BEACH BOYS Biography - Music bands & groups

 
 

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BEACH BOYS

Name: The Beach Boys                                                             
Origin: Hawthorne, California, USA                                               
                                                                                 
The Beach Boys are an American rock and roll band. Formed in 1961, they gained   
popularity for their close vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting a California   
youth culture of surfing, girls and cars. Brian Wilson's growing creative       
ambitions later transformed them into a more artistically innovative group that 
earned critical praise and influenced many later musicians.                     
                                                                                 
The group initially comprised singer-musician-composer Brian Wilson, his         
brothers, Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. This   
core quintet, along with early member David Marks and later bandmate Bruce       
Johnston, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. The Beach   
Boys have often been called "America's Band" and have had thirty-six U.S. Top   
40 hits (the most of any U.S. rock band), including four number one singles.     
                                                                                 
Many changes in both musical styles and personnel have occurred during their     
career, notably because of Brian Wilson's mental illness and drug abuse (leading 
to his eventual withdrawal from the group) and the deaths of Dennis and Carl     
Wilson in 1983 and 1998, respectively. Extensive legal battles between members   
of the group have also played their part. After Carl Wilson's death, founding   
member Al Jardine was ousted by Mike Love. Love and Bruce Johnston then leased   
the rights to the band's name and continue to tour as The Beach Boys.