I think I've found the Beach Boys most cringeworthy TV appearance.

[southbay]

this is not even close to being their worst appearance.  As others above mentioned just a few years previously Carl was missing and near death Brian and Dennis were being "featured." I remember watching this live and at the time was pretty excited at least by how young and healthy the guys looked, especially Brian. By the way, Mike's pants and Brian and Bruce's shirts were part of the Boys' short lived HOBO clothing line from 1986-87 which was also worn by the group on the 25 Years Together tv special which aired on US televison just a couple of months after this.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Thanks. I can't unsee that clip now you know...

[adamghost]

Interesting clip.  The track is kind of cool; you can hear all the guys are on it -- Bruce seems to be singing the falsetto line.

Given the looseness of the double I'm wondering if the mics weren't live and the guys were singing along to the track (which they did on a couple of '80s TV appearances).  Hard to say, it could have just been quickie recording.

Wow, Carl looks fantastic.

[guitarfool2002]

If Ruth Buzzi were dancing like that, but wearing a peasant dress, Birkenstocks, and a few beads in her hair instead of the Granny costume, she'd look like any number of women trippin' balls dancing to "Dark Star" at an 80's Dead show.   

[The 4th Wilson Bro.]

this is not even close to being their worst appearance.  As others above mentioned just a few years previously Carl was missing and near death Brian and Dennis were being "featured." I remember watching this live and at the time was pretty excited at least by how young and healthy the guys looked, especially Brian. By the way, Mike's pants and Brian and Bruce's shirts were part of the Boys' short lived HOBO clothing line from 1986-87 which was also worn by the group on the 25 Years Together tv special which aired on US televison just a couple of months after this.

Agree wholeheartedly.  The Boys, in this clip, were simply doing what was done in that era of television.  So what if they were lip-syncing to a Jan and Dean hit?  They all appeared healthy and relatively happy (Carl looked great).  Looks like everyone was having a good time.

I also remember what the band was like during concert tours about five years earlier.  The no-Carl concerts were the REAL absolute worst in the history of the Beach Boys.

[Sheriff John Stone]

In 2012, people paid large sums of money to see (granted for one or two songs) a 100 lb. heavier Brian, standing on stage with an inaudible Fender bass, plucking (or not) a single string on the bass with his thumb, not uttering a syllable, barely moving, and looking like he couldn't wait to get the hell out there. And, people would post the next day how great that "moment" was. And you criticize that 1987 clip? If you had the Brian that was on that 1987 Super Bowl show behave like that TODAY, you would all be having coronaries.

[Amy B.]

That "Super Night at the Super Bowl" song in the beginning (to which I noticed Carl is bopping along) just goes to show that even in the 80s, people still did these totally unironic, cheesy songs. They still did those "it's Oscar night" songs at the Academy Awards, too, until Billy Crystal started mocking them.

I don't think Brian went to rehearsal. He seems to not realize it's a bit.

[Cam Mott]

Eric, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you. JK, I don't have a bridge in Brooklyn.

It's in London.

The most embarrassing part is how much into the dancing all of the Boys are getting in the intro behind the guy from Dallas. They were all all in on this turkey.

[retrokid67]

Brian and Carl looked great though  , but the rest of it...I agree Ruth is what made it weird.  her crazy dancing made Mike look like Fred Astaire and at least it took my mind away from the fact that the BBs were doing their oldies but goodies act  .

[Jason Penick]

So, uh, is Mike wearing pants or pyjamas (or a hybrid, given it's the '80's)?

(Raises hand.) They were called Zubaz back then!

God, I'm old.

First and most importantly, Brian looked great. In my opinion, that was the best he ever looked. Ever. The white pants, the Hawaiian shirt, the great hair, holding a Fender bass.

Okay, you do have a point here. Brian does look fabulous. He's fit and into it.

This group's level of awkwardness in these situations is a strange kind of art itself.

Mhmm. This.

If Ruth Buzzi were dancing like that, but wearing a peasant dress, Birkenstocks, and a few beads in her hair instead of the Granny costume, she'd look like any number of women trippin' balls dancing to "Dark Star" at an 80's Dead show.  

Yes! Nailed it!

[Jason Penick]

Okay, so regarding the divided outlooks amongst the posters here; it seems that many are making the case that this isn't really all that bad because the guys are looking fit and sober and relatively healthy, as opposed to any number of performances from the "late Dennis era" I guess you'd call it. All very true.

However I think this point of view seems to reflect the outlooks of those who were around at the time; and I think it's safe to say that to anyone born after, say, 1980, this all comes across as shockingly awful.

It starts with the cheese factor, and not just the Beach Boys. If anything that "Super Time at the Super Bowl" song is the real culprit. It's absolutely just not the kind of stuff that would ever fly today. As a culture we're just too cynical and post-modern for that sort of nonsense.

(Although I was surprised I was able to ID what I initially thought to be three random homeless guys who wandered onto the set. It turned out to be Larry, his brother Daryl and his other brother Daryl, standing alongside their patriarch Bob Newhart! Only people here of a certain age will get that one.)

Now you can make the case that the B-Boys were also doing pure corn in the early sixties with the matching sailor suits and whatnot, but at the least those old clips have a sort of period charm to them that's just utterly absent in these bland mid-eighties clips. It comes down to style; something eighties mainstream entertainment lacked completely.

The whole thing just reeks of a ringing endorsement of the conservative values of Ronald Reagan America. It's safe and non-threatening. The Beach Boys are projecting an image that is at odds with reality, and I can see why people watching this nowadays would object to that.

[bringahorseinhere?]

yeah!!  I quite dig it just for Brian alone!!

wow! - 60's meets 80's Brian!!!  in some instances, he seems exactly the same guy he was back then.......

oh wait, he is the same guy...... but you know what I mean..??.....

the track has me interested, it certainly seems mimed to me, the vox are too good and balanced....

where, when and who recorded on this track..... is Brian even on this recording?..... I can't hear him, sure ain't him on falsetto.... Bruce? Baker? Jeff?

RickB

[Phoenix]

I'm with the Sherrif on this one.  For what it is (and please, consider what it is), it's fine.  The guys look great physically and even the clothes are fine, if you remember when it took place.  And THEIR performance is totally acceptable.  Ruth Buzzi, on the other hand...  YIKES! 

[Jason Penick]

I'm with the Sherrif on this one.  For what it is (and please, consider what it is), it's fine.  The guys look great physically and even the clothes are fine, if you remember when it took place.  And THEIR performance is totally acceptable.  Ruth Buzzi, on the other hand...  YIKES!  

I'm not trying to be a negative Nancy here, but what you call a performance is rote lip-synching. This by the band that used to do elongated jams on "Feel Flows" with Charles Lloyd soloing his ass off on flute. Seems like there is a huge divide here on what performing actually entails.

For what it's worth, I think Ruth Buzzi is the only one actually "performing" in this entire spectacle. Everyone else here is just going through the motions, Mrs. Huxtable included.

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

Okay, so regarding the divided outlooks amongst the posters here; it seems that many are making the case that this isn't really all that bad because the guys are looking fit and sober and relatively healthy, as opposed to any number of performances from the "late Dennis era" I guess you'd call it. All very true.

Sobriety seems overrated in this context  

That superbowl song

Christ! someone get me a beer pronto!!!

[Jason Penick]

Hey thanks for proving my point! That Super Bowl song is the worst part of the video, by far. The Beach Boys to me at least are quite tolerable after that monstrosity.

By the way you're named after one of my favorite Free Design songs of all time, so you can do no wrong in my book.  

Off topic, but have you seen this? It was a big deal when it first surfaced on the YouTubes a year or two ago. Much better than Super Bowl XXI. Of course there is no Patrick Duffy or Ruth Buzzi in a mini-car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlZNlk4Awwo

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

By the way you're named after one of my favorite Free Design songs of all time, so you can do no wrong in my book.  

Off topic, but have you seen this? It was a big deal when it first surfaced on the YouTubes a year or two ago. Much better than Super Bowl XXI. Of course there is no Patrick Duffy or Ruth Buzzi in a mini-car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlZNlk4Awwo

Yeah, its great, actually called my band from a few years back after the song thus the username here

[RangeRoverA1]

I respect what you all said about the theme song, but you miss the point that all those attendees may actually enjoy it, even Brian seems so into this whole shebang. So if the people had fun, we can't selfishly say it's "cringeworthy", can we? Regarding the lady in mini-car, I genuinely thought she was funny. Yes, her question "And who is that granny?" was dumb & she had annoying voice, but there's nothing more entertaining than watching people dance like idiots. She acted as a real circus clown.

Nice version of Little Old Lady, at least it's sth. fresh than usual Surfer Girl or Don't Worry Baby (the song was performed only in 1964, right?). I agree with Sheriff & other senior posters that it's not the worst appearance of The Boys & they all indeed look great. Brian taking on the bass duty & Mike's dressing choice are enough for every fan to want to see the video. As for quickie glance, it's not the 1st time when Brian does so, totally unscripted unlike the rest, including the fighting scene.

OT: besides the BBs, I also enjoyed the final scene. No wonder, considering I'm a big fan of marches & long street parades. Likes me some festive music.

[adamghost]

yeah!!  I quite dig it just for Brian alone!!

wow! - 60's meets 80's Brian!!!  in some instances, he seems exactly the same guy he was back then.......

oh wait, he is the same guy...... but you know what I mean..??.....

the track has me interested, it certainly seems mimed to me, the vox are too good and balanced....

where, when and who recorded on this track..... is Brian even on this recording?..... I can't hear him, sure ain't him on falsetto.... Bruce? Baker? Jeff?

RickB

Me too.  I wasn't suggesting the vocals weren't tracked in the studio -- just that the Boys may have been singing live doubling TO a pre-recorded track of their vocals.  They did that on a couple of other TV appearancaes around that time.  The vocals do sound well-balanced, but sloppier than their usual studio recordings, plus Mike clearly has a live mic towards the end.  Though as I said, it could have just been a quickie recording.

Sounds like Bruce on the falsetto to me.

[Nicko1234]

This certainly isn`t the most cringeworthy appearance by the group. The song sounds ok (still unreleased I guess) and most of the band look healthy. I would personally say that Brian looks `wrong` but not half as bad as he did when promoting BW88 when he was dancing on TV in leather trousers.

There have been many worse appearances by the group members such as the early 80s shows, Brian`s Norway concert where he can`t remember any of the words to Love and Mercy, Mike singing Imagine etc.

[RangeRoverA1]

There have been many worse appearances by the group members such as the early 80s shows, Brian`s Norway concert where he can`t remember any of the words to Love and Mercy, Mike singing Imagine etc.

Admit, though, that it didn't lack in hilarity factor.

[RiC]

There have been many worse appearances by the group members such as the early 80s shows, Brian`s Norway concert where he can`t remember any of the words to Love and Mercy, Mike singing Imagine etc.

You just listed my all time favorite Beach Boys-live moments. Early 80's shows aint that bad. I don't get why so many people bash them. Dennis and Brian near death? Come on, Brian is pretty much the same in early 80's concerts than he was in the 90's and early 2000's. And Dennis, yeah, he is pretty much always a little drunk but he's pounding those drums like crazy. Brian's Norway concert is one of the funniest things I've ever seen, especially Love and Mercy. "A lot of people out there getting SHOT!" And Mike's Imagine is so bad that it's actually good.

This TV-performance on the other hand is useless, cheesy, horrible and laughable. It doesn't help that Little Old Lady From Pasadena is a very irritating and horrible song. I still agree that Brian and Carl looked great. BUT rock concerts or live shows are not a beauty contest, so that doesn't give it any extra points.

[Niko]

Mike singing Imagine is one of your favorite Beach Boys moments?

[RiC]

Mike singing Imagine is one of your favorite Beach Boys moments?

Sure. Like I said, it's a classic!

[Dudd]

Mike singing Imagine is one of your favorite Beach Boys moments?

Don't act like it isn't one of yours.