There was some devastating news last month for fans of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys…

According to news reports, documents were filed related to his health – the court filings stated that Wilson suffers from “major neurocognitive disorder (such as dementia).” The legal action came little more than two weeks after the sudden death of his wife Melinda, who had been his primary caregiver.

Anyone living on the west coast knew about this band – who sang about “Surfin’ USA” and “California Girls” – Wilson wrote so many timeless classic like “Good Vibrations” and this classic song:

“God Only Knows” How Brilliant This Music Video Is!

A great moment in music history was released a few years ago to honor this gorgeous Wilson song.

To celebrate the launch of BBC Music, the British broadcaster released a star-studded “God Only Knows” music video! And it is full of some of the biggest music stars in the world, all singing this classic Beach Boys song along with Brian Wilson!

Thanks to “Gossipcop.com” for sharing this story! Here is how they describe the video:

“The clip features Brian Wilson, who composed the Beach Boys classic, along with an incredible list of performers including Pharrell, Chris Martin, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Lorde, Dave Grohl, Sam Smith and… One Direction.”

It’s a gorgeously produced music video of one of the most beautiful songs of all time – here it is!

A beautiful tribute to Wilson – and there was also a film released that tells his story in a very unique way:

“Love And Mercy” was not only the name of one of his great solo songs, but a terrific movie as well!

This 2014 film is an insightful look at the life of Wilson: Paul Dano portrays him as a young man taking The Beach Boys to the top of the charts, intercut with John Cusack portraying him as he struggles with mental illness – check out the trailer and note the all-star cast:

The Beach Boys Rule The Waves!

These are long overdue acknowledgements of the brilliance of Wilson and The Beach Boys…and a great time to look at how they began, and how they just wrapped up…

“Summer’s Gone…”

This was the name of the last song on the final Beach Boys album a few years ago. First, read these lyrics…

Summer’s gone
I’m gonna sit and watch the waves
We laugh, we cry
We live then die
And dream about our yesterdays…

Beautiful lyrics that evoke the end of an era…

Surf’s Up! Summer’s Gone!

California beaches, girls in bikinis, surfboards, hot rods and lots of sunshine…these classic images capture the innocence of 60’s Southern California…

For the iconic music group The Beach Boys, those images also capture the beauty of their best music: sun-drenched melodies and endless surf…

It’s hard to imagine a world without such pop classics as “California Girls”, “Good Vibrations” and of course, what many consider to be southern California’s unofficial theme song “Surfin’ USA”…

The lyrics spoke to a generation that wanted out of the cold war and into the warmth of the sun…

“If everybody had an ocean
Across the U.S.A.
Then everybody’d be surfing
Like California

You’d see ’em wearin’ their baggies
Huarache sandals, too
A bushy, bushy blond hairdo
Surfin’ U.S.A…”

It’s been more than fifty years since brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, along with their cousins Mike Love and Al Jardine, created a whole new style of music, and their “southern California sound” inspired such Artists as The Mamas & The Papas, The Eagles and The Byrds…

The remaining members of band did a 50th anniversary tour, which resulted in a double live CD…and a new album suggested they were returning to their former glory…but that was not the case…

Let’s begin by looking at a song that promised a sun that would never set…one of the band’s first big hits captured the innocence of the times…coated with the Beach Boys harmonies….

“All Summer Long!”

“Sittin’ in my car outside your house
‘Member when you spilled coke all over you blouse

T-shirts, cut-offs, and a pair of thongs
We’ve been having fun all summer long…”

Look at the images on the album cover: moments of fun in the sun…not a care in the world. The song “All Summer Long” was featured in the 1973 film “American Graffiti” as the closing credits roll, although the movie is set in the summer of 1962, two years before the song’s release! 

Here is a video posted by a fan that utilizes images from the film…a perfect way to end this brilliant film from Director George Lucas…

This is just one example of how the unique sounds of The Beach Boys helped to capture a moment in time…

“Almost Famous” Beach Boys Credit Roll!

A classic Beach Boys song was used memorably in the closing credit sequence for “Almost Famous”, Cameron Crowe’s brilliant look a the early days of rock…here is the gorgeous song “Feel Flows” – performed by brother Carl Wilson live:

“Feel Flows” was released in the early ’70’s, when Carl Wilson had taken over lead songwriting and singing duties at that time due to his brother Brian’s withdrawal from music…sadly, Carl died of cancer in 1998…and brother and fellow Beach Boy Dennis Wilson also died tragically…leaving Brian as the last remaining brother in the band…

On his solo album “Love & Mercy”, Brian offered up this gorgeous acapella tribute to his former bandmates and brothers, called “One For The Boys”…

The Beach Boys At 50!

The Beach Boys returned in 2012 with a new album, and then embarked on a 50th anniversary tour to celebrate. The album got great reviews, too!

Here is the official music video released for “That’s Why God Made The Radio”:

The latest Beach Boys album got many great reviews, including this one from “biggbambop.com”, which looked at record track by track, including the mini-suite at the end of the record:

“The Suite (Strange World -> From There To Back Again-> Pacific Coast Highway-> Summer’s Gone): The highlight of the entire album, these 13-minutes are as gorgeous as anything the band has ever created. Melancholy lyrics, mournful voices – it’s what made so much of Pet Sounds a masterpiece. No longer boys, and with more days behind them rather than in front, this is grown men looking at mortality and the lives they’ve lived, couched in sonic ear candy. Special mention to Al Jardine’s vocals on From There To Back Again and Paul Mertens orchestration.”

“Summer’s Gone!”

The closing track on the album is a beautiful song, with great harmonies and Brian Wilson’s gentle voice, showing more depth and emotion with age…here is a video from youtube…

“Summer’s gone
Summer’s gone away
Gone away
With yesterday

Old friends have gone
They’ve gone their separate ways
Our dreams hold on
For those who still have more to say

Summer’s gone
Gone like yesterday
The nights grow cold
It’s time to go
I’m thinking maybe I’ll just stay

Another summer gone

Summer’s gone
It’s finally sinking in
One day begins
Another ends
I live them all and back again

Summer’s gone
I’m gonna sit and watch the waves
We laugh, we cry
We live then die
And dream about our yesterday”

It is a beautiful, heartfelt song, and what feels to be a coda to the band…here is the band performing “Summer’s Gone” live At Wembley Stadium in London on 29/09/12:

Thanks to Graham Clews for posting this on youtube…

I hope that Wilson can enjoy as much of his remaining time as possible…my wife Alex and I visited the location where the band filmed this iconic album cover:

That’s where the car was placed for the album cover, just behind us to the right! It’s located in Paradise Cove…click here to see more!

California’s coast offers many surprises – just a 3 hour drive up the coast you can see these flying across the Pacific Ocean:

A bit further up the coast, we stood at the edge of the world – take a look:

It’s the farthest west you can stand – at the edge of the world!

See more here:

I hope you enjoyed this homage to Brian Wilson, whose songs told the story of sunny California….If you enjoy these posts, why not subscribe and never miss out? It’s easy, and there are NO ads of any kind, just stuff I like…click on the main page and “follow” me on the upper right…

https://johnrieber.com

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Categories: 70's Music, Art, Classic Rock, Cult Movies, Exotic Travel, Great Films, Los Angeles, Memoirs, Music, nature, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities

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