http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07360/844253-42.stmBeach Boys visionary wins Kennedy Center honors as pop music pioneer
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
By Scott Mervis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Frankly, it took a while for the Kennedy Center Honors to, um, get around to Brian Wilson.
Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Paul Simon all received the honor before the founder of the Beach Boys, and it doesn't take a rock historian to know the chronology there isn't quite kosher.
It goes without saying, though, that what slowed the process for Wilson -- who received the award this month in a ceremony that will be seen on CBS tonight -- was his fragile state of mind.
For many years, Wilson was the pre-eminent living pop-music casualty, starting with the anxiety attacks that prevented him from touring with the Beach Boys and intensifying with the nervous breakdown in the late '60s that halted the production of "Smile."
It was to be the follow-up to the 1966 "Pet Sounds," considered to be one of the best pop records of all time and the gateway to a more orchestral pop sound that would fuel the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and the album-oriented rock of the late '60s and '70s.
While many of his '60s contemporaries checked out, and others, like the solo Beatles and Dylan, flourished, the reports on Wilson in the '70s involved LSD trips, schizophrenia, adventures in psychotherapy and a lot of eating in bed.
Frontman Mike Love and The Beach Boys cruised along playing the old hits without Brian, and then without brother Dennis when he died in 1983 (and now without Carl).
The band even scored its biggest-selling hit in 1988, the year they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with "Kokomo," a song that makes Beach Boys geeks shudder.
Through all his troubles, though, Wilson was loved and cherished by just about anyone who ever stepped up to sing a vocal harmony.
His various comebacks have been warmly received, from his "15 Big Ones" in 1976, to his first solo record in 1988, to his return to the stage in 1998, to the triumphant release of a newly recorded "Smile" in 2004.
At 65, Wilson sounds invigorated and thrilled to be back on the world stage.
He has been out on tour with a solid band celebrating the 40th anniversary of "Pet Sounds" and he's excited to get into the studio to record a new song cycle called "That Lucky Old Sun."
Earlier this month, he gave us 10 minutes on the phone, during which he blew through the questions with a brevity and childlike breathlessness that was a bit disarming.
Q: There are only a handful of pop musicians who have won this Kennedy honor. What does it mean to you?
A: Well, it means people must have liked me quite a bit to have gotten that kind of honor. And the Beach Boys must have blown people's minds in order for me to get that honor.
Q: How was the ceremony?
A: The ceremony was very good. I met a lot of people. I met the president. And Itzhak Perlman did a speech and told the audience that every 250 years there's a Brian Wilson, and Beethoven was the last 250 years, so if he likened me to Beethoven, that's quite an honor.
Q: How did Lyle Lovett do with "God Only Knows"?
A: I thought Lyle Lovett's version was the best version I ever heard, including the Beach Boys'. The most loving beautiful version I've ever heard. Unbelievable.
Q: Were there any other highlights?
A: Meeting Madame Secretary. Meeting the president.
Q: What did he say to you?
A: He said, "It's an honor to be with you." [laughs] And I said, "Vice versa."
Q: Do you think he's a Beach Boys fan?
A: I don't know if he's a Beach Boys fan, but he seemed to like me.
Q: How many presidents have you met?
A: Let's see. I've met Ronald Reagan and George Bush and George Bush Jr.
Q: Now, you've been celebrating the anniversary of "Pet Sounds," which is considered among the best albums in the history of pop music. Did you have any idea you were making something that would be so well-regarded and so lasting?
A: Yes, I did. I actually was very aware that it was going to be a long-lasting album over the years, yes. Because I could feel in my heart and soul that it was a very, very spiritual album. And there was a lot of love in it. We put a lot of love in that album.
Q: Coming after "Pet Sounds," what originally was your goal with "Smile"?
A: We didn't know. We were so on drugs, we didn't know what we were doing. We were trying to make something happy, to make people smile. Something that would be like a teenage symphony to God.
Q: How important was it to you to finish "Smile"?
A: It was probably the biggest music event in my life, because it's something we started in 1967 and then 40 years later we premiered it in London and we got a standing ovation. It means a lot to be able to create that type of music. "Smile" was a very rhapsodic album with little songs and little pieces of songs.
Q: How would you describe the rivalry with the Beatles back then?
A: My rivalry with the Beatles was an inspirational thing. It meant a lot to me that the Beatles would consider me to be their rivals. It was a mutual admiration society trip between me and Paul, actually.
Q: McCartney has said that "God Only Knows" is the greatest song ever written ...
A: He said it's his favorite song.
Q: Do you have one yourself?
A: Favorite song? "Strangers in the Night" by Frank Sinatra is my favorite. I love that song.
Q: Favorite McCartney song?
A: "The Long and Winding Road."
Q: Do you have a favorite Beach Boys song?
A: "California Girls." I just love the bass line and the lyrics and the melody.
Q: Now, you went a long time without touring and then started playing a lot in 1998. What changed for you in that time?
A: Well, I started to exercise, which improved my whole being -- my mind, my body and my soul. So I got in good shape, which helped me to write songs and continue to create music.
Q: Do you have a renewed love of performing now? Because it was never your thing to start with.
A: Right.
Q: Do you have a renewed love for it?
A: Oh, are you kidding? It's the greatest thing in the world, playing for people. I'm in heaven the whole time.
Q: I understand you play piano every day. Are you also writing music right now?
A: I'm writing a song right now called "Love is Just a Song." It's done, actually..
Q: Is there a record in the works?
A: No. Actually, there's a record we're going to start in mid-January. We're going to record "That Lucky Old Sun" narrative that we did in London and premiered in Europe.
Q: Does the writing come as easily to you as it ever did?
A: Actually, it does. It comes as fast as when I was 22 years old. It'll never die in me. Even when I'm 85, I'll have that.
Q: Are you aware of the Beach Boys' influence in music today among indie-rockers?
A: I'm a little aware of it. I haven't listened to the radio in a long time, so I'm not aware of what's going on. But I've been told that a lot of young people want to emulate the Beach Boys.
Q: And older people. Are you aware that Bruce Springsteen just did a song where he was trying to do that as well?
A: Which one?
Q: "Girls in Their Summer Clothes."
A: Oh really! That's cool.
Q: Do you wish at all that the Beach Boys could be one unit working together?
A: No, actually not. I'm very happy doing what I'm doing. I'm sure Mike [Love] and Bruce [Johnston] are happy with what they're doing. And we're doing good, and everything's cool. I don't want to get back with the Beach Boys at all.
Q: Getting back to what we were talking about earlier: Obviously people are impressed to meet you. Who are you excited to meet?
A: Well, the president. And that's really about it. I met the president. And I met the Beatles. And I met Three Dog Night and Danny Hutton. I've really met most of the great people.
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