Career mishaps??

[feelintheflows]

What mistakes have The Beach Boys made in their careers?

[Crack Smokerson]

Brian hasn't made a mistake yet, in his whole career. 

[Rebel]

We’re still waiting for Brian to make a mistake.

[jiggy22]

Too many to count

. Releasing Ten Little Indians as a single instead of Chug-a-Lug
. Brian becoming acquaintances with Loren Daro
. Brian taping over the master tapes of The Little Girl I Once Knew with Row Row Row Your Boat
. Pulling out of the Monterey Pop Festival
. Not releasing new material for eight months after the release of Good Vibrations
. Brian spending too much time on the Heroes and Villains single and letting SMiLE die as a result
. Releasing Then I Kissed Her as a single in April 1967
. Not releasing Vega-Tables as a single
. Releasing Gettin' Hungry as a single
. Releasing Smiley Smile as the follow-up to Pet Sounds
. Not releasing Lei'd in Hawaii
. Releasing Bluebirds Over the Mountain as a single
. Not releasing Can't Wait Too Long as a single in 1968
. Brian not hiring a lawyer before signing over Sea of Tunes to Murry
. Releasing Add Some Music to Your Day as the lead debut single of their Reprise career
. Releasing Cool Cool Water as a single, with It's About Time as the b-side
. Releasing Slip on Through as a single, with This Whole World as the b-side
. Not including Fourth of July and (Wouldn't it Be Nice) To Live Again on the Surf's Up album
. Including Take a Load Off Your Feet on the Surf's Up album
. Not realizing Mt. Vernon and Fairway (A Fairy Tale) to its full potential
. Releasing Child of Winter as a single two days before Christmas
. Not releasing Good Timin' in early 1975
. Releasing 15 Big Ones as the follow-up to Holland
. Releasing Susie Cincinnati as the b-side to three singles, before including it AGAIN on 15 Big Ones
. Releasing It's OK, a sure summer hit, in late August 1976
. Releasing Honkin' Down the Highway as the lead single off of Love You
. Not releasing Adult/Child
. Only including one track from Adult/Child on the MIU Album
. Including Hey Little Tomboy on the MIU Album
. Releasing MIU Album as the follow-up to Love You
. Rejecting Constant Companion for LA (Light Album)
. Including Here Comes the Night on LA (Light Album)
. Not releasing the Curt Boettcher mix of Shortenin' Bread as a single
. Everything about the year 1981
. Releasing It's OK AGAIN as the b-side to It's Gettin' Late in 1985
. Allowing the 1995 reunion album to die
. Little-to-no marketing for the recent copyright extension releases

[chewy]

Constant Companion was considered for Light Album?  wow!

[feelintheflows]

Too many to count

. Releasing Ten Little Indians as a single instead of Chug-a-Lug
. Brian becoming acquaintances with Loren Daro
. Brian taping over the master tapes of The Little Girl I Once Knew with Row Row Row Your Boat
. Pulling out of the Monterey Pop Festival
. Not releasing new material for eight months after the release of Good Vibrations
. Brian spending too much time on the Heroes and Villains single and letting SMiLE die as a result
. Releasing Then I Kissed Her as a single in April 1967
. Not releasing Vega-Tables as a single
. Releasing Gettin' Hungry as a single
. Releasing Smiley Smile as the follow-up to Pet Sounds
. Not releasing Lei'd in Hawaii
. Releasing Bluebirds Over the Mountain as a single
. Not releasing Can't Wait Too Long as a single in 1968
. Brian not hiring a lawyer before signing over Sea of Tunes to Murry
. Releasing Add Some Music to Your Day as the lead debut single of their Reprise career
. Releasing Cool Cool Water as a single, with It's About Time as the b-side
. Releasing Slip on Through as a single, with This Whole World as the b-side
. Not including Fourth of July and (Wouldn't it Be Nice) To Live Again on the Surf's Up album
. Including Take a Load Off Your Feet on the Surf's Up album
. Not realizing Mt. Vernon and Fairway (A Fairy Tale) to its full potential
. Releasing Child of Winter as a single two days before Christmas
. Not releasing Good Timin' in early 1975
. Releasing 15 Big Ones as the follow-up to Holland
. Releasing Susie Cincinnati as the b-side to three singles, before including it AGAIN on 15 Big Ones
. Releasing It's OK, a sure summer hit, in late August 1976
. Releasing Honkin' Down the Highway as the lead single off of Love You
. Not releasing Adult/Child
. Only including one track from Adult/Child on the MIU Album
. Including Hey Little Tomboy on the MIU Album
. Releasing MIU Album as the follow-up to Love You
. Rejecting Constant Companion for LA (Light Album)
. Including Here Comes the Night on LA (Light Album)
. Not releasing the Curt Boettcher mix of Shortenin' Bread as a single
. Everything about the year 1981
. Releasing It's OK AGAIN as the b-side to It's Gettin' Late in 1985
. Allowing the 1995 reunion album to die
. Little-to-no marketing for the recent copyright extension releases

Don’t forget releasing best of The Beach Boys 6 weeks after Pet Sounds, and Endless Summer yes technically those are capitols fault, releasing here comes the night disco version. Wipe Out with the fat boys, beach boys medley. Not releasing California Calling as a single, Fun fun fun with status quo. Summer in paradise john stamos  forever and Stars and Stripes vol 1. Not releasing the Friends and 20/20 sessions on cd. Not releasing so much vast concerts from 68-74 on cd/dvd.

[SMiLE-addict]

Does Dennis meeting Charles Manson count as a career mistake?

At the very least I suppose you could say they should not have released, let alone altered, his song.

[feelintheflows]

Does Dennis meeting Charles Manson count as a career mistake?

At the very least I suppose you could say they should not have released, let alone altered, his song.

Personally I think that made The Beach Boys saga more intriguing. The all American golden boys of summer crossing paths with evil. Fascinating.

[Custom Machine]

. Releasing Cool Cool Water as a single, with It's About Time as the b-side

Good list of missteps. Just for the record, Forever was the b-side of single edit of Cool Cool Water, with the promo copies going out to radio stations containing only Cool Cool Water, in mono on one side and stereo on the other, so there was no chance for DJ's to flip the single over to Forever, which, IMO, had a much great chance of getting Top 40 radio airplay.

[Jay]

I think that not releasing a live album between L.A. and KTSU was a missed opportunity. I think having an album with good quality live versions of "Angel Come Home", "Roller Skating Child", and even "Shortnin' Bread" would have perhaps improved the overall reputation of those albums. It also would have bought them time to really focus on the best quality material for the next studio album.

On a more controversial note, I think perhaps not breaking up as a group after Holland might have been a poor choice in retrospect, considering how things quickly fell apart after they changed managers. I think that their output after Pet Sounds would have eventually attained cult classic status, and they may well be much more respected today.

[guitarfool2002]

Mike's decision not to continue making music and performing with the C50 lineup, latter part of 2012. The band was on fire and in demand for the first time in ages, having scored a top-5 album of original music and one of the most acclaimed tours of that year, and Mike chose to walk away. It's right up there on the "what could've been" list from the band's entire career.

[southbay]

Carl and Al not pairing up to steer the direction of the band away from Mike's control upon Carl's return in 1982 (or at any point prior to Carl's passing)

[The LEGENDARY OSD]

 
The last two posts, one by GF and the other by Southbay-

[Rob Dean]

Brian hasn't made a mistake yet, in his whole career. 

Really , Getting In Over My Head makes Summer In Paradise a stone wall classic album 

[Awesoman]

They've made quite a few mistakes.  Not completing SMiLE at the time was one of their biggest.  Obviously with BW's mental status at the time, it was the appropriate thing to abort it, but man it would have been nice to have an original completed album to listen to instead of the glossy 2004 version or the fragmented (but beautiful) 2011 box set. 

And you could argue quite a few mistakes were made during the mid-70's and onwards.   

[Jim V.]

Not releasing the Curt Boettcher mix of Shortenin' Bread as a single

What about this? I know nothing of it.

[Gettin Hungry]

Too many to count
...
. Releasing Gettin' Hungry as a single
...

Hey!

[Pretty Funky]

Mike's decision not to continue making music and performing with the C50 lineup, latter part of 2012. The band was on fire and in demand for the first time in ages, having scored a top-5 album of original music and one of the most acclaimed tours of that year, and Mike chose to walk away. It's right up there on the "what could've been" list from the band's entire career.

That’s probably indicative of their career in general. Grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory.
Sticking to the topic and the year, not managing to produce a decent live album or live DVD of the C50 despite having 70 plus performances to choose from. (The Chiba performance achieved both a great TV record and soundtrack in a week.)

[All Summer Long]

Not releasing the Curt Boettcher mix of Shortenin' Bread as a single

What about this? I know nothing of it.

Same. I tried to look it up and couldn’t find anything on YouTube, and only one passing reference to an unreleased mix on Wikipedia.

[Crack Smokerson]

Brian hasn't made a mistake yet, in his whole career. 

Really , Getting In Over My Head makes Summer In Paradise a stone wall classic album 

Oi, it's a joke. A reference to the final track off The Beach Boys Today! album...

[Jay]

Jiggy  made a point of referencing the 1995/96 projected as one of the mishaps, and I couldn't agree more. A Beach Boys version of "Gettin' In Over My Head" could possibly have been another "God Only Knows". I can clearly hear in my head a Pet Sounds sounding version of the song with an Al, Bruce, and Carl "vocal round" fading out the song. Pair that with songs like "It's Not Easy Being Me", "Still A Mystery" and "Soul Searchin'" and it just might have been the best Beach Boys album since Sunflower.

[Margarita]

How about having little to no licensed merchandise, outside of concerts or promo materials?  When I was a teen in the 80s, I would have killed to have a BB t-shirt, poster, buttons, patches, etc.  Even now, it bugs me to go into a store and find merch for lots of bands, but never anything Beach Boys. 

[Matt H]

How about having little to no licensed merchandise, outside of concerts or promo materials?  When I was a teen in the 80s, I would have killed to have a BB t-shirt, poster, buttons, patches, etc.  Even now, it bugs me to go into a store and find merch for lots of bands, but never anything Beach Boys. 

I agree, and I would also say that for the most part, a lot of their merchandise has not been very good.  One that I do really like is:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiR9uj_2tzhAhWD2FkKHaNBDAkQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fplanetrock.backstreetmerch.com%2Fartist%2Fbeach-boys%2Ft-shirts%2Fbest-of-ss&psig=AOvVaw0TItLoFcPvD0NH8xbiZ2IY&ust=1555782327768134

[feelintheflows]

How about having little to no licensed merchandise, outside of concerts or promo materials?  When I was a teen in the 80s, I would have killed to have a BB t-shirt, poster, buttons, patches, etc.  Even now, it bugs me to go into a store and find merch for lots of bands, but never anything Beach Boys. 

I’ve been saying that for years. Ever since Mcfarlane Toys put out the rock star action figures in 2001, Jim Morrison, The Beatles etc The Beach Boys would have been great. The iconic striped shirt action figures. I saw a beach boys t shirt a year or so ago at the mall, Black shirt... It was horrible. It’s unfortunate they never tried to merchandise themselves. Try doing what the Grateful Dead does.. RELEASE EVERYTHING

[Robbie Mac]

Mike's decision not to continue making music and performing with the C50 lineup, latter part of 2012. The band was on fire and in demand for the first time in ages, having scored a top-5 album of original music and one of the most acclaimed tours of that year, and Mike chose to walk away. It's right up there on the "what could've been" list from the band's entire career.

This.

This was redemption for everyone involved and Mike decided, “nah.”