beach boys

 BEACH BOYS

He had watched his father Murry Wilson play piano, and had listened intently to the harmonies of vocal groups such as the Four Freshmen.[1] After dissecting songs such as "Ivory Tower" and "Good News", Brian would teach family members how to sing the background harmonies.[2] For his birthday that year, Brian received a reel-to-reel tape recorder. He suggested calling them the Beach Boys.[14] "Surfin'" was a regional success for the West Coast, and reached number 75 on the national Billboard Hot 100 chart. Love gave the fledgling band its name: "The Pendletones", a pun on "Pendleton", a style of woolen shirt popular at the time.[6] Dennis was the only avid surfer in the group, and he suggested that the group write songs that celebrated the sport and the lifestyle that it had inspired in Southern California.[7][8][nb 1] Brian finished the song, titled "Surfin'", and with Mike Love, wrote "Surfin' Safari".[8]

Murry Wilson, who was a sometime songwriter, arranged for the Pendletones to meet his publisher Hite Morgan.[10] He said: "Finally, [Hite] agreed to hear it, and Mrs. I think it's good.' And she's the one responsible."[11] On September 15, 1961, the band recorded a demo of "Surfin'" with the Morgans. At the time of his 16th birthday on June 20, 1958, Brian Wilson shared a bedroom with his brothers, Dennis and Carl—aged 13 and 11, respectively—in their family home in Hawthorne. Morgan said 'Drop everything, we're going to record your song. Brian taught Love's sister Maureen and a friend harmonies.[1] Later, Brian, Love and two friends performed at Hawthorne High School.[4] Brian also knew Al Jardine, a high school classmate.[5] Brian suggested to Jardine that they team up with his cousin and brother Carl. A more professional recording was made on October 3, at World Pacific Studio in Hollywood.[7] David Marks was not present at the session as he was in school that day.[12][nb 2] Murry brought the demos to Herb Newman, owner of Candix Records and Era Records, and he signed the group on December 8.[8] When the single was released a few weeks later, the band found that they had been renamed "the Beach Boys".[7] Candix wanted to name the group the Surfers until Russ Regan, a young promoter with Era Records, noted that there already existed a group by that name. He learned how to overdub, using his vocals and those of Carl and their mother.[1] Brian played piano with Carl and David Marks, an eleven-year-old longtime neighbor, playing guitars they had each received as Christmas presents.[3]

Soon Brian and Carl were avidly listening to Johnny Otis' KFOX radio show.[1] Inspired by the simple structure and vocals of the rhythm and blues songs he heard, Brian changed his piano-playing style and started writing songs.[citation needed] Family gatherings brought the Wilsons in contact with cousin Mike Love. It was so successful that the number of unpaid orders for the single bankrupted Candix.[7].

The release prompted national coverage in the June 9 issue of Billboard, which praised Love's lead vocal and said the song had potential.[22] "Surfin' Safari" rose to number 14 and found airplay in New York and Phoenix, a surprise for the label.[19]. By this time the de facto manager of the Beach Boys, Murry landed the group's first paying gig (for which they earned $300) on New Year's Eve, 1961, at the Ritchie Valens Memorial Dance in Long Beach.[8] In their earliest public appearances, the band wore heavy wool jacket-like shirts that local surfers favored[15] before switching to their trademark striped shirts and white pants.[16][17] In early 1962, Morgan requested that some of the members add vocals to a couple of instrumental tracks that he had recorded with other musicians. This led to the creation of the short-lived group Kenny & the Cadets, which Brian led under the pseudonym "Kenny". The other members were Carl, Jardine, and the Wilsons' mother Audree.[18][nb 3] In February, Jardine left the Beach Boys and was replaced by David Marks.[19]

After being turned down by Dot and Liberty, the Beach Boys signed a seven-year contract with Capitol Records.[20] This was at the urging of Capitol executive and staff producer Nick Venet who signed the group, seeing them as the "teenage gold" he had been scouting for.[21] On June 4, 1962, the Beach Boys debuted on Capitol with their second single, "Surfin' Safari" backed with "409".

[and] a distinct Southern California sensibility that exceeded its conception as such to advance right to the front of American consciousness."[28]. In January 1963, the Beach Boys recorded their first top-ten single, "Surfin' U.S.A.", which began their long run of highly successful recording efforts. It was during the sessions for this single that Brian made the production decision from that point on to use double tracking on the group's vocals, resulting in a deeper and more resonant sound.[25] The album of the same name followed in March and reached number 2 on the Billboard charts.[26] Its success propelled the group into a nationwide spotlight, and was vital to launching surf music as a national craze,[27] albeit the Beach Boys' vocal approach to the genre, not the original instrumental style pioneered by Dick Dale.[23] Biographer Luis Sanchez highlights the "Surfin' U.S.A." single as a turning point for the band, "creat[ing] a direct passage to California life for a wide teenage audience .