Mike and Bruce Superbowl 1998

[Jay]

As I understand it, in Janurary of 1997 Mike, Bruce, and Dave Marks played the Superbowl halftime show. I think it was this show that Al had no idea about, untill he saw it on TV. Does anybody remember this? Was it any good? I've never seen it, and I had never even heard of it untill I read the Catch A Wave book. It seems that this was an historic event, for all the wrong reasons. Al was being pushed out of the band, and Carl was literally weeks away from death. Sorry to put it that way, but it's true. In fact, I think it was on that very day that Brian last saw Carl. He drove to Carl's house, and they watched the Superbowl. I made this topic just to try to get a few thoughts and opinions about show, and about this period in The Beach Boys's career.

[MBE]

I was at a friends house and they finished right before they got there. I didn't know they would be on. It was 1998 btw.

[c-man]

1. It was 1998, not 1997 (as MBE pointed out).
2. It wasn't the halftime, it was the pregame show.
3. Brian & Carl did in fact see each other for the last time that night, but they watched the game at Jerry Schilling's house, not Carl's.
4. Mike, Bruce and David were joined by Glen Campbell, Dean Torrence, and John Stamos (the latter on drums).
5. It was lip-synched.

[Rocker]

5. It was lip-synched.

To which recordings ?

[Shady]

5. It was lip-synched.

To which recordings ?

Kokomo I'd guess 

[Jay]

Yeah, I realised it was 1998 after I made the topic. I said it was at Carl's house because that's where I read it was, in a Beach Boys book I have. What recordings did they lip sync to? I'd assume they would have been from the Salute to Nascar cd?

[Eric Aniversario]

California Girls was one of the songs.  Only bits and pieces of the performance were aired.  The announcers were talking over the performance as well.  It was more entertainment for the people in the stadium rather than people watching on TV.  From what I remember, they were only on the screen for about 30 seconds.

[Carrie Marks]

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[Alex]

3. Brian & Carl did in fact see each other for the last time that night, but they watched the game at Jerry Schilling's house, not Carl's.

I wonder what Brian and Carl thought of the performance by "America's Band"?

[Rocker]

5. It was lip-synched.

To which recordings ?

They lip synced to a medley put together from live recordings from shows from around that time.

Thanks Carrie ! Do you or Dave know if those recordings featured Carl and Al's voices ?

[Pretty Funky]

Heres a shot.


http://cache.gettyimages.com/xc/72570631.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF193875DCB1DD8387ABBCF0C2E12265F5186A40A659CEC4C8CB6

[Sheriff John Stone]

3. Brian & Carl did in fact see each other for the last time that night, but they watched the game at Jerry Schilling's house, not Carl's.

I wonder what Brian and Carl thought of the performance by "America's Band"?

They were probably laughing  - all the way to the bank. I'm sure they got their check in the mail for the "performance", and cashed it....

[mikeyj]

They were probably laughing  - all the way to the bank. I'm sure they got their check in the mail for the "performance", and cashed it....

Somehow, I doubt Carl was laughing at the time. I'm sure money was the least of his worries...

[Sheriff John Stone]

They were probably laughing  - all the way to the bank. I'm sure they got their check in the mail for the "performance", and cashed it....

Somehow, I doubt Carl was laughing at the time. I'm sure money was the least of his worries...

Did somebody say Carl was WORRIED about money?

I still think they were laughing. Can't you envision them making cracks about Mike's stage antics, or maybe Glen Campbell not knowing the words, or thinking "What is Dean Torrence doing there?"

I made the point about the money because they (Brian & Carl) could've voted the whole debacle down. Those Super Bowl things are planned months in advance, so the entire group (including Brian & Carl) knew about it, and could've stopped it. But, they never do seem to veto ANY kind of live thing. Maybe because they'd rather get paid?

[Wilsonista]

They were probably laughing  - all the way to the bank. I'm sure they got their check in the mail for the "performance", and cashed it....

Somehow, I doubt Carl was laughing at the time. I'm sure money was the least of his worries...

Did somebody say Carl was WORRIED about money?

I still think they were laughing. Can't you envision them making cracks about Mike's stage antics, or maybe Glen Campbell not knowing the words, or thinking "What is Dean Torrence doing there?"

I made the point about the money because they (Brian & Carl) could've voted the whole debacle down. Those Super Bowl things are planned months in advance, so the entire group (including Brian & Carl) knew about it, and could've stopped it. But, they never do seem to veto ANY kind of live thing. Maybe because they'd rather get paid?

As ususal, you are talking out of your ass. I  don't know about the Wilsons, but Al didn't know about it until the actual broadcast.

[Carrie Marks]

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[Carrie Marks]

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[Sheriff John Stone]

I made the point about the money because they (Brian & Carl) could've voted the whole debacle down. Those Super Bowl things are planned months in advance, so the entire group (including Brian & Carl) knew about it, and could've stopped it. But, they never do seem to veto ANY kind of live thing. Maybe because they'd rather get paid?

 "America's Band" was a Mike Love's solo project (a back-up in case he didn't get the license) so Brian and Carl would have no more say in voting an "America's Band" Super Bowl appearance down than Mike and Al would have voting against a Brian Wilson performance today. Now, if the Super Bowl configuration had been called "THE BEACH BOYS", then they would all have a say...which is perhaps why the event was booked as something other than the Beach Boys to begin with.

Aren't you leaving out one important detail? That the band, whatever they were called, were lypsynching to songs that were RECORDED AS THE BEACH BOYS, PERFORMED AS THE BEACH BOYS, AT BEACH BOYS' CONCERTS?  That makes it a whole lot different than just "a Brian Wilson performance today". Brian, nor anybody else, could get away with that without permission. But, let me say that I never heard or saw the 1998 performance, so I can't verify where the recordings were from; I'm just going by what was previously posted above.

You also posted that the event was booked as something other than the Beach Boys to begin with. I think it was originally intended to be The Beach Boys, not America's Band. That Super Bowl was in San Diego, California. Don't you think whoever was planning the Super Bowl entertainment, months in advance, originally wanted The Beach Boys, and inquired about it? I do. And, if your band was being considered as entertainment for the Super Bowl, don't you think, somehow, the members of the group would know about it? Again, I do. And that would include Al Jardine. And Carl and Brian. There are meetings where these things HAVE to be decided and voted on. While I doubt all the members, if any, attend the meetings, I'm sure they're made aware of the particulars.

Now, when it became apparent that The Beach Boys weren't going to be able to perform - for whatever reason, and, the group was going to be called America's Band, I find it hard to be nobody in the band, except Mike Love, knew about it. I just find that hard to believe. And, yes, I question Al's statement that he didn't know, based on some of the most bizarre statements he has made over the last few years in his interviews.

Could've they (Brian, Carl, Al,) stopped it? I still think yes, based on the music that was performed. Yeah, you can call your band anything you like. But, was there some misrepresentation here? Playing Beach Boys' songs that were previously performed live at Beach Boys' concerts? (and, again, I don't know that to be a fact). Did they want to stop it? Probably not. Did they care? Probably not. Was it a big deal? No. Did The Beach Boys' get paid? I'd still like to know.

I only made an issue out of it because I felt, again, somebody was taking a shot at Mike Love (maybe even deserved), when there might've been some hypocrisy on the part of the other group members (i.e. profiting from the performance).

[Carrie Marks]

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[Andrew G. Doe]

Slight correction, Carrie - the band that played the 1998 Super Bowl were billed as follows -

"A Tribute To The Beach Boys Featuring Mike Love, Bruce Johnston, David Marks, Glen Campbell, Dean Torrance, and John Stamos". Snappy, huh ?

America's Band happened in in June - all the May gigs were private, therefore could be billed as The Beach Boys - and of the eight gigs booked under that name, four were cancelled.

[Carrie Marks]

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[Sheriff John Stone]

Slight correction, Carrie - the band that played the 1998 Super Bowl were billed as follows -

"A Tribute To The Beach Boys Featuring Mike Love, Bruce Johnston, David Marks, Glen Campbell, Dean Torrance, and John Stamos". Snappy, huh ?

America's Band happened in in June - all the May gigs were private, therefore could be billed as The Beach Boys - and of the eight gigs booked under that name, four were cancelled.

Correction appreciated, thank you Andrew.  My point remains, though....regardless of the actual billing, the band that played at the Super Bowl was clearly NOT billed as the Beach Boys, and therefore, Brian, Carl and Al could not 'vote away' the performance.

Slight correction? How about a major correction? Which makes most of your theories about Mike Love's "plans", Carrie, a mute point. It's obvious by the billing that it was a one-off, intended for that specific Super Bowl appearance, and had little if anything to do with a "plan in motion" or the "license".

But, it also doesn't disprove my opinion. Actually, it adds more creedence to my position. If that Super Bowl group - and it doesn't matter what they were called - used pre-recorded Beach Boys' tracks, they had to get permission, the group would've known about it, and they probably got compensated for it. Would it be legal for any group to perform at a Super Bowl and on National TV, and play, for example, tracks from Live At Knebworth, and not get permission and/or compensate the Beach Boys for it?

And, I'll state again, I don't know the specifics about the songs that WERE played, which could change things significantly.

EDIT: Carrie, I didn't want to ignore your question to me as to what "proof" I had that the Beach Boys were the original target of the Super Bowl entertainment commitee. I have no proof. In my original post, I wrote "I think". That would make it my opinion. Very, very few people who post on message boards have proof.

In my opinion, I would think a Super Bowl entertainment commitee would want the Beach Boys before a "Tribute To The Beach Boys", and it wouldn't take much to explore that possibility. I do have a few opinions why the Beach Boys, at that specific time, would decline to appear, but I'm not going to go there. I can understand why you don't agree with my opinion. You can dismiss it, which you obviously already did.

[KokoMoses]

Please be nice to The Sherrif!

I rather like the image of Brian and Carl laughing while watching that performance!

[Carrie Marks]

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[Sheriff John Stone]

Now, if you want to argue about what may or may not have been an ethical violation of using "Beach Boys" recordings versus Mike Love solo band recordings, then you aren't going to get a fight from me...

Um, yes, that has been my point, which I obviously haven't been making well enough. And, to clarify, I never claimed it to be "an ethical violation". Actually, I've been saying just the opposite.

Again, I felt that Mike had to get permission to perform the Beach Boys' recorded songs (if they were Beach Boys' recorded songs), got the permission, thus the group had to know about it, and probably, the Beach Boys got some compensation - unless they were just being nice guys and didn't request any. That's all I was trying to say.

As far as whether the Beach Boys were the first choice for the Super Bowl, yeah, I believe that, and I have no proof. Pure 100% speculation! Actually, I didn't think that was such "a broad statement"; I just thought it was logical. I don't think that's an outlandish thought or opinion at all.

And, no, I had no idea that Mike "had his soldiers in line long before Feb 1998". You stated, "If you can't accept that, that's your right....but it's not a realistic point of view". Truthfully, Carrie, it's not a matter of me accepting it, or having a realistic point of view. Actually, I don't have much of a point of view in regard to what went down with the Beach Boys with Al, or after Carl's death, or the license, or whatever. And here's where we will agree. I haven't read/seen/heard much information about the whole reorganization, and I don't want to opine on "what went down". I feel it was all about the money, and the whole thing gives me a sour taste. Uh oh, did I just state another opinion?