The Smiley Smile Message Board

Well. Blow me down. This is outstanding. I think I've seen some bits but not this much of this gig before but this time it just moves me so much. I'm posting this mid-gig (and have paused to watch the outtsnading performances on the BBC Young Musician of the Year Award; currently playing Stella by Starlight!). Great accompanying notes boost the experience. As does the Dalwhinnie.

Coming after so much strife and negativity on his board this brings it all back to the music, where it counts, where it belongs.

My first time seeing them live was about a month and a half after this show. I was very impressed with the whole show, but really took notice to both Carl and Bruce. They both really shined bright for this show.

That was great to watch. Carl's vocal on God Only Knows is maybe better than the recording. Beautiful. Thanks.

The whole concert, including "Good Vibrations" and an encore of "Johnny B. Goode" with Paul Revere & The Raiders is available to purchase and download through the French National Audiovisual Institute's website.  I downloaded it myself a little over a year ago. http://www.ina.fr/video/I08024996

It's a great document of where the live band was at the time, warts and all.

Fascinating stuff Stephen!  When I first heard Mike before Do It Again I thought it was Mike being Mike.  Now I know the reason!

Interesting that Murry was in the audience.  What was Murry Wilson doing in Paris in 1969?

gotta say... dennis is sounding pretty great in this show.

Carl looks so COOL during this era.  I want his hair!

It's great to see the band so engaged in this performance, both vocally and instrumentally.

i've seen all 5 parts about 4+ years ago, as it's been surfacing online for many years. A great show and thanks for the interesting info Stephen! I like Mike Loves backing vox on Darlin.

Excellent concert with God Only Knows as the highlight.  And the "orchestra" adds some oomph to Barbara Ann.

BTW Stephen that's not Deirdre it's The Nearest Faraway Place from 20/20 - as I'm sure you know!

That's the first thing that struck me. Dennis' best live drumming was probably 1969 & the Brian is Back / 15 Big Ones era.  Thanks Stephen!  Loved reading your notes. Great insight.

This is great, Stephen - thanks for sharing!

The French audience got their money's worth and then some!  Bruce plays some fine piano on "Nearest Faraway Place."  "Pompidou" (in "Barbara Ann") was the new President of France, Georges Pompidou, who took office 20 June 1969.  He'd been Prime Minister 1962-8.  More about him from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Pompidou (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Pompidou)

What was with Mike and his weird noises?

I like the white suits the BBs (except Mike) wore.  I don't know why they were criticized for those.

Edited because I didn't mean to say "Bruce play some fine piano"

Who is the guy stage right in the tie banging a tambourine?  Was he the "orchestra" conductor?

 

COMMENT:  Back then there was no such thing as an "Orchestra Conductor" or Musical Director."  These are titles used in the 21st century. The guy on the right banging the tambourine is the tambourine player, the official percussionist who's only instrument is a tambourine. I think he also took care of all the horn-section instruments -- moving them about, checking them into and out of hotels and airports. During that time, the "British side-men" hired for this tour booked themselves into their own hotels and such. American Productions only dealt with the Beach Boys and their crew of Dragon, Carter, and myself. Everyone stayed in the same class of hotel and flew at the same class as the Beach Boys, usually first-class airline and first-class hotel accommodations. The English hired band had the obligation to show up for each gig, but otherwise booked their own air flights and housing.

I can tell you this, it was a happy time. The band (BB) was in great spirits, high creativity, high performance values, it was a joyous time to travel. None of the bull-sh*t you have today. As you can sense from the video, the band was having fun on stage, I was enjoying myself immensely -- wouldn't you? Mixing the best band in the world every night -- LIVE -- for enthusiastic audiences --- in a different great hall in Europe. it was a fabulous time. I am so blessed. God is good.    ~swd   

Initial thoughts: mix sounds great, very balanced, particularly in light of the low video quality (you usually see the opposite on youtube). Thank you for sharing and the insightful comments Mr. D.

Mr. Desper, did you also do sound for Paul Revere and the Raiders on this tour? Myself and several friends are huge fans of theirs and starved for any little tidbit of information about this time in their career.

What a great concert! Thank you, Stephen, for posting your mixer's notes.

Also, thanks to Rocky Raccoon for the link to the French National Audiovisual Institute's site - it's easily worth 3.99 Euros for the download of the entire non-stop concert, including Good Vibes and Johnny B. Goode, not to mention the somewhat better video quality.

Stephen, you mentioned that this concert used all 16 JBL speakers. Were these speakers actually transported from gig to gig? What models? Do you, (or anyone else reading this) know when Mike started and subsequently stopped wearing the "guru" robe outfit? Did he completely give up on his white suit, making this his typical concert attire during this period?

If you are going to order from INA-FR make damn sure you can speak French and DO NOT order until you have created an account. I ordered this and filled out all the automated account creation sections during the order process, and discovered my order is not in my account despite getting a confirmation email. Not something you like when your french is cursory.

   COMMENT to Custom Machine:  The system including the speakers is addressed in Part Two of my book Recording The Beach Boys. I keep saying it will be out soon and something gets in the way. Now it's getting ready for hurricane season here in Florida, but all 168 pages are complete and being proof read as time allows. 
   I can't give you exact dates as to when Michael used the robe on stage, but this concert was in June of '69 and he wore the robe for the entire tour. Everyone, including Mike, was fitted for the white suits (two each) that were custom made for each member. They also had white crushed velvet matching suits for colder climates. Mike had several robes made, which he carried on the road and wore off-stage as well. He was rather easy to spot in an airport. As I recall, he went back to street clothes and a cap on the next tour. ~swd

Thanks for this footage. It erased any doubts in my mind that the guys could play their own instruments and put on a flawless show. I really dug watching all of them, sorry Dennis was not in 'sight' so much. Kudos to Bruce on the keyboards and bass...great to see.

For those curious, I got the same results as above. I even went ahead and started an account *first*, and then placed the order. "It's only about $4.50 US, how can I lose?" Between my rusty French and Google translator, the checkout process and everything seemed normal and totally made sense. It's just that after you place the order, your order simply doesn't appear where it should (or anywhere else) to download.

I've put in an email to them, we'll see what happens. I would advise other folks against purchasing until they iron this issue out. Hopefully the tech support people can fix the issue. I'm sure it's a super easy fix for them, it's just a matter of whether they can process my English e-mail and whether their tech folks actually respond to issues like this in any sort of timely manner.

OK the problem was solved, and I managed to access the file to view it. Outstanding concert and fantastic quality!

Mooger and HeyJude, I initially had the same frustrating experience. Using Google Chrome's web page translation I created an account and made the purchase. A subsequent screen as well as an email they sent advised me that I could now download my purchase, but after a few attempts no actual order showed up which could be clicked to download. Around an hour or two later I tried logging in again, clicked on My Orders, and voila, my order number and a download icon suddenly appeared. Not sure if this site typically experiences a delay in the order showing up on a person's account, or if logging out and logging back in again did the trick.

Anyway, glad it finally worked out for you, Mooger, and HeyJude, try logging in again and see if that does the trick.

Anybody wondering what Bruce added to the band needs to watch this footage.

Yep. I was thinking/hoping it was just a lag in the file showing up for download. Their download speed is stunningly slow (which makes it easier for downloads to time out), but on a second try I got it to download. It's an .avi file, and I was able to convert it to .mp4 so it will play via USB drive on my Blu-ray player.

This show is much better on a big, real TV than a computer screen. The quality is good, though a 480MB (or whatever it is) .avi file means it has been compressed. I'm sure the original videotape looks and sounds even better. But as it is, it looks and sounds pretty good overall. Stunning to have a full pro-shot concert from 1969.

I wish BRI would scrape together some pro-shot stuff and put it out; right now a French website offering a cheapie download is outdoing them.

I don't think anybody who has seen pics of the band and listened to live recordings from this era could have ever doubted that Bruce was a key musician in the band during this era. Even with a small contingent of backing guys (Ed Carter and horns), Bruce's parts are not superfluous or mixed down.

I think it was when he came back in 1978, and more into the later 80s and 90s when they had more backing guys, that Bruce's audible input in terms of musicianship, was minimal. There's even a quote from a Howie Edelson interview where Bruce acknowledges that his keyboard playing in concert in the latter era is about accompanying himself more than the band.

Listening to various boots also, it seems pretty clear that Bruce is an extremely skilled keyboard player. Assume that's him on Nearest Faraway Place also. I reckon he'd make a great asset to Brian's live act, vocally and instrumentally; why his abilities are so under-used is beyond me, unless he's lazy, which I doubt!

Comment to John Manning:
Why on earth would you think it was not Bruce Johnston playing the piano?  He went to The Juilliard School of Music, can play all manner of classical compositions from memory and is responsible for about half of the vocal arrangements of the band's.
He and Michael have teamed-up together mainly because of band politics, and the influence of spouses. The current tour involves close to two-hundred shows, hardly a lazy schedule. :) ~swd

Bruce: "The best Beach Boy album, Pet Sounds!"
Michael (dubiously): "Oh, well..."

COMMENT to unreleased backgrounds:
Yes, but Michael got his cap feathers from Kokomo, the song with the most sales in the BB roster and the highest grossing. Outpacing even Brian. And don't forget, Bruce, as a song writer, is the only Grammy winning Beach Boy. ~swd

But if you have seen the group in the last 30 years, there is little or no evidence of Bruce's keyboard talents. Mostly he is seen clapping, adjusting his microphone, and some backing vocals. Honestly, when I would see the group in the years after Dennis' death, the only guy was certain was playing was Carl.

COMMENT to Lonely Summer:  Sorry to hear that. Perhaps it is one of the reasons Bruce decided to tour with Michael. With just the two principals on stage, he would have a more important role.  I have no idea, just speculating. What are your thoughts? ~swd

I didn't think it wasn't Bruce on the track. As stated,. I assumed it was Bruce on the track - always have - but without looking it up I didn't want to state it as a fact. Thanks for verifying my assumption though.

I've never met Bruce and haven't read about his schooling. Having seen him in concert a few dozen times though, and based on the information you've just kindly provided, I'd say that these days he's squandering that great talent and privileged education. As Lonely Summer states, his contribution live on stage today doesn't compare with that Paris footage. Perhaps though he has his reasons and someone might enlighten us. It'd be good to know.

I can't comment on the Mike and Bruce shows since I haven't gone to any. I always had the impression that Bruce was fine with just being a minor player on stage. Most of the spotlight in those 80s/90s shows was on Mike, Carl, and Al. I do remember Bruce singing "Do You Wanna Dance" at one show, I thought that was very good. Occasionally he would talk to crowd. I remember seeing him in front of the stage one time talking to some fans, but me, being shy, I didn't go up to talk to him. Wish I had.

I did see a couple of '80s shows ('82 and '84) where Bruce's piano playing was more heavily emphasized, because he was the only pianist on stage for most of the show. If you've ever seen their appearance on the Mike Douglas show ('80), that's another such example.

There's more to life than sales, as you know Stephen lol. Obviously Kokomo is a very well-crafted commercial product, which distills and disseminates a certain aspect of the band's message quote effectively, I'll just leave it at that. Mike certainly misses no opportunity to advertise his pride in the grosses it generated. Bruce is a terrific songwriter, and his performances of Disney Girls in the C50 show I saw and a mid- '90s concert I attended (All This Is That was beautifully done as well) were highlights. I've always been very fond of NFP, great to see him do it live, it has his uniquely comforting, insular, ecstatic WASP-ish SoCal escapist aesthetic in spades. Brian could be said to have won a Grammy for his Smile material with the 2011 Best Historical Album award for the SS, although of course that prize was technically given to Messrs. Boyd and Linett, who richly deserved the honor.

Really love this footage, very well mixed (the rarely-performed Break Away is another standout), thanks for the background and contextual info Stephen.

Don't forget though that Brian did win a Grammy in 2005 for Best Rock Instrumental Performance with Mrs. O'Leary's Cow.

COMMENT to Lonely Summer and John Manning:  Well me, not being shy, do speak with Bruce occasionally. One of the reasons Bruce continues to work as a Beach Boy is because he has a family and has put his three children through collage -- some of the best in the world. It is not cheap to attend Cambridge and Oxford. Now his kids are all grown and accomplished professionals and Bruce is 73 ... still entertaining. In the past Bruce has earned income as an arranger for various non-Beach Boy projects, sung BG with other performers or on their records, and written songs for others. So his talents have not been wasted or squandered, it's just that what he does is often in the background and not highlighted. ~swd

COMMENT to AvanTodd:  Thanks. You are right.  I stand corrected.  ~swd

Brian also won a Grammy in 2013 for the Smile Sessions box, as one of the "Compilation Producers".

2005 Grammy awards:
(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n295/guitarfool2002/bwgrammy2005_zpszsvqfqiu.jpg)

2013 Grammy awards:
(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n295/guitarfool2002/bwgrammy2013_zps4xr2uohy.jpg)

Look how more confident BW is in the 2013 picture. 8)

I think there's gotta be some extra weight off his shoulders at that point for not just BWPS having been released and lauded, but for the actual original session tapes to have finally gotten proper release and recognition. Love it.

COMMENT: Re-visiting grand moments ...

>>> http://www.grammy.com/videos/19th-annual-grammy-awards-song-of-the-year
>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzIvdZiLjV0

~swd

This is the first I've heard of Bruce and Julliard.  I looked on the web and can't find anything to substantiate this.  Did he visit?  He certainly doesn't have a degree or we'd have heard about it ad naseum like we have his grammy.  You'd think someone with that skill set would actually be audible in performances.  One problem I have with Bruce is his incredible dorkyness.  Is there a person in rock n roll that could possibly be any less rock n roll? 

COMMENT:  I don't know if he was graduated or not, may have attended some classes. He is a class-taught musician, understands music theory, and could easily teach the same.
I guess the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame has a differing opinion than you do about Bruce, since he's been admitted into that exclusive club for many years and is involved in every essential song on their list for the group. The Beach Boys have a very long history. You should review that history starting with the '60s. ~swd

Bruce is an enigmatic character in a band whose actions have at times been mysterious. He replaced Brian in 1965 on the road, and clearly brought significant musical chops to live performances, but his contributions in the studio remain murky and mysterious until the so-called "rudderless democracy" period (which, as we know now, was a time frame in which the rest of the band evolved into essentially self-sufficient songwriters and producers, usually in collaboration with Stephen "Sound Visionary" Desper).

Stephen, what can you tell us about Bruce's work in the studio in that time frame? While it's true that during thus time frame Bruce did show an aversion to the material in the BB's evolving canon that rocked hard, he had a few notable moments, particularly in the creation of "Disney Girls," which has some wonderful production touches. I may simply have missed it, but have you written at all about the production history of that song?

I must say the version of Do It Again, with the ultra cool effects on the drums, absolutely cooks at this concert. My jaw hit the ground when I watched that bit. Also, I have the distinct impression that the band put alot of energy behind their new (at that time) stuff. Am I wrong with this observation?

The R&R Hall of Fame is probably not the best example when advocating for Bruce as he was not inducted into the Rock Hall Of Fame along with the others in 1988 and as of 2016 Bruce is still considered one of the Hall's major snubs http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,23713.0.html

Somehow the Hall of Fame's official Beach Boys bio doesn't even mention Bruce's name until paragraph 15. https://rockhall.com/inductees/the-beach-boys/

David Marks got the same basic treatment until about 2008 when the hall added him to the group's bio (paragraph 3), held a Q&A with him on-site, and added his biography to their on-site book store. But in reality neither Bruce nor David are considered official inductees.

In my opinion I'd think any fair historical assessment would include both Bruce and David as official Rock Hall inductees, with Bruce being the band's second longest serving member who significantly contributed to their artistic peak, and David being involved in the genesis of the group's creation and their initial rise to fame.

COMMENT:  Comments about Bruce are in my book and part two.  Going back all the way from God Only Knows' ending, through the Surf's Up vocal fade, Bruce's vocal arrangements have played a major roll in many songs or been a behind-the-scene influence and driving force. You just don't know about it. ~swd

+1

Maybe it's just me but to me Bruce is probably second only to Brian in group vocal harmony arrangements.

So he didn't go to Julliard and isn't in the rock n roll hall of fame, and now i'm supposed to believe he helped arrange God Only Knows and Surf's Up?  For the record, I think you Stephen are far more integral to Beach Boys history than Bruce.  I adore your work with The Beach Boys.  I just find Bruce, who is a talented guy i'm sure, very overrated.  Not trying to flame here, honestly.     

Totally agree. But has the R&R HoF ever officially added any members after a group's induction ceremony? If not, Bruce and David would be a good place to start.

Please tell us of Bruce's unimportance to the band. What do you know about this that we and Stephen don't know.

Mars, all opinions are still welcome here. I think.

How many years was it again, you worked with Bruce and the Boys?   :angel:

They should also induct Doug Yule from the Velvet Underground and the late Bob Welch from Fleetwood Mac while they're at it.  It's a shame neither of those omissions have been corrected by this point.

COMMENT to If Mars had life on it...: Sorry that you misunderstood me. Bruce did attend classes at Julliard, and is a classical trained musician who later switched to contemporary music. Bruce is a member of the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. He did play a part in the arrangement of the ending of God Only Knows. He has been a major force in the years of vocal arrangements between GOK and Surf's Up, the latter song's ending is his arrangement and he is BY FAR much more integral to the Beach Boys' history, music, and success, than yours truly ever was. If anything, he is very underrated with respect to the application of his talent to The Beach Boys. Do I make myself clear? ~swd

COMMENT to Jon Stebbins:  What you cite is a bio of the group. Bruce has always been involved with the group. What I would think is important are the songs to which the Rock Hall pays tribute ... and each of those involves Bruce's influence and performance.  ~swd

BTW, may I say what an honor it is to engage in discussion with Mr. Desper. Very kind of you to drop in here.

I'm confused. I've stated above that IMO Bruce should be officially inducted into the R&R Hall, but the unfortunate fact seems to be that he is not. When you say he's "always" been involved with the group I'd think it is important to clarify. He did not contribute tp their music until the sessions for their 14th single, and their 10th LP. It's a simple fact that the Beach Boys were a massive hit act for years before Bruce joined the group. This however does not mean he was not a major contributor to their artistic peak which of course occurred after he joined.

Also, I'm wondering what the source you are citing for the "important" songs according to the Rock Hall? The only one I know of is the Rock Hall curator's list of 500 Songs That Shaped Rock. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/steveparker/halloffame.htm The Beach Boys five songs on the list are California Girls, Good Vibrations, God Only Knows (all of which Bruce was a part of), and Don't Worry Baby, Surfin USA (both of which Bruce was not a part of).  The Rock Hall's Beach Boys page lists a slightly different set of songs as "essential" http://rockhall.com/inductees/the-beach-boys/ They are Good Vibrations, Wouldn't It Be Nice, California Girls, God Only Knows (all of which Bruce contributed to) and Fun Fun Fun, Surfin USA (both of which Bruce did not contribute to).

And BTW thank you for your great contributions to the Beach Boys sound. It's always a pleasure to listen to the material that was produced during the period that you were involved.

COMMENT to Jon Stebbins:   Sorry to confuse you, so let's clarify each point one at a time, at least from my point of view.

When I said that Bruce has always been an influence, I mean in general, whether officially a member or not, he has been there -- in and out. These guys don't live in individual bubbles only seeing each other on official, documented periods of time. Influence is not something you turn off like a faucet. In the very early days of Beach Boy-ism, Bruce was a staff producer at Columbia, a major hangout of Brian's. Hollywood is a small town when influence is the topic.

Here are quotes from WikipediA about Bruce's early life. Read it and know that the circles of influence converge and intermingle.
Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Johnston 

1957–65: Beginnings

In high school, Johnston switched to contemporary music after years of studying classical piano. He performed in a few "beginning" bands during this time and then moved on to working with young musicians such as Sandy Nelson, Kim Fowley, and Phil Spector. Soon Johnston began backing people such as Ritchie Valens, the Everly Brothers, and Eddie Cochran. In 1959, while still in high school, Johnston arranged and played on his first hit record, "Teen Beat" by Sandy Nelson. The single reached the Billboard Top Ten. The same year, Johnston made his first single under his own name, "Take This Pearl" on Arwin Records (a record label owned by Doris Day) as part of the Bruce & Jerry duo (Jerry Cooper was a high school friend of Bruce's).

In 1960, Johnston started his record production career at Del-Fi Records, producing five singles and an album – Love You So – by Ron Holden (all but two of the album's eleven tracks were written or co-written by Johnston). In 1962 and 1963, Johnston continued his recording career with a series of surfin' singles (vocal & instrumental) and an album, Surfin' 'Round The World, credited to Bruce Johnston, and another "live" album, The Bruce Johnston Surfin' Band's Surfer's Pajama Party. In 1963 came the first collaboration with his friend Terry Melcher (Doris Day's son), a mostly instrumental covers album credited to The Hot Doggers. The first artist the pair produced was a group called the Rip Chords. Johnston and Melcher were now working as staff producers at Columbia Records, Hollywood and by the time they were producing the million selling "Hey Little Cobra", a knock-off of the Beach Boys car song vocal style, they also wound up singing every layered vocal part for the recording using an Ampex three track recording machine. The two of them made a few recordings as Bruce & Terry and the Rogues, but Melcher began to focus more on his production career (with the Byrds, Paul Revere & the Raiders).

Jon, I have the advantage over printed documentation in that I have spent many hours with Bruce and know about his past from him personally. The above should give you some indication that Bruce was not a stranger to the record industry or to circles of upstart groups in Hollywood, CA. Just open your mind.

1965–72: The Beach Boys

On April 9, 1965, Johnston joined the Beach Boys, replacing Glen Campbell, who was playing bass on the road and singing Brian Wilson's vocal parts. Johnston did not start playing bass until his first tenure with the Beach Boys, and the very first vocal recording Johnston made as one of the Beach Boys was "California Girls" (although for contractual reasons he would not be credited or photographed on a Beach Boys album until 1967 on the Wild Honey album[citation. Johnston is frequently credited as one of the original greatest supporters of the Beach Boys' 1966 signature album Pet Sounds. He flew to London in May 1966 and played the album for John Lennon and Paul McCartney. He wrote several Beach Boys songs: The Nearest Faraway Place (instrumental) and notably 1971's "Disney Girls (1957)", which was covered by Cass Elliot, Captain & Tennille, Art Garfunkel, Jack Jones, and Doris Day. Johnston also sang lead on three songs from the 1970 Beach Boys album Sunflower: "Tears In The Morning", "Deirdre", and "At My Window".

Jon, I could add to the above, as could many who read this thread, but you get the idea -- Bruce is an active fellow, documented or not.

1972–77: Solo career

Johnston left the Beach Boys in 1972 to embark on a solo career, and wrote the Billboard number one, Barry Manilow hit "I Write the Songs", for which he won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year. "I Write the Songs" has been recorded by over two hundred artists (including Frank Sinatra), and it currently has a cumulative singles/albums worldwide sales figure of twenty-five million copies.

Jon, Bruce seemed to excel even without the Beach Boys as this is the major source of Bruce's current personal net worth of 25 million dollars.

1978–present: Return to the Beach Boys

Johnston returned to the fold in 1978 at Brian Wilson's request to appear on (and co-produce) the album L.A. (Light Album). The following year he was credited as sole producer on the follow-up LP, Keepin' the Summer Alive. Johnston has remained with the Beach Boys ever since and was the only member to continue touring with Mike Love as The Beach Boys after the death of Carl Wilson. In June 2012, Johnston, Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, and David Marks reunited for a new album and 50th anniversary tour. Despite his long involvement with the band, he no longer has a full membership in Brother Records, having traded his shares (but not his artist royalties) in 1972. Johnston still retains his equal ownership of the band's ASCAP publishing company, Wilojarston, and is the only member of the band to have earned a Grammy Award for Song of the Year.

Jon, As to his acknowledgement as a member of The R&R Hall of Fame ...  not to make a federal case of it, but here is a quote from the Official Congressional Record, Proceedings and Debates of the 107th Congress, First Session:  I refer you to page 18043 >>> https://books.google.com/books?id=_nd8ftr1zbgC&pg=PA18043&lpg=PA18043&dq=Is+Bruce+Johnston+a+member+of+the+Rock+and+Roll+Hall+of+Fame&source=bl&ots=LcnCDENPcP&sig=hcsyiH-P3znQFZ73x-yZ4ljNhds&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjE7JjB2uzMAhVKyoMKHWRvBWMQ6AEIVjAJ#v=onepage&q=Is%20Bruce%20Johnston%20a%20member%20of%20the%20Rock%20and%20Roll%20Hall%20of%20Fame&f=false

In this Congressional Record you will note that Mr. Johnston is cited several times, not only as a contributing member of The Beach Boys, but also for his philanthropic work for the betterment of mankind. To my way of thinking, if Bruce is a past, on and off, or currently performing Beach Boy, and Congress wishes to acknowledge his contribution to surfing music, Beach Boys included, as far as I'm concerned he is a member of the R&R Hall of Fame.

To conclude, Bruce Johnston is as integral to The Beach Boys as can be, In My Opinion. I don't give a sh*t what anyone says, Bruce has proven himself to be as much of a Beach Boy as Brian himself, who by the way, has abandon the group and given that tradition over to Michael and Bruce. ~swd