The Smiley Smile Message Board

Never knew THIS existed https://youtu.be/lTGCLisWd9M

That got me thinking…we know how the Brian’s back promotion went and LA Light and KTSA as well. However, there’s not as much existing footage nor discussion for the pre-release hype for Love You and MIU. If there is, I’m not that familiar with it. For those who were around back then and following the band, what kind of hype or promotion do you remember there being?

Love You got played in its entirety on 96Rock in Atlanta, exactly once. After that, zilch, other than reviews in music magazines.

Was Love You the first BBs album to have a promo t-shirt made for it?

I know there was smiley smile sweatshirt that I believe was available for sale from the band's fan club in '67 - There's a photo of Al wearing it.

But other than that fan club item for sale, I'm pretty sure LY is the first album by the band to receive a promotional T-shirt. Unless I'm mistaken?

MIU never had a promo shirt made… post LY, I think there were no promo shirts for any albums made until BB85; there was a 1979 light album tour shirt that incorporates some of the album art, but I don't really count that since it's more of a live tour shirt as opposed to strictly being a promo item for the studio album.

There's also a neat 1976 promo frisbee made for 15 big ones.

I recall seeing a pretty good amount of promo stuff for "15 Big Ones." I remember a kite:

(https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images3/1/0815/07/beach-boys-15-big-ones-1978-warner_1_c276368e4ae14a2dc38662626e8750e3.jpg)

And here's the mentioned frisbee:

(https://images.eil.com/large_image/THE_BEACH_BOYS_15%2BBIG%2BONES-453849.jpg)

Well, M.I.U. of course had the TV special, as did Keepin' The Summer Alive.

I remember the M.I.U. one was "Our Team" and the KTSA one was called "Goin' Platinum" or something.

I will say it doesn't seem like The Beach Boys were very well promoted from Smiley Smile through Holland. The labels just didn't seem to be doing it. However with everything from 15 Big Ones through That's Why God Made The Radio, every album outside of Love You got quite the push. I mean, any group that got a TV special, especially in the '70s and early '80s when there just weren't a ton of choices on the TV, you had to be happy.

Now, why Love You didn't get that push might've come down to the their new contract with CBS at the time, which I'm sure didn't make Warners very happy. And while I consider Love You a top Brian Wilson / Beach Boys album, I'm just not sure I can see a world where that thing ever sells a bunch, even with expert promotion.

Well, maybe one other album didn't get a ton of promotion, but I really can't speak on it. L.A. (Light Album)? I know they definitely did some personal publicity with personal signings and what not, but how heavily was it promoted? I mean, as their first record for CBS I'd assume they put a lot into it, but I honestly don't know / can't remember.

The BB hosted an episode of The Midnight Special specifically to promote LA.

My impression at the time was that L.A. got a pretty extensive push. There was quite a lot of presence in record stores with end caps and such. The two singles got a substantial amount of airplay in my rural upstate New York market.

KTSA on the other hand barely broke a wave. I heard the title track on a local AOR station once (and loved it), that was it. Plus Goin' Platinum, I did see that.

I have what's left of the frisbee after the dog got ahold of it and I have the kite which is in fair condition.

(https://i.imgur.com/212pStQ.jpg)

We need a video of the kite flying…

Absolutely, with Mike Love providing the wind, it will reach stellar heights!  :woot :woot :woot :woot :woot

:lol

I wasn't really a Beach Boys fan in the late 70's, but I remember going to the record store and getting my free copy of Phonograph Record Magazine in (guessing) September 1977, and seeing a bunch of stuff about Beach Boys Love You.  I didn't even know it was out; certainly never heard it on the radio. The same issue had a review of Pacific Ocean Blue, but I never heard that on the radio, either. I did get some kind of free sampler EP from CBS around that time that had River Song on it, along with songs by Burton Cummings, Cheap Trick, and Ram Jam.
I do remember hearing Peggy Sue on the radio once, so I was aware of MIU Album. LA Light Album seemed to get a pretty strong push; once again, I got a free magazine at the record store, where the Beach Boys and LA was a pretty big story (after Wings Around the World cover story); I heard Here Comes the Night on the radio at least once; then Good Timin' got regular airplay here for a couple months. With KTSA, I was aware it was out, but don't recall seeing any promotion behind it. Oddly, Carl's solo debut a year later seemed to be a bigger story. I remember seeing write ups in nearly all the music zines; maybe that's just because I was in the early stages of my BB's obsession. I was reading David Leaf's book, and looking all over town for a copy of Pet Sounds.