Synopses & Reviews
Beginning their career as a popular surf band, the Beach Boys had emerged by 1966 as America's preeminent pop group, the only act able to challenge the success of the Beatles with both mainstream listeners and the critical community. The Beach Boys tracks every move in this great band's career. With the help of band members, the author has reconstructed their evolution into one of the best-produced groups of the '60s, exemplified by their 1966 peak with the Pet Sounds LP and the number-one single Good Vibrations. The book also profiles Brian Wilson, one of the most gifted songwriters, producers, and arrangers in popular music, whose 1967 nervous breakdown required the band to carry on without his full participation. The book's easy-to-browse, day-by-day format details the group's entire concert history, all known recording sessions, their broadcast history, and all records issued in the U.S. and the U.K. The book also includes 100 photographs, many of which have never been published.