The Beach Boys biography
Apart from Murry Wilson and the close vocal harmonies of Brian's favorite groups, early inspiration came from the driving rock-and-roll sound of Chuck Berry and Phil Spector's Wall of Sound production. Musically, two of their early songs were influenced by others: "Surfer Girl" shares its rhythmic melody with "When You Wish Upon a Star", while "Surfin' USA" is a variation of Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen". A lawsuit officially granted Berry writing credit and royalties from the record. The Beach Boys' early hits made them major pop stars in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries, with sixteen hit singles in 1962-1965. However, with the British Invasion in 1964, some British groups, in particular The Beatles, eclipsed their success.
By 1964, the stress of road travel, composing, producing and maintaining a high level of creativity became too much to bear for Brian Wilson. In December that year, while on a flight to Houston, Brian suffered an anxiety attack and left the tour. Shortly afterward, he announced his withdrawal from touring to concentrate entirely on songwriting and record production. This wasn't the first time Brian had stopped touring. In 1963, when Jardine returned, Brian left the road; but when Marks quit, Brian had to return in his place. For the rest of 1964 and into 1965, Glen Campbell served as Wilson's replacement in concert, until his own career success required him to leave the group. Bruce Johnston was asked to locate a replacement for Campbell; having failed to find one, Johnston himself subsequently became a full-time member of the band, first replacing Wilson on the road and later contributing his own talents in the studio beginning with the sessions for "California Girls".
Jan and Dean, close friends with the band and their opening act in 1963 and 1964, encouraged Brian to use session musicians in the studio. This, along with Brian's withdrawal from touring, permitted him to expand his role as a producer. Wilson also wrote "Surf City" for the Jan & Dean opening act. Their recording hit number one on the US charts in the summer of 1963, a development that pleased Brian but angered Murry, who felt his son had "given away" what should have been the Beach Boys' first chart-topper. A year later, The Beach Boys would notch their first number-one single with "I Get Around."
Soon, traces of Brian Wilson's increasing studio productivity and innovation were noticeable: "Drive-In", an album track from All Summer Long (1964) features bars of silence between two verses while "Denny's Drums", the last track on Shut Down, Vol. II (1964), is a two-minute drum solo. As Wilson's musical efforts became more ambitious, the group relied more on nimble session players, on tracks such as "I Get Around" and "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)". "Help Me, Rhonda" became the band's second number-one single in the spring of 1965.
1965 led to greater experimentation behind the soundboard with Wilson. The album Today! featured guitar orientated songs such as "Dance, Dance, Dance", "Do You Wanna Dance?", "Don't Hurt My Little Sister" and "Good To My Baby", as well as volume experiments and increased lyrical maturity with "Please Let Me Wonder" and "She Knows Me Too Well". Side A of the album was devoted to upbeat tunes, with darker and melancholic ballads on the reverse side. This pattern was also evident on some of the band's singles; songs such as "Kiss Me, Baby" released on the B-side to "Help Me, Rhonda" and "Let Him Run Wild" on the B-side to "California Girls", each featured Brian Wilson on lead vocals, and foreshadowed the youthful angst that would later pervade Wilson's upcoming efforts.
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