The Beach Boys
| The Beach Boys | |
|---|---|
The Beach Boys during their 2012 reunion:
(left to right) Brian Wilson, David Marks, Mike Love, Bruce Johnston, Al Jardine |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Hawthorne, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1961–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | thebeachboys |
| Members | |
| Past members | |
The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by their vocal harmonies and early surf songs, they are one of the most influential acts of the rock era. The group, led by their principal songwriter and producer Brian, pioneered novel approaches to popular music form and production, combining their affinities for jazz-based vocal groups, 1950s rock and roll, and black R&B to create their unique sound. He later arranged his compositions for studio orchestras and explored a variety of other styles, often incorporating classical or jazz elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways.
The Beach Boys began as a garage band managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, with Brian's increasingly sophisticated songwriting and recording abilities dominating their creative direction. Emerging at the vanguard of the "California Sound", they performed original material that reflected a southern California youth culture of surfing, cars, and romance. After 1964, they abandoned the surfing aesthetic for more personal lyrics and multi-layered sounds. In 1966, the Pet Sounds album and "Good Vibrations" single vaulted the group to the top level of rock innovators and established the band as symbols of the nascent counterculture era. Following Smile's dissolution, Brian gradually ceded production and songwriting duties to the rest of the band, reducing his input because of mental health and substance abuse issues. The group's public image subsequently faltered, and despite efforts to continue their psychedelic avant-garde phase and reclaim their hippie audiences, they were dismissed as an embodiment of the values and outlooks shared by early 1960s white, suburban teenagers.
...
Wikipedia