Rocky Pamplin's THE BEACH BOYS' ENDLESS WAVE completed and published

[Reynaldo]

In Ron's defense, I wonder if he had any idea of the tangled web of whitewashing, distorting, and dishonest historians that bubbles under the BB's fan universe.

I would love to know that too. This is why I'm trying to be more sympathetic to Ron here, because this Beach Boys world is a minefield of idiot politics, petty disagreements that have led to some incidents (and I'm not just talking about forum nonsense), and mis/disinformation. Writing a book about any aspect of this band is bound to be impacted by some of this stuff.

Sold. I'll buy your book and read it. But are ther any plans to make a Kindle edition? I live abroad and would prefer a version I could read on my Ebook, but if not I'll order the paperback.

This. I'm really intrigued by this book, warts and all, and I'd buy it on Kindle in a heartbeat. Living as I do in Australia though, I can't justify to myself the expense imposed by international shipping and our weak dollar.

Ron, with all this in mind, if you end up selling the e-book for Kindle, will there be some revisions made regarding even a few of the mistakes people have brought up in this thread?

Publisher's are loath to change things in a book. It's a difficult and expensive process. We have already changed a couple of things on the back cover but I know that's not what you are talking about. Those tweaks will show up down the line.

The answer is that if we get some sales, and we're just getting some publicity started, we, the author's will try and implement some corrections. Once again, it's the larger picture of the time period that reflects the age old rift between talent and management and family and sibling interaction that is the freshest thing about this tale. The details of dates etc do not mar the overview that I think is the most interesting thing about this book.
So yeah, kindle down the line.

[mtaber]

Ron, if you were as brave regarding revealing what Rocky knows about Mike Love  as you are in attacking me, perhaps the one chapter would be a better read. 

[rab2591]

Thanks for the reply about that Ron. I will definitely get the Kindle version down the line, and if I have some extra cash in the coming months I will get this book in its current printing. Its a perspective of the band/Brian from an era that I'm really uneducated about, I'm looking forward to giving it a go.

[Reynaldo]

Ron, if you were as brave regarding revealing what Rocky knows about Mike Love  as you are in attacking me, perhaps the one chapter would be a better read. 

You wanna tangle with Mike Love, my man, be my guest. That's "the" Mike Love your blustering about - all 50 years of well earned wealth and stardom you are talking about. Go ahead brave boy. Have a go.

Furthermore, I'm not JUST attacking you out of the wild blue yonder. I'm responding to your hurtful PUBLIC attack on a product you haven't read and the damage you did to my relationship with my publisher. We're not just playing around on a blog. We invested time, effort, money, and good intentions in this book, maybe we failed in some respects, but we paid a curtesy to the site to post a chapter privately here, for free. Then you went public with a vicious condemnation of our work which harmed us for no good reason.
 You haven't read it. You starred the entire book unfairly, maliciously not just one chapter. It stinks.
 I'm asking you to play fair. We were friendly, courteous, and giving of our time out of respect for this site. You went off site, in public, and instigated harm.
You don't deserve an apology.

That being said, if I went too far,  you have my apologies.

[mtaber]

Mike Love is, undoubtedly, not one to tangle with in any regard that could become litigious.  That shouldn't mean that he has to be given drastically more credit for his contributions to the band than he deserves. 

[mtaber]

Ron, I've decided that I'm going to try to read the entire book, if I can find it in a nearby library.

[CenturyDeprived]

The unfortunate takeaway I have from this is that Mike Love wants people to be afraid of him. There are plenty of parallels to a certain person in today's world of politics too, and I think that some powerful people (who like to make less powerful people fear them) admire that trait in other powerful people too.  

Maybe this is just par for the course with some powerful celebs, but it really feels like a particularly strong case of people being (justifiably) afraid of him due to past litigiousness. I have to think that things like the ridiculous and laughed-out-of-court 2005 lawsuit were really an example of creating an atmosphere of fear to prevent people from publishing books like Rocky's apparent original draft. Guess it worked. It's unfortunate that Brian of all people had to go through grief in 2005 to help Mike add to his portfolio of scare tactics.
 
Sucks for an author to be caught up in this drama. Not Ron's fault. I'm still curious to read the book, Ron, and I will at some point. I wonder if the original draft could have just been released if all the names were changed.

[SMiLE Brian]

Rocky and Ron's book is hinting at a far deeper problem...

[rab2591]

The unfortunate takeaway I have from this is that Mike Love wants people to be afraid of him. There are plenty of parallels to a certain person in today's world of politics too, and I think that some powerful people (who like to make less powerful people fear them) admire that trait in other powerful people too.  

Maybe this is just par for the course with some powerful celebs, but it really feels like a particularly strong case of people being (justifiably) afraid of him due to past litigiousness. I have to think that things like the ridiculous and laughed-out-of-court 2005 lawsuit were really an example of creating an atmosphere of fear to prevent people from publishing books like Rocky's apparent original draft. Guess it worked. It's unfortunate that Brian of all people had to go through grief in 2005 to help Mike add to his portfolio of scare tactics.
 
Sucks for an author to be caught up in this drama. Not Ron's fault. I'm still curious to read the book, Ron, and I will at some point. I wonder if the original draft could have just been released if all the names were changed.

Sums up my thoughts perfectly.

[The LEGENDARY OSD]

Rocky and Ron's book is hinting at a far deeper problem...

Do you mean what goes on in the diseased head of Mike Love? 

[guitarfool2002]

If someone had the facts on their side, and did indeed go up against Mike Love with all his "well earned wealth and stardom" behind him, the court of public opinion would side with whoever that person might be, and if there were a backing for that person and the story, the facts would win out over litigious nonsense. As long as their story is factual and true, despite Mike's and his more ardent supporters' and water-carriers' attempts to rehab his image, that image is still what it is and has been for a long time. Actions have consequences.

With that said, Steve Love called it just over 3 years ago when he said this:

>>>>"Thank you for your kind thoughts and generous offer of help. Any form of self-publishing for Rocky will not work for the very reason that he needs a publisher with a strong legal arm who won’t be cowed by ML’s reputation for litigiousness. Mike is revealed to be not such a great guy in “WIPEOUT.”

I have read Rocky’s book and it is indeed fascinating. He is patiently biding his time until some book publisher wakes up and realizes that his entertaining memoir has the potential to be a hot property. Aloha."
Steve<<<<


It's a shame the publisher Steve had in mind hasn't been found.

[Jim V.]

The unfortunate takeaway I have from this is that Mike Love wants people to be afraid of him. There are plenty of parallels to a certain person in today's world of politics too, and I think that some powerful people (who like to make less powerful people fear them) admire that trait in other powerful people too. 

Interesting thoughts Century.

EDIT: Deleted stupid rest of post.

[mtaber]

I think its almost universally a bad idea to bring politics into any of these threads.  Things get divisive enough when we stick to the Beach Boys...

[Needleinthehay]

I just read the book...A few thoughts:
1) The book is to a fault positive about Mike Love. I couldnt figure out why then I just read the last few posts about them being scared of legal action and makes 100% sense. I dont think theres 1 negative word about him in the whole book.
2) The book is uniformly negative about dennis. He comes off almost as a cartoon villain. As far as I can recall, the only positive thing about him is at the end in the sort-of prologue where he mentions "oh yeah he had a solo ablum that was really good".
3) Carl also comes off very poorly.
4) Most of the stuff in the book is based on personal experiences/conversations there is no way to fact check so its hard to know how accurate a lot of them are. But what doesn't give me confidence about it's accuracy is there are several pictures that say something like "Brian in the 60s" and its obvious its Brian in the 80's. I was surprised how many photo captions are obviously just incorrect about dates.

That said, it was entertaining and a worthwhile read if you take it with a huge grain of salt.

[Don Malcolm]

That said, it was entertaining and a worthwhile read if you take it with a huge grain of salt.

The following remark is A JOKE, folks (and Ron, this is NOT meant to single out this tome...but in context, the following is irresistible)...

I would really LOVE to see a blurb on the back of a book that read just as it's phrased in the above quote... 

[Juice Brohnston]

If someone had the facts on their side, and did indeed go up against Mike Love with all his "well earned wealth and stardom" behind him, the court of public opinion would side with whoever that person might be, and if there were a backing for that person and the story, the facts would win out over litigious nonsense. As long as their story is factual and true, despite Mike's and his more ardent supporters' and water-carriers' attempts to rehab his image, that image is still what it is and has been for a long time. Actions have consequences.

With that said, Steve Love called it just over 3 years ago when he said this:

>>>>"Thank you for your kind thoughts and generous offer of help. Any form of self-publishing for Rocky will not work for the very reason that he needs a publisher with a strong legal arm who won’t be cowed by ML’s reputation for litigiousness. Mike is revealed to be not such a great guy in “WIPEOUT.”

I have read Rocky’s book and it is indeed fascinating. He is patiently biding his time until some book publisher wakes up and realizes that his entertaining memoir has the potential to be a hot property. Aloha."
Steve<<<<


It's a shame the publisher Steve had in mind hasn't been found.

What about 'Surfgate' could these issues be addressed in a work of fiction without fear of reprisal?

Surfgate,” five years in the making, is a fictionalized account of a copyright ownership dispute that occurred between two high profile rock stars that led to a music publishing lawsuit.

[Reynaldo]

I just read the book...A few thoughts:
1) The book is to a fault positive about Mike Love. I couldnt figure out why then I just read the last few posts about them being scared of legal action and makes 100% sense. I dont think theres 1 negative word about him in the whole book.
2) The book is uniformly negative about dennis. He comes off almost as a cartoon villain. As far as I can recall, the only positive thing about him is at the end in the sort-of prologue where he mentions "oh yeah he had a solo ablum that was really good".
3) Carl also comes off very poorly.
4) Most of the stuff in the book is based on personal experiences/conversations there is no way to fact check so its hard to know how accurate a lot of them are. But what doesn't give me confidence about it's accuracy is there are several pictures that say something like "Brian in the 60s" and its obvious its Brian in the 80's. I was surprised how many photo captions are obviously just incorrect about dates.

That said, it was entertaining and a worthwhile read if you take it with a huge grain of salt.

Thanks for your comment about the book and thanks for taking a look. I'm a bit dismayed that Carl and Dennis came off as "villains." Dennis was in the grips of the horrible disease of addiction and we apparantly did not do enough to delineate the distinction between Man and disease. I regret that in both Dennis and Carl's cases. I came away with enormous respect for both of them but clearly we did not get that across in the book.
Thanks for your "ENTERTAINING AND WORTHWHILE READ" comment. That made my day. That was the overriding mantra for the book. That kind of attitude can be disappointing to such erudite fans as are represented here on Smile. I have come to understand that and often quite painfully. Still, we are in the book business and the object is to have a product that will not be trounced and stopped in the legal arena. I repeat for the umpteenth time the quote from my attorney friend, "A rich, vexatious  litigant can always cause trouble." Ha. Sad but true. If we ENTERTAINED and were WORTHWHILE, we did the major part of our task. 
Check it out those of you who haven't. I'm confident we hit some spots about the amazing story of the "rescue and revitalizing" of Brian and the fascinating interplay of both the 3 Love brothers and the 3 Wilson brothers and the sibling and management/talent interplay in a way that has never been touched on in any other BB work. Once again thanks for checking it out.

[Reynaldo]

If someone had the facts on their side, and did indeed go up against Mike Love with all his "well earned wealth and stardom" behind him, the court of public opinion would side with whoever that person might be, and if there were a backing for that person and the story, the facts would win out over litigious nonsense. As long as their story is factual and true, despite Mike's and his more ardent supporters' and water-carriers' attempts to rehab his image, that image is still what it is and has been for a long time. Actions have consequences.

With that said, Steve Love called it just over 3 years ago when he said this:

>>>>"Thank you for your kind thoughts and generous offer of help. Any form of self-publishing for Rocky will not work for the very reason that he needs a publisher with a strong legal arm who won’t be cowed by ML’s reputation for litigiousness. Mike is revealed to be not such a great guy in “WIPEOUT.”

I have read Rocky’s book and it is indeed fascinating. He is patiently biding his time until some book publisher wakes up and realizes that his entertaining memoir has the potential to be a hot property. Aloha."
Steve<<<<


It's a shame the publisher Steve had in mind hasn't been found.

What about 'Surfgate' could these issues be addressed in a work of fiction without fear of reprisal?

Surfgate,” five years in the making, is a fictionalized account of a copyright ownership dispute that occurred between two high profile rock stars that led to a music publishing lawsuit.

That publisher described as "hasn't been found" may be better described as one that "doesn't exist."
Believe me, I searched. There is a litigious history surrounding the BB that comes up the minute any legal department does a search and there is no way that the original manuscript could have found a home. It is much easier to stop a project in this world than it is to start one. The instant a product is for sale, the rules change and sadly "he who has the gold, makes the rules,"  something like that. I'm not sure where I heard that but it rings true to me.
We can enjoy a much more open forum on a site like this.
Could someone write a work of fiction, etc? Perhaps, but if a layman could identify the players depicted, the authors could be in an expensive situation legally. Yes  the truth could win out in the end but it would cost money, a lot of money, in the ensuing legal struggle.
By the way, "The Beach Boys' Endless Wave" got an all star review in the Jan 2019 edition of RECORD COLLECTOR, one of the oldest and most prestigious music magazines in Great Britain. Would I be allowed to post that on Smile?

[Reynaldo]

If someone had the facts on their side, and did indeed go up against Mike Love with all his "well earned wealth and stardom" behind him, the court of public opinion would side with whoever that person might be, and if there were a backing for that person and the story, the facts would win out over litigious nonsense. As long as their story is factual and true, despite Mike's and his more ardent supporters' and water-carriers' attempts to rehab his image, that image is still what it is and has been for a long time. Actions have consequences.

With that said, Steve Love called it just over 3 years ago when he said this:

>>>>"Thank you for your kind thoughts and generous offer of help. Any form of self-publishing for Rocky will not work for the very reason that he needs a publisher with a strong legal arm who won’t be cowed by ML’s reputation for litigiousness. Mike is revealed to be not such a great guy in “WIPEOUT.”

I have read Rocky’s book and it is indeed fascinating. He is patiently biding his time until some book publisher wakes up and realizes that his entertaining memoir has the potential to be a hot property. Aloha."
Steve<<<<


It's a shame the publisher Steve had in mind hasn't been found.

What about 'Surfgate' could these issues be addressed in a work of fiction without fear of reprisal?

Surfgate,” five years in the making, is a fictionalized account of a copyright ownership dispute that occurred between two high profile rock stars that led to a music publishing lawsuit.

That publisher described as "hasn't been found" may be better described as one that "doesn't exist."
Believe me, I searched. There is a litigious history surrounding the BB that comes up the minute any legal department does a search and there is no way that the original manuscript could have found a home. It is much easier to stop a project in this world than it is to start one. The instant a product is for sale, the rules change and sadly "he who has the gold, makes the rules,"  something like that. I'm not sure where I heard that but it rings true to me.
We can enjoy a much more open forum on a site like this.
Could someone write a work of fiction, etc? Perhaps, but if a layman could identify the players depicted, the authors could be in an expensive situation legally. Yes  the truth could win out in the end but it would cost money, a lot of money, in the ensuing legal struggle.
By the way, "The Beach Boys' Endless Wave" got an all star review in the Jan 2019 edition of RECORD COLLECTOR, one of the oldest and most prestigious music magazines in Great Britain. Would I be allowed to post that on Smile?

Hi Again,
I have some photo's from the book and the Record Collector review I'd like to post to Smile. Am I allowed?
Ron

[guitarfool2002]

Hello Ron, yes you can post those here, no problem.

[Reynaldo]

Hello Ron, yes you can post those here, no problem.

Thanks, I gave this a try with the copy and paste method and failed. Do I need to implement the addition options function and then upload the files.
A computer wiz I aint.

Ron, I've decided that I'm going to try to read the entire book, if I can find it in a nearby library.

Uh huh. And you and the other player from this site can hurt us again. Post another 1 star vicious review on Amazon to get back at Rocky because Rocky was perhaps rude and insulting to you on this site? I worked hard on that book because the Beach Boys meant a lot to me and their music touched my soul growing up. The Book is about them and I did my best to honor them and their career and work, and in good faith, mind you. Then I came on this site to be generous with my time and a couple of you went out of your way to hurt the book. Whoever it was who bragged about never writing a review before but went out of his way to do so on Amazon because this book was so bad a waste of money was the byline. It's far from bad. In fact the world is judging it as pretty darn good. Call me anything on this site you want. I'm here. But to go on Amazon with that vicious and petty review stank. And pretend to be a BB fan. Doubt it and thanks for nothing. It's easy to be a critic from behind your computer screen. I'd like to meet up, discuss it in person. How bout that? Ha Ha - just joking. Channeling a little bit of the Roc there. Just a little bit.

 

[mtaber]

Ron, you posted a chapter on this site - I read it, I thought it was highly inaccurate, and I said so on Amazon.  For the 3rd time, I'll explain to you that I did not claim to have read the entire book.  Anyone who can read would be able to figure that out.  I later posted on here that I am going to try to find a copy of the book at a nearby library, so I can read the whole book.  You then interpret that to mean that my goal is to find a way to write an even MORE negative review on Amazon.  You say I'm not a Beach Boy fan because I did a negative comment on Amazon.  The logic you use amazes me. 


Meanwhile, you repeatedly admit on this site that the accuracy of the book has been sacrificed so as not to antagonize a certain cousin of the Wilson brothers. 

So, the only thing a true Beach Boy fan can do is buy the book, read the book, accept it's inaccuracies, love the book, and post a 5-star review on Amazon.  Am I on the right path now?

[Juice Brohnston]

I would be interested in reading the Record Collector review if you can post.

AGD has reviewed the book on the other site, and basically came to the conclusion that there are many, many factual errors. I guess that is a risk when writing about a band who's history has been thoroughly scrutinized!!

[Reynaldo]

Ron, you posted a chapter on this site - I read it, I thought it was highly inaccurate, and I said so on Amazon.  For the 3rd time, I'll explain to you that I did not claim to have read the entire book.  Anyone who can read would be able to figure that out.  I later posted on here that I am going to try to find a copy of the book at a nearby library, so I can read the whole book.  You then interpret that to mean that my goal is to find a way to write an even MORE negative review on Amazon.  You say I'm not a Beach Boy fan because I did a negative comment on Amazon.  The logic you use amazes me. 


Meanwhile, you repeatedly admit on this site that the accuracy of the book has been sacrificed so as not to antagonize a certain cousin of the Wilson brothers. 

So, the only thing a true Beach Boy fan can do is buy the book, read the book, accept it's inaccuracies, love the book, and post a 5-star review on Amazon.  Am I on the right path now?

I said it was a cheap, petty shot to post a review OF THE WHOLE BOOK on Amazon when you had only read the one chapter that our publisher agreed to post on the Smile site out of curtesy and respect for this site. You hurt my relationship with the publisher and you damaged the rating of the whole book when you had only read what we posted for your pleasure. Amazon does not distinguish your pettiness and inaccurate review of the whole book. It affected the whole rating for a considerable amount of time. It hurt us. Did that make you feel good?

As to accuracy, I have admitted that we did not come up to the standards of the aficionados on this Site.
As to the "cousin of the Wilson's," we didn't sacrifice anything or avoid antagonizing Mike Love. Whether you like it or not Mike Love is the most instrumental reason that the BB survived all these years. If you love the band then the fact that they are still around is because of HIM. You may not like him for whatever reason, but he is the glue that kept that show on the road, day in and day out, year after year,  period. Have some respect. He earned it. Because we did not choose to investigate certain areas was the publishers choice for the kind of book he would be willing to publish.
That's sho biz. Try getting a book published about rich, powerful and successful people and run into the exigencies of that world before you squawk.

As for your sarcastic "right path" comment. Read it or don't read it. I hope you don't quite honestly. I did not and would not have done all the righteous work I put in to this book for the likes of you. Your opinion doesn't matter to me at all any more. I find you vindictive and untrustworthy in any case.
As for the cheap shot artist from this site that claimed our work and therefore the publisher's, and Rocky's, and my work is a waste of money,  I'd like to have him present that view to us in person. The book is well written, interesting, insightful and enjoyable, everything a book should be. His petty shot at Rocky, which is all his vindictive review is about, is childish revenge for the way Rocky treated him on this site. YOU WOUILD HAVE KEPT THAT ON THE SITE IF YOU HAD AN OUNCE OF CLASS.

READ IT, THEN TAKE ANY HONEST ACCURATE SHOT YOU WANT. AT LEAST YOU WILL HAVE EARNED THE RIGHT!
Since I'm still steamed at the both of youse I'll say to you what my Mom used to say to me when I was behaving like a nasty little runt, "I hope someone treats you the way you are treated me so you'll know how it feels."

Whew, I feel better already.

As for the rest of the site, HNY everyone.

[Reynaldo]

I would be interested in reading the Record Collector review if you can post.

AGD has reviewed the book on the other site, and basically came to the conclusion that there are many, many factual errors. I guess that is a risk when writing about a band who's history has been thoroughly scrutinized!!

Yup, embarrassingly we apparantly did fall short on accuracy in some ways. I can only apologize. I was more interested in the overall view of things based on my hard earned knowledge in the music, film and entertainment business.
I'd be pleased to post the Record Collector review if I could figure out how to do that.
There is another review coming, only our second in a legitimate news or magazine forum that should be out next week and I'll be happy to post that as well, my internet skills and site acumen notwithstanding.

I'll figure it out. Thanks for your interest.