Brian Wilson, American singer/songwriter and musician with The Beach Boys was born 20 june 1942. He was a founding member of the Beach Boys along with his cousins , Carl, and Dennis Wilson, and their friend Al Jardine. Brian Wilson was brought up with music and from an early age The Wilson family home was a musical one, and the Wilson family often sang at get-togethers. Brian and his brothers Carl and Dennis Wilson along with Mike Love and Al Jardine first gelled as a music group in the summer of 1961, initially named the Pendletones. Brian Wilson also began to experiment with recording songs after receiving a Wollensak tape recorder on his 16th birthday.
The Beach Boys were formed After Brian was encouraged by Dennis to write a song about the local water sports craze. So Brian and Mike Love together created what would become the first single for the band, “Surfin’”. The Beach Boys formed in August 1961 and became hugely successful. Although the Beach Boys developed, an image based on the California surfing culture, Dennis was the only actual surfer in the band. During the first few years of the Beach Boys, Dennis was given the role of the drummer by his brother, Brian. He quickly learned the basics of drumming, and like the other members, he picked up more on the job.Although he rarely sang backing vocals on stage, occasionally taking a lead, his raspy-sounding vocals were a key ingredient to the group’s vocal blend in the studio, and in the late Sixties and Seventies his lead vocals lent a much-needed bluesy edge to an updating the Beach Boys’ sound, giving their music new dimensions
Brian Wilson was mainly the lead singer of the Beach Boys. However Denis Wilson sang lead vocals on the early Beach Boys recordings (“Little Girl (You’re My Miss America)” and “This Car of Mine” as well as the bridge verse on “Girls on the Beach”)and “Do You Wanna Dance?”. He also sang an impressive, faithful rendition of The Beatles’ “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away.” And accompanied himself on guitar and like the other Beach Boys became a multi-instrumentalist. Often Assisted by Daryl Dragon, who collaborated on Dennis’s solo album Pacific Ocean Blue. Dennis Wilson’s first major released composition was “Little Bird,” the B-side of the “Friends” single, coupled with “Be Still”. As Brian withdrew Dennis became a major creative force within the Beach Boys, writing many of thesongs which showed cosmic Gothic overtones. such as 20/20 (1969), Sunflower (1970), “So Tough” (1972) and Holland (1973). In 1971, Dennis injured his hand and Ricky Fataar took over as the group’s drummer between 1972 and 1974. During this period Dennis acted as a co-frontman alongside Mike Love, playing keyboards and singing. In 1974 Wilson returned to drumming
Early in 1963, Dennis teamed with Brian’s former collaborator Gary Usher to form the Four-Speeds, And they released the single “RPM”/”My Stingray”. On December 4, 1970, Wilson released the solo singles”Lady” and “Sound of Fire”, under the name “Dennis Wilson & Rumbo”, this was later covered by American Spring and released as the B-side to their single “Shyin’ Away.”. Wilson released his debut solo album Pacific Ocean Blue in 1977. His collaborators on the album included Daryl Dragon (the ‘Captain’ of Captain & Tennille) and Gregg Jakobson, which became popular. Pacific Ocean Blue’s follow-up album, Bambu, included the songs: “It’s Not Too Late”, “Constant Companion”, “All Alone”, and “Under The Moonlight”. Both PacificBlue and Bambu were rereleased in 2008. Later years saw Wilson battling alcohol abuse. Smoking had also taken a toll on his voice, although the resultant gravelly effect helped define him as a singer.
Some of the Beach Boys’ biggest hits, include “Surfin’ Safari”, “Surfin’ USA“, “Shut Down”, “Little Deuce Coupe“, “Be True to Your School”, “Little Saint Nick”, “Fun, Fun, Fun“, “I Get Around”, “When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)”, “Little Honda”, “Dance, Dance, Dance” and “California Girls“. Mike Love wrote or co-wrote lyrics to many of the Beach Boys songs, mostly with the themes of surfing, cars or love, but also memorable ballads such as “The Warmth of the Sun”. The Beach Boys continue to perform to the present day. Brian Wilson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, along with the other founding Beach Boy members. The Beach Boys also released the abum “THat’s Why God Made the Radio” to celebrate their 50th anniversary and embarked on a 50-date World-Wide tour.
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