The Smiley Smile Message Board

I think I would love for Marilyn to write her story and include personal pictures. I think it would be such a great read.  Just watching the POB promo clip...I could listen to Marilyn all day!   She gives great insights and opinions which are never dull or repetitive.  Sometimes they are revealing.  So a book by her I think could be such a fresh take on things.

Who would you guys like to see write a book?

Desper (again), Darian Sahanaja, Mark Linett, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, Mike Love, Van Dyke Parks, Jeff Foskett, Billy Hinsche, et cetera. I'd love as many people as possible to address the same questions or topics to give the most well rounded views story as possible, even if they all conflict with one another in the details. Then a giant Anthology style book (or better, film series).

I would eliminate all of the usual suspects, including band and family members, because they still - STILL - are worried about jeopardizing their relationship with Brian.

My pick would be David Anderle. He appears to be both knowlegable and articulate, but, most importantly, honest. At the end of the Brian Wilson A & E documentary, he made a statement (and I'm paraphrasing), "The Brian Wilson you see today isn't the real Brian Wilson", or something to that effect. Does anyone have the exact quote? Anybody who would have the guts to say something, that he knows will be heard by Brian, and become part of the permanent record, gets my vote.   

I felt like, especially in the Smile doc, he always seemed really pro-Brian. Was he critical of Brian in any way, or just saying it as if to say Brian was a drug casualty (or some such thing)? Because if it were in a sympathetic way, I wouldn't be surprised. But if it were a "yeah, his work really isn't very good anymore" kind of way, that would really be be shocking. I saw that doc, but it was years ago. I don't own it.

I don't think David Anderle differentiated between the two, but, one implies the other in some ways doesn't it? I have heard Anderle be critical of Brian regarding the SMiLE era - it was Brian's irresponsible behavior, not the music of course. Then again, I also remember him saying, "Brian didn't know he was going to get sick", or something along those lines. Anderle just reminds me of a "matter of fact" kind of guy, not the rationalizing type....

Ginger Blake said that the real Brian Wilson is gone in the 1999 doc

Yes, that was near the Anderle segment. I was a little surprised they left that in the documentary. I guess no more backing vocal sessions with Brian for Ginger. :police:

Andy Paley would be my choice-though it obviously wouldn't be just about Brian, and Melinda would probably have none of it; (peace and love Melinda-TD.)

Well she just said something real, after Murry died we lost the real Brian.  Not that a truth like that would win her any point with Leaf or Melinda. Brian would probably agree, he said right out to John Tesh in 1991 that he has a lot of brain damage. Which makes what he does do now all the more remarkable.

 I know that he isn't somebody directly related to The Beach Boys, but I'd love to see Eric Aniversario(I hope I spelled that right) turn his setlist archive website into a book.  ;D

I'd like to see Mike Love write a book - it could win all sorts of awards for a work of fiction!!  ;)

I think I am over the tell-all type books. The 'he said/ did, no I didn't' story has been told enough for me.

How about a coffee-book size book with lots of rare pictures, many live concert shots with comments from famous and not so famous people who went to those shows? Also good album cover shots (all the albums) with indisputable quotes, comments and facts from the Beach Boys themselves.

Would keep this fan happy and mean the lawyers are not involved. ;)

I'd love to see a Keith Badman style book except with CORRECT information written by Ian Rusten and AGD. Also a sessions book written by Craig Slowinski. Those two would do a lot to bring a huge tradition of long standing Beach Boys myths and incorrect assumptions to their much needed death.

Joe Chemay.

I fully agree. Marilyn is one of the few close witnesses in the BB world I believe every word. If she would write a book, perhaps with her sister, that would be the most honest and revealing look on the first 20 BB years IMO. On the other hand, it's cool that she never did and in a way I hope she never will.

Ha, ha, very funny! How original to diss anything Mike says as fiction.




Either way, for better or worse, Mike really is probably the only person who was there who wouldn't be too scared to write a book that doesn't follow the Leaf/Piore lead. But it's a fine line. Although  the "Heroes And Villians" book had some valuable info, I hated Gains' attitude because he seemed like he wasn't even a fan. It was as though the only thing that appealed to him was the cliche of how behind the "fun and sun" lyrics and striped shirts, lay horror upon horror..... Yawn.

I would bet that part of the Marilyn/ Brian divorce settlement was no kiss and tell book. :police:

Al Jardine.  It just seems like we've hardly heard anything in his words, and when he did an interview with Goldmine (or somebody like that) about ten years ago it was fantastic.  Now that I think about it, I need to go dig that back out.  I wouldn't be that interested in the legal hassles.  I'd want to read everything he remembers about the Hawthorne Cougars, Murry, Audree, W.119th Street, Foster's Freeze, Jack Rieley, Dennis, every interesting session story.

If you'll excuse me, typing the words "Foster's Freeze" just gave me a combination of heartburn and  nausea. I miss that place.

Agreed. Al's always seemed relatively balanced in his opinions, and thoughtful on the all-too-rare occasions he's expressed them. I guess it would kind of be like John Paul Jones writing a book about Led Zeppelin.

I really kinda think an "anthology" type thing would be best!

I agree. Part of me would love to read her book (if she wrote it, I'd buy it), and part of me is pleased that she hasn't written one because although she's given interviews about Brian, she's never done it to draw attention to herself or to bring down Brian in the way a book might.
I thought I remember reading in a report about Marilyn at Stomp that she planned to publish Brian's love letters to her. I know the one she read on the A&E biography was very moving. I wonder if she asked Brian's permission and he said no.

 

John Stamos anyone??

Diane Rovell

Given her family involvement and the fact that she coordinated much of the sessions during the musical/commercial peak.  Could be a facinating read.

You never know what might come to fruition one day - www.pipeline-operaglass.moonfruit.com  :-D

My Life With the Beach Boys
by Joe Chemay

I was working with Pink Floyd and they told me that the Beach Boys were going to singing backup on a few songs. I was kind of excited! I mean, Brian Wilson, man. He made bass players look smart! So anyway, it's the big day and only Bruce Johnston shows up. But he plays bass too so it was alright. We had a nice chat about the bass notes in Pet Sounds centering mainly on the fifth instead of the tonic.

I guess it must've stuck with him because a few years later Bruce gave me a call and told me the Beach Boys needed someone to play bass on an epic disco masterpiece!

Uh, playing bass on Here Comes the Night was pretty cool, actually. It was a long song, though. Boy did my fingers hurt after a few takes of that!

Then I went on the road with the Boys for a little while. I was really excited that they were going to be making a film out of our concert at Knebworth. When we were watching the tape a few weeks later, though, I noticed the camera wasn't on me ONCE! It's like I wasn't even part of the band!

So then I decided to form my own band. No way they're not gonna show Joe Chemay in a film about the Joe Chemay Band!

Malcolm definitely has the inside track on this one...in fact he's got a great book sitting there in web site form...and i've been wanting to help him make it happen in print...but life is constantly slamming me with things like a POB reissue gig(can't complain). I really hope you, Malc, keep polishing and improving and one day it will be a book and a truly cool one.

Sorry for derailing the thread here, but wasn't the disco version of "Here Comes The Night" recorded and released at least six months before Pink Floyd got Bruce Johnston in to sing backups on THE WALL? I mean Pink Floyd didn't ask the Beach Boys to sing on an earlier album, did they?

A valid derailing.  I was wondering the same thing.

I left a message on the operaglass guestbook 2 years ago asking for those covers to be put in a book form. Yeah...still a great concept IMO. Goodluck!

Whatever, I was just joking.

Sorry, Aegir- zoomed right over my head!  Well-played....(little embarrassed guy)---> :-[

I'd like to see Mike write a book, because he's such a character it'd just stir up more controversy, and you wouldn't know what to believe and what not to believe.  Not that that's necessarily a good thing, but it would definately be intriguing, and much more interesting than any book anybody else could write. 

Marilyn would be a good book as well, but the problem is that she's moved on and remarried, so if she did it now it would seem to be opportunistic, which she's never done before and I doubt she will now.  Maybe 15 or 20 years ago it would have made sense, or if she went on to do something else she was 'famed' for she could write a book about her life, but her public persona is simply "Brian Wilson's ex-wife" and that would be horrible for her to represent herself in that way, when I'm sure she's much more proud of the private life she's living today that we know little about.   

I know he's gone but I would have loved to have read a book by Chuck Britz. If anyone knew the band he did, but he always kept a low profile when he probably could have sold his story for a ton of money. The fact that he didn't is partially why I value his input so much. Listening to the interview he gave that was on the board recently he didn't seem to dramatize or sugar coat the way things were. He was straightforward but you could tell he really cared about the boys.