Beach Boys cult followings

[Magic Transistor Radio]

I was thinking about how the Beach Boys cult followers, such as us on this board have developed over the years. Then I thought about era's and events that may have sparked more of a following over time. I would like to hear from anyone that falls in one of these that I will list or if you had another experience. I am interested in knowing how the cult followers (not just the casual fans of the hits) grew and became a fairly large 'web' (pre internet). Am I making any sense?

My thoughts

1. Following the demise of Smile in 1967. As the BBs declined in popularity (in the US) in 68 and 69, was there a significant group that would discuss Smile and the current albums?

2. 1971 - 1973, Obviously an underground cult began to follow the current Beach Boys at this time. With Surf's Up making its debut, I am sure that Smile discussions picked up significantly. Perhaps, 'What happened to Brian?' discussions as well?

3. 1976, after the success of Endless Summer, followed by the return of Brian Wilson, I am sure that new BB cult followers were created.

4. Endless Summer Quarterly: When did this start its circualtion? Obviously, a significant cult following was already under way by then.

5. The internet. I became a cult follower of the Beach Boys in 1998 at 21 years old. By then the internet was underway. I found a web of cult followers online. My favorite being this board. Most of them are very basic, but some very intellegent questions and conversations happen on this one.

[PongHit]

... in 1998 at 21 years old. By then the internet was underway.

That's right; Al Gore had invented it only a few years earlier.

[Magic Transistor Radio]

 

... in 1998 at 21 years old. By then the internet was underway.

That's right; Al Gore had invented it only a few years earlier.

Hmmm. I thought this was an interesting point of discussion. Maybe I am the only one. 

[drbeachboy]

Maybe calling it a cult following makes some peeps uncomfortable. I know I don't pray to The Beach Boys or Brian. I have always just been a fan since I was around 5 in 1963. My brother who is 9 years older was a big fan in his early teens and exposed me to their music. From the release of Pet Sounds onward, I was the one who continued listening, and followed their career. It seems that Pet Sounds was the jumping off point for him, though he continued to like the hits and bought the 45's when released.

[Ron]

I just like good music (shrug)

I'm excited about Brian and the Beach Boys' music... also many many other artists I like as well. 

It's a philosophy of mine, I like seeing people be great at something.  I'm the type that LOVES the Yankees because they win a lot.  Some think "Oh, yeah, but they bought all those good players" but I really don't give a sh*t, because everybody that plays for them is great, and I love watching people be great. 

Similarly, I love the Beach Boys because in my humbe opinion, they were the best, absolute best harmony ever recorded.  The Temptations couldn't see the Beach Boys on their best day.  The Beatles weren't even in the same league.  The Beach Boys CASUALLY sounded better than anybody ever recorded, at least in a harmony sense, even with most of the records full of missed notes and even the wrong words often being thrown into the mix.  They STILL sounded better than anybody, because it was completely natural to them, flaws and all they were the greatest ever.  The Four Seasons looked like amateurs, even though they were much more musically educated than the Beach Boys. 

So, to me, it's a philosophy thing.  I just like seeing people be their best. 

"Damn it feels good to see People up on it!" - Biz Markee

[Magic Transistor Radio]

I suppose to define what I mean. CULT FOLLOWER: Goes beyond the hits. Loves a lot of deep cuts and is interested in their personal lives and band politics and everything surrounding it. CASUAL FOLLOWER: Enjoys the music, mostly just the hits, and doesn't really care enough to talk about the personalities within or band politics.

I am sure that there is much between. But what I am interested in hearing is how the devout cult follower (or whatever words you want to use) developed. When was it large enough to be its own international movement? When did anyone on this board find other  people who were die hards like them?

[The Heartical Don]

I just like good music (shrug)

I'm excited about Brian and the Beach Boys' music... also many many other artists I like as well. 

It's a philosophy of mine, I like seeing people be great at something.  I'm the type that LOVES the Yankees because they win a lot.  Some think "Oh, yeah, but they bought all those good players" but I really don't give a merda, because everybody that plays for them is great, and I love watching people be great. 

Similarly, I love the Beach Boys because in my humbe opinion, they were the best, absolute best harmony ever recorded.  The Temptations couldn't see the Beach Boys on their best day.  The Beatles weren't even in the same league.  The Beach Boys CASUALLY sounded better than anybody ever recorded, at least in a harmony sense, even with most of the records full of missed notes and even the wrong words often being thrown into the mix.  They STILL sounded better than anybody, because it was completely natural to them, flaws and all they were the greatest ever.  The Four Seasons looked like amateurs, even though they were much more musically educated than the Beach Boys. 

So, to me, it's a philosophy thing.  I just like seeing people be their best. 

"Damn it feels good to see People up on it!" - Biz Markee

Great post, well-voiced.

[Magic Transistor Radio]

I just like good music (shrug)

I'm excited about Brian and the Beach Boys' music... also many many other artists I like as well.  

It's a philosophy of mine, I like seeing people be great at something.  I'm the type that LOVES the Yankees because they win a lot.  Some think "Oh, yeah, but they bought all those good players" but I really don't give a merda, because everybody that plays for them is great, and I love watching people be great.  

Similarly, I love the Beach Boys because in my humbe opinion, they were the best, absolute best harmony ever recorded.  The Temptations couldn't see the Beach Boys on their best day.  The Beatles weren't even in the same league.  The Beach Boys CASUALLY sounded better than anybody ever recorded, at least in a harmony sense, even with most of the records full of missed notes and even the wrong words often being thrown into the mix.  They STILL sounded better than anybody, because it was completely natural to them, flaws and all they were the greatest ever.  The Four Seasons looked like amateurs, even though they were much more musically educated than the Beach Boys.  

So, to me, it's a philosophy thing.  I just like seeing people be their best.  

"Damn it feels good to see People up on it!" - Biz Markee

I liked everything you said, except about being a Yankees fan. I am a Texas Rangers fan so watch your back.

[Reggie Dunbar]

The term "Cult" hardly applies to a (once) mainstream band such as the B.B.'s.

13th Floor Elevators, Love, Chocolate Watchband, Ultimate Spinach and other commercially unsuccessful bands seem to fit that category better, but with the emergence of the internet even they are getting to be mainstream. And that's a good thing. Go Giants !!!.

[The Heartical Don]

The term "Cult" hardly applies to a (once) mainstream band such as the B.B.'s.

13th Floor Elevators, Love, Chocolate Watchband, Ultimate Spinach and other commercially unsuccessful bands seem to fit that category better, but with the emergence of the internet even they are getting to be mainstream. And that's a good thing. Go Giants !!!.

Hm. We do have:

1. The KoKoBoys: the band that gave us Surfin' USA, Help Me Rhonda, California Girls, Do It Again, and, yes, KoKoMo.

2. The Silicium Boys: the band that gave us Wind Chimes, Cabinessence, Wonderful, 'Til I Die, Surf's Up, All This Is That, and Shortenin' Bread.

I would name The Silicium Boys: cult.

[Ron]

The funny part is, if it's cult to listen to all the album cuts and like them... the Beach Boys had 12 year old girls doing that before anybody on this board did.  So they were the original cult following... just listen to ANY early 60's Beach Boys live recording to meet them.  I mean they were much more of a cult than anybody here ever was.  They lit the way for our little wanna be appreciation of the band.  They kissed the posters and cut out the pictures long before we tried to figure out who was running the mixing board back then. 

[Mike's Beard]

The funny part is, if it's cult to listen to all the album cuts and like them... the Beach Boys had 12 year old girls doing that before anybody on this board did.  So they were the original cult following... just listen to ANY early 60's Beach Boys live recording to meet them.  I mean they were much more of a cult than anybody here ever was.  They lit the way for our little wanna be appreciation of the band.  They kissed the posters and cut out the pictures long before we tried to figure out who was running the mixing board back then. 

12 year old girls kissing posters of Mike Love? That's scary stuff Ron.

[Myk Luhv]

I forget the exact quote (it was in Stebbins' book on Dennis, I believe) but at once both funny and... too graphic: when Murry was boasting to some promoter or whatever about how the Boys get these 14-year-old girls so fucking wet when they show up and play that they need to tear up the seats when they finish the concert. Clearly there is precedent for some people thinking Mike Love is attractive, anyway; he was married five times too! It can't just be the money and winning personality, you know!

[The Madcap]

Yeah, I'm part of a Beach Boys cul... OH sh*t! I've said too much!

[oldsurferdude]

I forget the exact quote (it was in Stebbins' book on Dennis, I believe) but at once both funny and... too graphic: when Murry was boasting to some promoter or whatever about how the Boys get these 14-year-old girls so friggin' wet when they show up and play that they need to tear up the seats when they finish the concert. Clearly there is precedent for some people thinking Mike Love is attractive, anyway; he was married five times too! It can't just be the money and winning personality, you know!

People thinking Myk Luhv is attractive??Now there's a CULT for ya.

[donald]

Before the internet, way before the internet, there was a newsletter put out by the fan club which at one point was called BBFUN (Beach Boys Freaks United).  Very hard core cultlike fans at least as far back as 30 plus years ago.
Music was bought and sold through the personal ads and SMiLE was discussed as if a graduate level course on some obscure bit of important literature.

For a small fee one could subscribe and receive the "magazine" and occasional bonuses such as bumper stickers or badges.  Cool stuff.

This is not a revelation to most posters here but some younger posters may find it interesting.

[Runaways]

this was my entry into "cult", though not as big as most here.  i'll jump into the post 1971-recordings when the songs don't sound so bad to me.  which i'm not sure when, but anyway. 

I had a greatest hits album that i listened to when i was like 4-10, then sporadically as i grew older.  I didnt' listen really much at all.  Eventually my friend had bought sounds of summer, and i wanted to hear all those songs again, eventually bought Pet Sounds, and then buy a bunch of other records, then it's like "Hey what's this SMiLE thing, I wanna know about SMiLE" (good call brian), and then BOOM. sucked in.

[Magic Transistor Radio]

Before the internet, way before the internet, there was a newsletter put out by the fan club which at one point was called BBFUN (Beach Boys Freaks United).  Very hard core cultlike fans at least as far back as 30 plus years ago.
Music was bought and sold through the personal ads and SMiLE was discussed as if a graduate level course on some obscure bit of important literature.

For a small fee one could subscribe and receive the "magazine" and occasional bonuses such as bumper stickers or badges.  Cool stuff.

This is not a revelation to most posters here but some younger posters may find it interesting.

These are the kinds of things I was asking about. I am too young to remember this.

[Don_Zabu]

I came into the cult sort of the opposite from most people: I got into the bootleg Smile dysfunctional stuff first, and then the classic hits.

I forget the exact quote (it was in Stebbins' book on Dennis, I believe) but at once both funny and... too graphic: when Murry was boasting to some promoter or whatever about how the Boys get these 14-year-old girls so friggin' wet when they show up and play that they need to tear up the seats when they finish the concert. Clearly there is precedent for some people thinking Mike Love is attractive, anyway; he was married five times too! It can't just be the money and winning personality, you know!

I think I'm gonna be sick.

[summerinparadise.flac]

Pre-beard mike love was quite a handsome dude.

[GoogaMooga]

I got into the Beach Boys in '88 when Brian promoted his new solo album. In '85 a friend of mine turned me onto them, but I was still a devout Santana fan. Then in '89 I bought "Ten years of Harmony" and that summer I saw them live at Wembley Arena in London, my first BB concert. My friend was with me, and he had to tell me who was who. He borrowed a concert program and gave me a little history. It was a magical evening, beach balls floating over the audience, and I thought the cheerleaders idea was great! 

[filledeplage]

Maybe calling it a cult following makes some peeps uncomfortable. I know I don't pray to The Beach Boys or Brian. I have always just been a fan since I was around 5 in 1963. My brother who is 9 years older was a big fan in his early teens and exposed me to their music. From the release of Pet Sounds onward, I was the one who continued listening, and followed their career. It seems that Pet Sounds was the jumping off point for him, though he continued to like the hits and bought the 45's when released.

That  is creepy. A "cult" pejorative (negative) refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are "reasonably" considered strange.  There is more that is sort of scary on wikipedia from whence the reference hails. There was a time when the Beach Boys music sort of went "underground" and for me that means going from the AM "mainstream" radio stations to the more "progressive" FM, following SMiLE and Pet Sounds as more "introspective" works.  Surf's Up (not the album)  was introduced in the Spring of 1967 by Leonard Bernstein, and performed as a solo act by Brian Wilson. 

That said, I don't have a good word for what might be interpreted as a "devout" (not in any religious sense) fan.  There is nothing wrong with anyone who find a personal "favorite" and whose work "sings" to them.  It is pretty interesting in another thread about unusual places to find the Beach Boys; that there was a reference PSAT (pre college board) paragraph on SMiLE.  I took the PSAT's when SMiLE came out!  What was considered "underground" and "marginal" is now considered part of the "curriculum" and is a benchmark testing standard device, and that is coming from someone who spent a life in education and teaching. Stuff just comes "full circle."  That SMiLE era marked a time, sadly in the US when the popularity of the music (not for this extreme fan) waned and became more popular and accepted abroad. 

It did come "full circle" back to the US in time and contemporaneous with other social changes in the US.  I followed whatever path they were on "creatively" not just for the concepts explored in the music, but because of the "delivery" - the harmony, looking straight ahead, alongside many other fans, disregarding the critics du jour. 

Just because you are not "mainstream" does not mean that you are "weird."  As long as you can be sort of "reasonable and balanced" a "passion" or "extreme interest" in an art-form or music style, has its place in life, provides a creative outlet, and enriches your life.  And it is great the people can "network" about a "special interest."  They are less isolated in their interest.  You might be the only one on your block to like there music, but there is someone else, perhaps at a great distance who shares the same music passion as you do. 

Look around at people who have little passion in their lives...and be glad you have an interest that pleases you but whatever you do, please don't denigrate your "special interest" by referring to it as a "cult."  I look at all those special needs kids and adults who come to the shows and see how it has enriched those lives who, from outward appearances don't look as if they have a lot going for them in life, especially if they are "very low functioning" but this little "passion" and excitement for the music of the Boys...it is very cool and hardly could be called a cult.  It was probably not the intent of all that songwriting, but has been an unintended and positive result. 

"Passion" - yes; "cult," no way!          

[drbeachboy]

Yes, passion is the perfect word that describes my interest in The Beach Boys and their music. Their music has always been well produced, well written, well arranged, well played and most of all, well sung. Though I like many bands and types of music, it's the Beach Boys who first brought all that together for me. The fact that I can listen to these songs hundreds or thousands of times and not get tired of them, or still find something new when I listen, just boggles my mind sometimes. I just never tire of that vocal blend. No one has come remotely close to capturing it, either. As good as Brian's band is, it is not The Beach Boys.

[Myk Luhv]

The Beach Boys are my comfort food.

[The Shift]

I can't condone the obsessive cult behavior of some fans. I'll put in a good word for their help and guidance tonight while I'm praying to Brian.