I am the product of a wannabe hippie. While Dad grew an afro for a time, he was far from an actual hippie, but he absolutely loved the music of his generation. The soundtrack of my childhood includes The Doors, The Who, and CCR. Dad also loved the folk bands like The Mamas & the Papas and Bob Dylan. But his all-time favorite group was The Beach Boys.
I always think of Dad when I hear The Beach Boys’ songs. They were a staple of every road trip, and their tapes were practically on loop on our boat that we used almost every Monday in the summer.
The Beach Boys are the band I have seen the most in my life. Growing up in Virginia, when they gave free Fourth of July concerts on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and we saw them several times. As I got older, I saw them at various venues, including a special concert at the FBI Headquarters.
The last time I saw the original band play was in 1980. Carl Wilson did not play at the mall in 1981, and in 1982 rock music was banned from being played on the National Mall. By the time they were allowed to play on the mall again in 1984, the youngest brother Dennis had died in a surfing accident.
There was a big difference between their D.C. concerts and their later ones. The biggest difference was the absence of the oldest brother and principal writer Brian Wilson. In my humble, historic opinion, I believe Brian Wilson should be on the Mount Rushmore of American songwriters and I am saddened to learn of his passing.
I was sitting on the beach of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, drinking a piña colada when I read the news. While melancholy, it also seemed like the perfect place as I turned on “Endless Summer” and spent the afternoon listening to the perfect beach music while reminiscing.
The Beach Boys started as a garage band in Hawthorne, California, in 1961 with the three Wilson brothers: Brian, Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love and a neighborhood friend Al Jardine. In the midst of the British Invasion, they helped create the California Sound with catchy hooks and strong harmonies Brian wrote. The early songs captured the teenage experience as they were about surfing, fast cars and of course girls. Their first big hit was 1962’s “Surfin’ Safari,” a song Brian considered silly and mimicked the simple cord progression that he loved from Chuck Berry. Their next album had another hit, “Surfin’ U.S.A.” which was actually a Chuck Berry song that Brian wrote new lyrics to.
The Beach Boys’ next seven albums all had hits, and most were still about similar subjects, but you could also start see Brian expand with songs like “In My Room,” “Don’t Worry Baby,” “When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)” and “The Warmth of the Sun” which he wrote the night JFK was killed. These songs not only had deeper and more mature themes, but Brian was becoming more sophisticated in his producing.
Many of the changes happened in 1964 when Brian stopped touring with the group and focused all his efforts into writing and producing, transforming the band from a performing band to a studio sound. However, the band was still losing ground to groups like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones until 1966 when Brian produced what is still considered one of the greatest albums ever: “Pet Sounds.”
It was a game-changer! Brian used multitrack recording, overdubs and modular recording techniques to build detailed sonic textures and blurred the line between pop, classical and experimental music.
Paul McCartney, one of the album’s biggest fans, called “God Only Knows” the greatest song ever written. The Beatles were so impressed that it inspired them to follow suit with “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Brian’s producing also inspired legendary producers like Phil Spector and Quincy Jones. His songwriting skills and studio techniques transformed the music industry forever.
After “Pet Sounds,” Brian’s life really began to go downhill. He struggled with his mental health as well as alcohol and drug addiction. In a weird twist of fate, he came under the spell of psychologist Eugene Landy, who isolated him from his family and took over control of his personal and professional life. In the 1990s he was able to break away from Landy’s grip and started to tour as a solo artist.
In 2012 Brian reunited with the Beach Boys for a 50th reunion tour. After that tour, he never played with the group again. While suffering from a schizoaffective disorder and effects of drug abuse, Brian continued to perform as a solo act until 2022. He died on June 11, 2025, leaving a hole in music that may never be filled. Thank you, Brian Wilson, for the music and the memories. In 2014, the British Broadcasting Corporation honored Wilson with a rendition of arguably his most famous song, “God Only Knows,” using an 80-piece Orchestra and 27 musicians from a wide range of genres. Look it up on YouTube. The BBC called it a masterpiece; I have to agree.
James Finck is a professor of American history at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. He can be reached at HistoricallySpeaking1776@gmail.com.
