then he stopped. And there it was. “Good Vibrations.” With a picture sleeve no less. He
had heard right. It was the Beach Boys. Seventy-four cents later it was ours. We left the store
and raced home. Suddenly, we weren’t cold or hungry.
When we reached our building, we climbed the stairs two at a time, unlocked the blue
metal door to the apartment, and headed for our room. We slid the record from its sleeve,
snapped a yellow plastic adaptor into its large center hole, and placed it on our cream-
colored Zenith phonograph with a fold-down turntable and removable speakers.
For the next three minutes and thirty-nine seconds we listened, staring at the revolving

3
4 Introduction

black disc with the familiar yellow and orange Capitol swirl spinning at a hypnotizing 45
revolutions per minute. I never heard the word “I” sung quite that beautifully before or
since. Whose was that angelic voice? And what instrument made that deep, stuttering stac-
cato sound that reverberated through you, conjuring the song’s title, making you nervous
and exhilarated at the same time? What was that otherworldly sound on the chorus? Oscil-
lating up and down like something from a science fiction movie. We didn’t speak. It was
like a sacred experience. As if we were alone in St. Ann’s Church and it would have been a
sin to shatter the silence. If someone had recorded Heaven this is what it would sound like.
The song’s creator once said music was God’s voice. This record seemed to prove it.
As the song finished and the needle spun wildly into the run-out grooves Richie lifted
the phonograph arm, steadied it over the edge of the spinning disc, and let it drop like the
water balloons we launched from the roof of our building. We listened again. And again.
And again. We played that single so many times I’m surprised the vinyl didn’t spontaneously
combust, melting into a sticky, black glob fused onto the turntable.
Eventually, we flipped it over and listened to the other side. Something called “Let’s
Go Away for Awhile.” What’s this? There are no words to this song. We didn’t like instru-
mentals. They seemed lazy, like someone gave up on them too soon. This was something
our parents would like. It would be many years before I could appreciate that song. We tol-
erated one listen before flipping it over.
We must have played “Good Vibrations” fifty times in a row. We passed the picture
sleeve back and forth, studying the individual photos of the band members, trying to discern
the leader. We didn’t know any of their names and weren’t sure if the songwriters, some
guys named Brian Wilson and Mike Love, were even in the group. We deduced the leader
by his photo and agreed it was the clean shaven guy in the hat. He looked confident and
self-assured. We were certain it wasn’t the guy looking down, averting his eyes from the
camera.
Every day after school we’d sit in our bedroom and listen to “Good Vibrations.” One
day, Mrs. Dorsey, our widowed neighbor across the street, waylaid our Dad, asking, “Who
the hell is playing that song over and over again?”
Well, my father should have been a diplomat. “Maureen,” he replied, “I have no idea.”
Richie told a classmate about the record and how we weren’t sure who these guys were.
Proud of his superior musical knowledge, the friend volunteered to identify the band
members. Richie brought the picture sleeve to school and his buddy identified the five Beach
Boys. The confident guy in the hat wasn’t the leader. He was rhythm guitarist Al Jardine.
The guy looking down was the creative force in the group, Brian Wilson, the composer of
the music. It was from his fertile mind this magical sound had been born. The guy with a
beard was Mike Love who penned the words. The other members were Brian’s younger
brothers, Dennis and Carl.
A lot of time has passed since that autumn day in 1966. But that day changed my life.
It began a life-long enjoyment of the music of Brian Douglas Wilson, one of the twentieth
century’s most gifted composers. A man whose rare talent has brought joy and comfort,
serenity and solace, earthly pleasure and spiritual transcendence, to millions of people.
Between June 1962 and December 1966, Brian Wilson wrote, arranged, produced,
sang, or played on more than fifty singles, twelve albums, and guested on dozens of other
artists’ songs. He earned unprecedented creative control in the recording studio and the
 Introduction 5

respect and admiration of veteran Los Angeles studio musicians. He crafted the exquisite
Pet Sounds, arguably the most important album produced in the rock ’n’ roll era. The
groundbreaking single “Good Vibrations,” a self-described “teenage symphony to God,” was
number one on the charts. Crafted in four studios over six months at a reported cost,
unheard of at the time, of $50,000, Brian’s modular production wove a mosaic tapestry of
sound. His innovative use of bass, cello, harpsichord, and electro-theremin gave “Good
Vibrations” its ethereal sound. Brian was already at work on his next album, an innovative
song cycle dubbed Dumb Angel, then Smile, which would include “Good Vibrations,”
“Heroes and Villains,” “Cabin Essence,” “Fire,” “Wonderful,” and the majestic “Surf ’s Up.”
In Britain, music lovers voted the Beach Boys above the Beatles as their favorite musical
group. On a nationally broadcast television special, Leonard Bernstein spoke of Brian in
hushed tones, calling him one of the most important musicians of the time. Brian was
twenty-four years old.
Five years earlier, in summer 1961, a lanky, awkward, nineteen-year-old Brian walked
into a storefront recording studio in East LA and told the owner, in an apologetic tone,
“You may not remember me. I’m Brian Wilson. Murry Wilson’s son.” With Brian that day
were his younger brothers, Dennis and Carl, his cousin, Mike Love, and his high school
classmate Al Jardine. They wanted to make a record. A few months later, these five guys had
the #3 hit on LA’s top radio station. Their name? Well, if they had gotten their way, the
Pendletones. Then someone suggested the Surfers. But fate intervened and we know them
as the Beach Boys. The song? A primitive, two minute, ten second, three chord tune called
“Surfin’.”
“Surfin’” was recorded by Hite and Dorinda Morgan, a middle-aged songwriting couple
and long-time friends of the Wilson family. Carl strummed a cheap acoustic guitar, Al
plucked a rented stand-up bass, and Brian used an index finger to tap out the beat on a snare
drum draped with a shirt to dampen the sound. Apocryphal stories had the percussion
played on a pie tin or garbage can lid. But buried in the grooves of that first record was the
spirit of youthful exuberance and the possibility of things to come. “Surfin’” was the raw
expression of adolescent nirvana. A crude, exciting, musical and lyrical melding of surf,
sun-drenched beaches, and the freedom of summer, where the only care in the world was
how big were the waves rolling off the Pacific Ocean. Propelled by 50,000 watts on KFWB,
“Surfin’” exploded out of the South Bay like a tidal wave, creating a cultural phenomenon
that ignited teenage imaginations from Southern California to Northern Maine.
How Brian Wilson took the embryonic Beach Boys from a raw garage band to the
lush sophistication of Pet Sounds and revolutionary radicalism of “Good Vibrations” is one
of rock ’n’ roll’s most satisfying journeys. The Beach Boys created a musical legacy unpar-
alleled in American popular culture.
This is a tale of talent, teenage dreams, youthful innocence, and musical genius. It is
also a story of parental ambition, business mismanagement, diverted corporate funds,
employee conflict of interest, and the betrayal of a decade-long friendship. How such jubi-
lant music emerged from these classic struggles is a quintessential American story. Now, for
the first time, the true story of how five teenage boys formed America’s greatest rock ’n’ roll
band and the obstacles they overcame on the way to becoming the Beach Boys.
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 A Note about Record Charts

In the 1950s and 1960s, Billboard and Cash Box, the two most important
weekly music industry publications, were printed ten days before the date on
the issue. For instance, Billboard for the week ending Saturday, December
30, 1961, was printed by Wednesday, December 20, and on newsstands Sat-
urday, December 23. The Hot 100 singles chart in that issue was compiled
from sales and airplay information from the preceding week, December 13–
20. This becomes important when dating a record’s release.
KFWB and KRLA were the two largest radio stations in Los Angeles
in the early 1960s. Their local charts followed a similar schedule. For instance,
the KFWB Fabulous Forty Survey for the week ending Friday, December 29,
1961, was compiled Thursday, December 21, printed Friday, December 22,
and delivered to local record stores Saturday, December 23.
When referencing a record’s national or local chart appearance, I have
opted to use the date that chart was on newsstands or in record stores.

7
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