50 Years Together: The Beach Boys in Context-An American Saga by Peter Reum

50 Years Together: The Beach Boys in Context-An American Saga by Peter Reum

There is little to rock and roll that was built to last.  It was born out  of the union of rhythm and blues and country records, and what was called popular music when rock and roll began was based in music derived from the world of stage and film. The Fifties were a time of enormous growth in diversity of music that was born out of the ability of independent record labels to attract and record artists that showed regional promise. Major artists were very tame, and music on the fringe of  popular music back then is the music that is often cited today as the hallmark of the juggernaut that became rock music from  the  mid Sixties onward. Many people cite the early Fifties as the beginning of a fertile creative period in music stretching into the late Fifties.

Often rock music journalists cite the time that Elvis entered the Army and Buddy Holly's death as a time when rock and roll lost its creative momentum, and entered a relatively fallow period that lasted until the advent of The First Wave of the British Invasion. Because rock and roll was so oriented toward selling single records as opposed to albums, and most of the innovative labels were independent labels that were releasing best selling rock and roll singles, there were local scenes developed all over the nation. Incredible local music scenes were located in unusual locations, There was Sun in Memphis, King and Federal in Cincinnati, the incredible New Orleans scene, Chess in Chicago, Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, and diverse scenes in the New York and Los Angeles. There were small bands and recording artists in every state in the country. Doo Wop was in its heyday, and several labels across the country helped vocal harmony groups grow in popularity. Later pop groups like the Four Seasons began as doo wop groups in the late 50s.

In the early Sixties, there were a few artists carrying on the traditions of a well written song being recorded by an African American artist and being rerecorded "sanitized" for radio. A few African American artists transcended the genre, and had hits on non rhythm and blues stations.Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard were artists who rose above the difficulty of crossing over to pop radio. Brian Wilson's radio environment in those times was similar. Because he was in the Los Angeles area, he was able to hear almost any type of music he wanted to on the radio. It was my privilege to listen to some of those same stations in the late Fifties  in greater Los Angeles, because I had relatives living in Inglewood, Costa Mesa, and Santa Monica.

Much has been documented about the growth of the Surfing subculture in California in the Fifties and Sixties. Because of the scope of this article, the reader is  referred to various Dumb Angel Gazettes for that story. Suffice to say that when The Beach Boys began recording, their roots were planted squarely in the time their group was born. Because Brian Wilson loved jazz derived popular music so fervently, from the beginning, they had a quality that many other groups did not have. The vocal jazz chops Brian developed were derived from The Hi-Los and The Four Freshmen, and brought a swinging element to Brian's mid tempo compostions in the Sixties. Their first recordings for The Morgans are suitably primitive, and reflect a propensity for vocal harmony that reflected Hite Morgan's desire for a folk hit type of group. Oddly, the most "punk/garage band" sounding tune , Surfin',  was the one that got them started. Brian's early Surfer Girl for the Morgan's also showed a talent for melodic ballads that only grew. 

Their first album for Capitol, recorded in a long single day session, is a prototype for almost every garage band and punk record that followed. From the moment they got out of Capitol Studio and began writing and producing their own tunes, The Beach Boys' growth from album  to album was phenomenal. By the Surfer Girl album, Brian Wilson had become probably the first rock artist recording for a major label producing his records outside of corporate studios. This was revolutionary for that time.Then, Brian's records were so well recorded that he can hear his records played today alongside other newer records digitally recorded. By Pet Sounds, Brian had fully integrated his productions into a symphonic sound which was rock in nature but jazz derived. Speaking with musicians of the period, it has always been interesting to hear them remark on wondering how Brian came up with the jazz derived chords he incorporated.

The Beach Boys became the most advanced vocalists in rock, and were in demand throughout the Sixties and Seventies as background vocalists on other artists' records. It all was formed in the vocal sessions that Brian arranged for them in the Sixties. Their music, combined with the marvelous records from Motown, The Four Seasons, later mid Sixties American and British groups formed the nucleus of the most innovative time in rock music. Today, the Beach Boys are regarded as the foremost exponents of vocal harmony in the history of rock music. The Beach Boys became highly regarded as a live act, especially in the Seventies,and groups were loathe to follow them in a concert. They assembled a series of very potent combinations of supporting musicians that expanded their sound and in many cases augmented their studio performances. Carl Wilson became the leader of the touring band, and was one of the most respected musicians inside or outside of The Beach Boys in the history of rock.

I remember speculating with close friends about how The Beach Boys would grow older in the late Seventies, and we thought they might park in Las Vegas and become an Elvis type of attraction. To their credit, they have not done this. Upon Dennis Wilson's death in 1983, it became apparent that The Beach Boys as a touring unit would never be the same, because nothing is ever the same when the original line up is no  longer intact. The Beach Boys carried on, until the late  Nineties, when Carl's death left a huge void in their hearts and their performances. In their grief, they flew apart for the better part of a decade, only reassembling for public awards and honors. Yet, as these men got older, they remained conscious of their history, allowing several films and cd boxed sets to document their  work. Their legacy has been enhanced by each of them.

That The Beach Boys have lasted 50 years is not unprecedented in music annals. Many groups have lasted that long. Their accomplishments are prodigious, both as a group and individually. Their music is deeply woven into the fabric of American popular music, and is  generally respected as being in the upper echelon of music made by Americans in the Twentieth  Century. It is important to remember all of the people, alive and deceased, who made The Beach Boys' success possible. Of course, besides the living members, Carl  and Dennis come to mind immediately. Past members of the touring band, engineers, Murry and Audree Wilson, The Morgans, The Loves, The Jardines, Bruce Johnston, co-writers of Beach Boys' songs,  members of the studio musicians sometimes called The Wrecking Crew, and many more too numerous to mention are a part of the story. It has been told so many times that it has entered the lore of American Music. For those of us who followed most of the story, we can cite personal events in our life that correspond to events in that time span. We all have "remember when" stories. 

Congratulations to all for whatever their part in this most American of sagas has been. The story is bigger than any film, book, or documentary can capture. The music, in the end, will be all that matters, and that is as it should be.