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Miming to "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena" (why???) at some sort of Super Bowl festivities in 1987.  It turns into a comedy skit in which an old lady drives through the crowd, break dances on stage in front of the boys and then attacks Mike Love at the end.  This had me scratching my head for several reasons.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=al74EMyIATg

But kind of interesting that they performed this song as it is obviously a recording, perhaps this was supposed to be their next single at the time.  After the moderate success of California Dreamin', another cover would make sense.  Wonder why they never did anything with it, aside from the fact that it's not that great.  I know it was a part of their setlists though at that time.

As bad as their judgement could be at times, I can't imagine LOLFP was ever considered as a single for them in the 80's. Seeing this clip, though, I finally figured out where that group shot on the picture sleeve of Happy Endings came from.

Because the Super Bowl was played at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena that year ?

That "old lady" beating up on Mike is Ruth Buzzi as her character "Gladys" from the old Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In show. Her shtick was always expressing righteous indignation by attacking the offender with her purse...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_FM-RvLONU

Yep, the great Ruth Buzzi. God bless her for buying into the bit, but even she can't save this nauseating performance. I feel bad mainly for Carl; he doesn't seem to be enjoying himself very much up there. Brian has a great look on his face at 2:40-- "what the hell am I looking at here?"

If you didn't live through the eighties (or were too young to remember) and think it was a real cool time, watching this alongside Up with People's performance at Super Bowl XX in Miami should disabuse you of that notion once and for all. Life in Ronald Reagan's America.

2:40  :lol

"Uh...Hey guys, is this supposed to be happening?"

 :lol
Carl looks like he was getting into the Superbowl song at the start.

So, uh, is Mike wearing pants or pyjamas (or a hybrid, given it's the '80's)?

That "Superbowl" song in the intro...I won't even say it. We all know.   :lol

Welcome to mid to late 1980's network TV "specials", the only thing missing from this one besides entertainment value is a guest walk-on by Scott Baio and a Care Bears dance number "for the kids..."

.

Since "Kraft" sponsored it, they could have saved the show by dumping a vat of melted Velveeta processed cheese on host Patrick Duffy at some point.

.

Most cringeworthy TV appearance ? Simples.

The entire 7/5/81 gig on the Queen Mary at Long Beach CA. Watching on TV from his hotel room on tour, Carl, when asked, said simply "it was painful".

No, Carl - it was shocking. Excruciatingly, toe-curlingly, buttock-clenchingly awful.

.

No.

[sigh]

If you care to read what I actually posted - something some folk tend not to do that much in there here parts, it's becoming apparent - you'll discern that I was upbraiding Carl for saying the performance was merely "painful" when in fact it was utterly atrocious.

Prior that this, I'd posted that the most cringeworthy performance was the entire 7/5/81 show. Thus - best sit down, it's a tricky concept to grasp, but, I feel, worth the necessary effort - I was applying the term "cringeworthy" to that show. At Long Beach, the band most decidedly supplied all the cringeworthy elements by the simple act of getting up on stage and performing like a bad cover band, and having Adrian Baker aboard sure didn't help.

Worth watching just for that moment.  :lol

*Sighs*
*Shakes head*
*Mutters*
*Wearily draws self up from table*
*Takes long hot shower*
*Goes to sleep disappointed with the world*

Most cringeworthy? That was one of the best!

First of all, yes, the Superbowl was played in Pasadena that year. Hey, they could've asked Jan & Dean to appear. The Beach Boys were still "hanging around" during that period, with "Getcha Back", the Live Aid appearance, MTV videos, and several appearances on Solid Gold, which was a very popular show at that time.

I watched that Super Bowl show that night, and I recorded it (VHS), and I watched it over and over. I was thrilled. Excited. Optimistic. First and most importantly, Brian looked great. In my opinion, that was the best he ever looked. Ever. The white pants, the Hawaiian shirt, the great hair, holding a Fender bass. How could you not love it? I didn't care that they lip-synched it. Hey, they lip-synched "Don't Worry, Baby" in 1964. I thought it was a great version. Mike sounded great and the background vocals, which were newly recorded, sounded fresh as well. Carl was into it, as was the audience who were on their feet and clapping along.

Sure, the skit was corny, but so what. The Beach Boys were always surrounded by humor. The Andy Williams Show, The Jack Benny Show, The Monkey's Uncle, the 1976 NBC-TV special, Full House, the New Leave It To Beaver (cough), and several other TV shows. It wasn't that bad, and Mike was excellent as usual. It was TV appearances like this that kept hopa alive for Beach Boys fans back in those days. As a diehard, you just went through a very trying time (1980-83). Seriously, I can't believe this is being criticized. It has always been a FAVORITE of mine.

I loved Brian's performance here. You don't even need to squint your eyes to see the 1964 Brian bobbin' away with his bass (neck held high). He even has the same hairstyle.

You forget how young they still were in the 80's. Carl was only 41 here, my age.

The only cringe worthy thing was that 'Granny'. Looked like she was having some sort of seizure. I was embarrassed for her.

I think I saw that at some point years ago (I may even have it on VHS somewhere), but that definitely is one of the top awesomely awful group TV appearances. These ones are fun because the guys aren’t performing poorly per se (in this case, they’re miming to a “meh” 80’s re-recording of a Jan & Dean song), to the hilarity is in the awkward nature of the entire presentation and the show as a whole. Even setting aside their “aging dudes in 80’s regalia” look, the entire thing is amazingly and hilariously off. Brian’s “is this supposed to be happening?” look is, on its own, worth watching the entire clip.

I think the band’s Carl-less 1981-82 time frame resulted in musically worse appearances, and had the band looking even more bored, haggard, and phoning it in than at that later point in the mid-late 80’s. However misplaced or misguided, they had a little spunk and enthusiasm left at that stage.

Even worse in some ways than the ’81 Queen Mary show was the circa 1981-82 Carl-less appearance on Dick Clark’s 35th Anniversary show for American Bandstand. The band (minus Carl, but with Brian and Dennis, and Figuroa and Carter) mime to the “Beach Boys Medley” single, thus the odd spectacle of a haggard 1982 Brian Wilson miming to 1966 Carl Wilson on “Good Vibrations” (and missing the cue for the high note). They barely show Dennis, who looks bloated and out of it in the few distant shots you can see. The band clearly hasn’t rehearsed the song changes found in the “Medley”, and at one point when switching over to “Help Me Rhonda”, Al misses the cue and shrugs literally as if “meh, whatever, we clearly don’t care.” Later on, during the “all-star” jam on “Rock Around the Clock” where a bunch of stars take solo turns, Al must represent the Beach Boys, and turns in an awesomely bad guitar solo (after nearly choking on his glass of wine to put it down when Dick Clark calls him on stage). Definitely a mixture of sad and hilarious.

Probably the only redeemable moment in this whole fiasco :lol

Thanks for giving us younger fans some context, Sheriff...however it's still fairly unnerving to watch haha.

Oh wow, I've never seen that one. This confirms my beleif that at some point prior to that appearance, the Devil came to Mike and offered a deal for another #1 hit if Mike would sell the band's soul.

The "is this supposed to be happening?" look:

(http://lh4.ggpht.com/-25j4VY7BcWU/U3TqhHW_wsI/AAAAAAAAAEs/xAE09F7Rr9g/s1600/Screenshot_2014-05-15-09-23-44-1.png)

You fellas don't think everything about this including the group's mugging isn't scripted/prompted and rehearsed?

Of course. But they were/are all horrible actors, and that Brian look is all Brian. Even if he was told to look "fake concerned", his true awkwardness still comes through. This group's level of awkwardness in these situations is a strange kind of art itself.

This appearance pairs nicely with Brian's tight leather pants performance of "Night Time." :)

I think 2:40 was not scripted.

this is not even close to being their worst appearance.  As others above mentioned just a few years previously Carl was missing and near death Brian and Dennis were being "featured." I remember watching this live and at the time was pretty excited at least by how young and healthy the guys looked, especially Brian. By the way, Mike's pants and Brian and Bruce's shirts were part of the Boys' short lived HOBO clothing line from 1986-87 which was also worn by the group on the 25 Years Together tv special which aired on US televison just a couple of months after this.

Thanks. I can't unsee that clip now you know...

Interesting clip.  The track is kind of cool; you can hear all the guys are on it -- Bruce seems to be singing the falsetto line.

Given the looseness of the double I'm wondering if the mics weren't live and the guys were singing along to the track (which they did on a couple of '80s TV appearances).  Hard to say, it could have just been quickie recording.

Wow, Carl looks fantastic.

If Ruth Buzzi were dancing like that, but wearing a peasant dress, Birkenstocks, and a few beads in her hair instead of the Granny costume, she'd look like any number of women trippin' balls dancing to "Dark Star" at an 80's Dead show.   :o

Agree wholeheartedly.  The Boys, in this clip, were simply doing what was done in that era of television.  So what if they were lip-syncing to a Jan and Dean hit?  They all appeared healthy and relatively happy (Carl looked great).  Looks like everyone was having a good time.

I also remember what the band was like during concert tours about five years earlier.  The no-Carl concerts were the REAL absolute worst in the history of the Beach Boys.

In 2012, people paid large sums of money to see (granted for one or two songs) a 100 lb. heavier Brian, standing on stage with an inaudible Fender bass, plucking (or not) a single string on the bass with his thumb, not uttering a syllable, barely moving, and looking like he couldn't wait to get the hell out there. And, people would post the next day how great that "moment" was. And you criticize that 1987 clip? If you had the Brian that was on that 1987 Super Bowl show behave like that TODAY, you would all be having coronaries.

That "Super Night at the Super Bowl" song in the beginning (to which I noticed Carl is bopping along) just goes to show that even in the 80s, people still did these totally unironic, cheesy songs. They still did those "it's Oscar night" songs at the Academy Awards, too, until Billy Crystal started mocking them.

I don't think Brian went to rehearsal. He seems to not realize it's a bit.

Eric, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you. JK, I don't have a bridge in Brooklyn.

It's in London.

The most embarrassing part is how much into the dancing all of the Boys are getting in the intro behind the guy from Dallas. They were all all in on this turkey.

Brian and Carl looked great though  :thumbsup, but the rest of it...I agree Ruth is what made it weird.  her crazy dancing made Mike look like Fred Astaire and at least it took my mind away from the fact that the BBs were doing their oldies but goodies act  ::).

(Raises hand.) They were called Zubaz back then!

God, I'm old.



Okay, you do have a point here. Brian does look fabulous. He's fit and into it.



Mhmm. This.



Yes! Nailed it!

Okay, so regarding the divided outlooks amongst the posters here; it seems that many are making the case that this isn't really all that bad because the guys are looking fit and sober and relatively healthy, as opposed to any number of performances from the "late Dennis era" I guess you'd call it. All very true.

However I think this point of view seems to reflect the outlooks of those who were around at the time; and I think it's safe to say that to anyone born after, say, 1980, this all comes across as shockingly awful.

It starts with the cheese factor, and not just the Beach Boys. If anything that "Super Time at the Super Bowl" song is the real culprit. It's absolutely just not the kind of stuff that would ever fly today. As a culture we're just too cynical and post-modern for that sort of nonsense.

(Although I was surprised I was able to ID what I initially thought to be three random homeless guys who wandered onto the set. It turned out to be Larry, his brother Daryl and his other brother Daryl, standing alongside their patriarch Bob Newhart! Only people here of a certain age will get that one.)

Now you can make the case that the B-Boys were also doing pure corn in the early sixties with the matching sailor suits and whatnot, but at the least those old clips have a sort of period charm to them that's just utterly absent in these bland mid-eighties clips. It comes down to style; something eighties mainstream entertainment lacked completely.

The whole thing just reeks of a ringing endorsement of the conservative values of Ronald Reagan America. It's safe and non-threatening. The Beach Boys are projecting an image that is at odds with reality, and I can see why people watching this nowadays would object to that.

yeah!!  I quite dig it just for Brian alone!!

wow! - 60's meets 80's Brian!!!  in some instances, he seems exactly the same guy he was back then.......

oh wait, he is the same guy...... but you know what I mean..??.....

the track has me interested, it certainly seems mimed to me, the vox are too good and balanced....

where, when and who recorded on this track..... is Brian even on this recording?..... I can't hear him, sure ain't him on falsetto.... Bruce? Baker? Jeff?

RickB

I'm with the Sherrif on this one.  For what it is (and please, consider what it is), it's fine.  The guys look great physically and even the clothes are fine, if you remember when it took place.  And THEIR performance is totally acceptable.  Ruth Buzzi, on the other hand...  YIKES!  :o

I'm not trying to be a negative Nancy here, but what you call a performance is rote lip-synching. This by the band that used to do elongated jams on "Feel Flows" with Charles Lloyd soloing his ass off on flute. Seems like there is a huge divide here on what performing actually entails.

For what it's worth, I think Ruth Buzzi is the only one actually "performing" in this entire spectacle. Everyone else here is just going through the motions, Mrs. Huxtable included.

Sobriety seems overrated in this context  :hat

That superbowl song :o :o :o

Christ! someone get me a beer pronto!!!

Hey thanks for proving my point! That Super Bowl song is the worst part of the video, by far. The Beach Boys to me at least are quite tolerable after that monstrosity.

By the way you're named after one of my favorite Free Design songs of all time, so you can do no wrong in my book.  ;D

Off topic, but have you seen this? It was a big deal when it first surfaced on the YouTubes a year or two ago. Much better than Super Bowl XXI. Of course there is no Patrick Duffy or Ruth Buzzi in a mini-car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlZNlk4Awwo

Yeah, its great, actually called my band from a few years back after the song thus the username here

I respect what you all said about the theme song, but you miss the point that all those attendees may actually enjoy it, even Brian seems so into this whole shebang. So if the people had fun, we can't selfishly say it's "cringeworthy", can we? Regarding the lady in mini-car, I genuinely thought she was funny. Yes, her question "And who is that granny?" was dumb & she had annoying voice, but there's nothing more entertaining than watching people dance like idiots. She acted as a real circus clown.

Nice version of Little Old Lady, at least it's sth. fresh than usual Surfer Girl or Don't Worry Baby (the song was performed only in 1964, right?). I agree with Sheriff & other senior posters that it's not the worst appearance of The Boys & they all indeed look great. Brian taking on the bass duty & Mike's dressing choice are enough for every fan to want to see the video. As for quickie glance, it's not the 1st time when Brian does so, totally unscripted unlike the rest, including the fighting scene.

OT: besides the BBs, I also enjoyed the final scene. No wonder, considering I'm a big fan of marches & long street parades. Likes me some festive music.

Me too.  I wasn't suggesting the vocals weren't tracked in the studio -- just that the Boys may have been singing live doubling TO a pre-recorded track of their vocals.  They did that on a couple of other TV appearancaes around that time.  The vocals do sound well-balanced, but sloppier than their usual studio recordings, plus Mike clearly has a live mic towards the end.  Though as I said, it could have just been a quickie recording.

Sounds like Bruce on the falsetto to me.

This certainly isn`t the most cringeworthy appearance by the group. The song sounds ok (still unreleased I guess) and most of the band look healthy. I would personally say that Brian looks `wrong` but not half as bad as he did when promoting BW88 when he was dancing on TV in leather trousers.

There have been many worse appearances by the group members such as the early 80s shows, Brian`s Norway concert where he can`t remember any of the words to Love and Mercy, Mike singing Imagine etc.

Admit, though, that it didn't lack in hilarity factor.

You just listed my all time favorite Beach Boys-live moments. Early 80's shows aint that bad. I don't get why so many people bash them. Dennis and Brian near death? Come on, Brian is pretty much the same in early 80's concerts than he was in the 90's and early 2000's. And Dennis, yeah, he is pretty much always a little drunk but he's pounding those drums like crazy. Brian's Norway concert is one of the funniest things I've ever seen, especially Love and Mercy. "A lot of people out there getting SHOT!" And Mike's Imagine is so bad that it's actually good.

This TV-performance on the other hand is useless, cheesy, horrible and laughable. It doesn't help that Little Old Lady From Pasadena is a very irritating and horrible song. I still agree that Brian and Carl looked great. BUT rock concerts or live shows are not a beauty contest, so that doesn't give it any extra points.

Mike singing Imagine is one of your favorite Beach Boys moments?

Sure. Like I said, it's a classic!

Don't act like it isn't one of yours.

;D


Stone-faced Brian standing awkwardly behind what's-his-face in the first 10 seconds is hilarious as well. He looks as if he had just been teleported there without his knowledge and doesn't know what the f*ck is going on. ;D

(http://oi59.tinypic.com/2gwrpdu.jpg)

^ :lol :lol

The more I stare at the picture, the funnier it becomes.

Really? The best word I can use to describe that screenshot is "troubled". While it's good to see him fit, you can't deny the flip-side of Landy years that shows Brian in a different drugged-out way.

.

I love how half-heartedly he's waving that pom-pom.  :lol

We all know the "background". :-\ The humour, however, is situational - and self-sufficiently operative, to a certain degree. Those 10 seconds are suitably in that frame. At least that's how I see it. :-D


I'm so proud!

Hey - you're right! That's exactly the way I look too when that happens to me! :o

That look is the same look I had about 15 years ago, halfway through the first day of a new day job at some anonymous office that had dozens of people answering phones and shuffling papers but not really producing anything.

Halfway through the day, they told me there was a mistake and they couldn't pay me what they agreed to pay me when they hired me, they told me the job would not be what they told me when they hired me, and I was put into a room with a lady whose job it was to stamp papers and hand-carry them to these other workers talking on the phone.

That face Brian made was exactly what I looked like for the next few hours.

The next morning, I went in to the office, told the two managers they lied to me, told them a few other things, and proceeded to walk the hell out. It was a beautiful morning that day, and one of the best days of my life. On the drive home I think my face probably looked like Bruce, smiling non-stop no matter what was taking place.  ;D

Is it as cringeworthy/funny as this car crash

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-kAnNgqN9o (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-kAnNgqN9o)

Everynow and then as a Beach Boys fan you just have to watch this just to reconfirm that it actually DID happen.

I still vote Summer of Love/Baywatch as the most cringeworthy. The version of Little Old Lady actually sounds decent. Mike kept the nasality way down unlike concerts during that time.

"Summer Of Love" is both gross, and (owing to different band members being on the shoot at different times) extremely confusing.

Nah. The boys are looking pretty good here and the song is fine. The production is typical 80's cheese, but no one watching at that time would have been embarrassed by the boys performance. We weren't that cynical back then, and this stuff was what passed for event TV.

Ruth Buzzi, however, was pretty over the top, even for a Laugh In veteran.

Really, the Beach Boys were the best part of that cheese fest.  God I love the 80's. 

I would say that the U.K. TV appearances as Status Quo`s backing singers are more embarrassing. Even as a kid, not being a big fan at that time, it struck me as absurd that the more famous act were providing backing vocals. And they did pretty much every light entertainment show on TV!

At least if you were in the UK, you had a chance of knowing who Status Quo were. The first time I read that name, I assumed the BB’s had teamed up with an “N Sync” style boy band.  :lol

When I finally heard their “collaboration”, I was kind of perplexed, as it was even more unremarkable than the “Stars and Stripes” stuff, just a really generic cover version like you’d hear on those rip-off “greatest hits” cover version albums.

You know, I have often thought how much their status was abused as back-up to other acts. I know only certain BB's were involved but the only 4 songs I have any time for are 'Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me' by Elton John, ''Wishing You Were Here' with Chicago, 'Air That I Breath' with Julio and yes...I admit it.....'Warmth Of The Sun' with Willie.

Brian in that pic with Duffy, looks like he did (if I am recalling the right source of the picture) on the back cover of Holland.   A sort of lost and paranoid look.   Landy changed the package but the man inside had not changed.

Going on with the loose thread unravelling here, I saw Brian in one of the no Carl shows back in the early 80's.  THAT was, to me,  the epitomy of cringeworthy.   An unwashed, obese, pajama clad Brian sat behaind the piano, sang Don't Worry Baby, and I think Surfer Girl, off key, falsetto breaking and cracking.  Later inthe show, I had made my way to the area near the backside of the stage and could see a withdrawn looking Brian, sitting on the edge of the stage, legs and feet dangling, staring at the back wall of the arena.   With no Carl, that left Mike, Al, and Bruce on stage to plow through the car songs and assorted oldies.   Having attended live performances by these artists over the course of more than 4 decades, this was the nadir.   

The Des O'Connor Show... Jeez.

 :lol "I wanna see you in a bathing suit"  :lol "I'd like to see you in New York"  :lol

Those "no Carl" shows around 1981 (I wasn't there; have only seen concert videos) were embarrassing for me to watch, but I'm not sure the band (minus Carl) was actually able to feel embarrassment at that point.  The concert footage that I've seen showed a zombie-like version of the band. In brief moments they were a reasonable facsimile of their former selves, with Al, Mike and Bruce trying to deliver a good show. But Brian's contributions sent the entire show into a tailspin. It was pitiful to watch and hear. I agree with you, donald; those shows WERE the pinnacle of cringeworthy.

(I'm a huge fan of Brian Wilson and thankful he got past that stage of his life).

Just gave it a watch, and I absolutely agree. Not only cringeworthy, but downright depressing. Brian kinda just disappears halfway through (after a first half of absolutely terrible vocals - the intro to School Days made me laugh, I'm sorry to say) and everyone is in horrid form - they even somehow manage to f*** up the one-note line of "Ba Ba Ba Ba Barbara Ann".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Rs_kaSkNmU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Rs_kaSkNmU)

There are EIGHT parts, and I sat through all of them.  :'(

wowwww.......... is that really Brian doing ('attempting') the falsetto parts for the songs?....

if he was in good shape he would have sounded GREAT to him do those original parts again...

or is that Adrian Baker?.......

RickB

Why did an Adrian Baker era even exist when Bruce was back with the band?

(http://oi62.tinypic.com/2zxpf1y.jpg)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MdwhxyYDXE#t=35

How can you not love Mr. Hawthorne?

I think that`s actually the least embarrassing one when you consider they were on Talking Telephone Numbers and The Shane Ritchie Experience!

The way it started out was fine, but that $hitty singing made me wanna vomit.

That is indeed utterly excruciating to watch. A million times worse than Baywatch which is saying something.

Brian's face at 1:38! :lol

Word.

Bullpucky! :lol

Pardon if this isredundant to what ha been posted, but the BW and Frankie Vallie Dick Clark special while not cringe worthy was much like watching a well trained, but terrified animal do tricks on stage .   We'll, I guess I did cringe.  like watching a middle aged, burnt out but rehabilitated Judi garland perform on a tv variety show in the 60 's.       Was landya curse or a blessing?

There's more funny to that video than cringeworthy. My fave mo' is seeing Brian, Bruce & Al slip-cueing - kinda cool! And of course, I like the song, am glad it exists.

Well, it's not really The Beach Boys, but this gets my vote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIX0L7TWcCw

Yeah. When I saw that live, I was excited to see the guys and I loved the float (Being the 50's-60's retro girl that I am). Then the music started. Aside from the bad lip sync (which happens sometimes in parade settings), I just couldn't get past Mike's chipmunk voice. 

OK. That was strange. But, I admit that I laughed when Brian revealed the keyboard in the desk.

what else would Brian have in his desk?  ;D

I can't think of too many cringeworthy TV appearances by the group itself. Most of my personal cringeworthy moments are from Brian-related performances, starting in 1976 with The Mike Douglas Show, Saturday Night Live, and the NBC-TV Special. The late 1970's weren't too bad, but after Brian emerged with Landy in 1983, it was one nerve-wracking moment after another. For almost every TV appearance, I found myself literally holding my breath, clenching the VCR remote control, and praying that Brian would get through without embarrassing himself.

The most cringeworthy TV appearance I remember was Brian's performance on David Letterman's show in 1988. He looked absolutely petrified as he shouted "Nighttime", but the most uncomfortable part was the interview that followed. I taped the performance that night, and it's still hard to watch 26 years later. So many times I would watch Brian on TV and wonder why he was subjected to that torture. Well, I guess I do know why...

You can watch it again here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp2iACbAsbA

Atrocious.

this is by far hands down the worst..... or sadest perhaps   :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaQWQ7Zc4cQ

GMA 1980...

RickB

Seeing those clips of Brian remind me it's good he got out of the house. He should be an inspiration for agoraphobics and people with all kinds of disabilities. So what if he was and is a little odd. It's like when people thought Dick Clark should stop appearing on New Year's Rockin' Eve after his stroke. Hey, he lived through it, it's something to celebrate.

Point taken, KittyKat. It's a complicated subject, and, you know what, there actually haven't been too many threads discussing the issue.

I think Brian's appearances and the Dick Clark appearances after his stroke are a little apples and oranges. I have to question how much Brian wanted to appear on TV, looked forward to it, and got satisfaction/rewards from his performances. And, more importantly, I wonder how much his TV appearances were voluntary or something he really wanted to do. On the other hand, while I don't know for a fact, I would think that Dick Clark wanted to return to the New Year's Rockin' Eve broadcast. It was probably a goal, physically and emotionally, and something that was very, very important to him. And, also, unlike Brian, I'll bet it was something that Dick Clark CHOSE to do.

Yes, there are times when people with disabilities have to be prompted or led to do certain things. And, yes, while it might be a little uncomfortable for them, it can be considered "for their own good". There were many instances in Brian's career/life when this was true. I'm not so sure some of these TV appearances are among them.

There's also this cringey interview, though it's certainly not Brian's fault...

http://youtu.be/siRSEBG8uJU (http://youtu.be/siRSEBG8uJU)

You mean the hair of the bassist and the saxophone player? :o

I thought Brian seemed quite comfortable and with it in the interview.

i did too. Honestly, he seemed more with it there than he does now, for whatever reason.

Really? Actually, that interview is the most uncomfortable I have EVER seen Brian in any interview. He incorporated everything - the extreme talking out of the side of his mouth, the forced exaggerated laugh, the not understanding the interviewer's questions, the fidgeting in the seat, the rolling of the tongue along the inside of the cheek, giving answers that have nothing to do with the question, wiping his running nose with his finger, and having a quizzical look on his face at the end of interview. Even though it was a YouTube video and I knew what to expect, I was STILL holding my breath as I was watching it. :o :-D

Brian's been doing that since the early days ;D

http://youtu.be/wTCDXpxC5m8?t=2s (http://youtu.be/wTCDXpxC5m8?t=2s)

Okay, since no one else has, I'll be the one to state the obvious:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZSAQX2uuUY

Same with Al, who gave an erroneous answer to an easy Dick Clark question - "What's the name of your new album?" Al: "Fun, Fun, Fun". :o The more things change, the more they stay the same...

Most Beach Boy TV appearances are a little cringe-worthy.  They always seem awkward on camera.  The only one that has ever looked comfortable and natural was Carl.

Whenever the camera or interviewer went to Carl, I always feel a sigh of relief.  But as it pans back to Mike and Brian, I feel cringe coming  on.  Even Denny -- he could go on some tangent about how incredible the love is in the room or something.   :lol

I thought Brian was fine during the Letterman interview.  Quite relaxed, naturally funny.  In the Dick Clark interview he was pretty similar to how he is now, a bit distant as if he's thinking of a million other things.

What is this? I've never heard of it. On YouTube?

Like The Real BB, Erik H & Co., I think it was cool! Dig Mike's forthright attitude (though it'd be better if he said anything to Dylan as well).

I thought the Letterman appearance was good - Brian didn't have to dance on that one, just sat down at the piano and banged out "Nighttime".

I enjoyed Brian on Letterman.

The BBs most cringeworthy TV-related appearance = "Happy Endings" video clip.

Quite a few but off the top of my head. The 'Beach Boys Huddle' on Full House. Interview early 90s I guess when Brian waffles then asks for Landy to be brought out. Solid Gold from the early 80s with Dennis out of it and drumming so far back on stage he looked like a left over from the previous weeks show.

I am sorry. The most cringe worthy TV appearances? Good Morning America December 1980 and live at the Queen Mary, July 5, 1981. Hands down.

Yeah, these two get my votes as well. Their appearance on Merv Griffin in 1981 would take the third spot on my list

I never understood why they covered Little Old Lady From Pasadena, and I never understood why that attrocious song became a hit in the first place. People really were square in the 60's, and Jan and Dean are probably the perpetrators of some of the biggest embarrasements to surf rock I have ever heard.

Performance wise, Queen Mary, hands down. They were flat out awful w/o Carl Wilson,.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNtGEKNhlC4

From the Live 50th DVD (so not TV appearance) but check out Bruce at 7.00

That's anything but cringworthy - Bruce has the best moves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P2rNmox86Q#t=43 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P2rNmox86Q#t=43)

This sh*t's pretty horrible, but as a child of the 80's there's absolutely nothing about this any worse than every single thing that was on t.v. at the time.  All of entertainment was like this. 

The top t.v. shows of 1987 were:

1. The Bill Cosby Show - Great show, I won't pretend like it wasn't great.  Above ridicule in my opinion.

2. Family Ties - Horrible

3. Cheers - Pretty good but corny acting worse than Carl's in the video

4. Murder, She Wrote

5. Night Court - John Laraquette & Harry Anderson.  Funny but pretty bad

6. Golden Girls - pretty horrible but I love it

7. 60 minutes

8. Growing Pains - horrible

9. Moonlighting - horrible

10. Who's the Boss? - possibly the worst thing ever on t.v.


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Top selling music that year was:

1. Faith - George Michael - Horrible

2. Alone - Heart - Awesome

3. I wanna Dance With Somebody - Whitney - Dated, cheesy... I love it though, gotta love her

4. Cest La Vie - Robbie Nevil

5. Shake You Down - Gregory Abott

6. La Bamba - los lobos

7. Livin on a Prayer - Bon Jovi

8. Here I Go Again - Whitesnake

9. Heaven is a place on earth - Belinda Carlisle

10. I've had the time of my life - Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes







So, yeah, the Beach Boys were pretty bad in that t.v. show but sh*t look at what else was going on that year.  Was it really any worse than Growing Pains?

This 1978 news clip is a pretty cringeworthy TV appearance. Carl isn't really in any better shape than Brian. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSLclEJ0IAQ

You mean you didn't love Alyssa Milano as Tony Danza's daughter?

I hate to get off-topic but I disagree with you about Cheers.  I'm 21 and I've watched the first few seasons on Netflix, it still holds up incredibly well, especially because and not in spite of the great cast.

Don't lump this guy into the worst-of 1987 list:

(http://www.endedtvseries.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/19bb602984f88cd5c5873e14f0e059a7.jpg)

And don't forget there was a time in 1987 when you could watch the Monkees 5 nights a week in reruns on cable, and for a month or two "Daydream Believer" was actually the most-requested video on MTV's countdown show. Imagine that, pop music on MTV that not only had a heart and soul and sounded damn good, but was 20 years old at the time us kids were digging it. Then contrived nonsense and pure sh*t like NKOTB took over and any number of insipid, truly interchangeable hair-metal bands playing pointy guitars became "rock".


It actually all changed in 1986, for music at least. Television with very few exceptions in 86-87 was pretty bad, but mainstream music and especially top-40 radio mostly went to sh*t after 1985. Not that it was all good before that, far from it, but there was some kind of energy in top-40 radio that died out (for good) in 1986...at least in Philly.

When one of the most played top-40 records we'd hear was Bon Jovi, I think I trace that to when I switched to other radio formats and went searching. Fortunately there was also "Appetite For Destruction" soon after, too, but even that terrific band imploded too soon.

Ahh, the 80's. No, actually most anything after 1986 doesn't count as 80's nostalgia for those who enjoy such a thing.

So this "special" is a victim of its era. Maybe.

Yes, some of that is cringeworthy, no doubt. But, that's also one of the most fascinating few minutes of Brian on film. Something was bothering him; for a second he actually looks pissed off which he usually didn't show, but he hangs in there and continues along. That 1976-1981 period of Brian is so fascinating with so many unanswered questions as to what happened to him. At times he appeared so lucid and....interesting.

Cheers is one of the few things from the 80's that STILL holds up. And a large part of that was because of the cast.

I like Cheers, i'll take that one back. 

I've been avoiding this thread for a while because I hate seeing embarrassing beach boys tv appearances, I've seen far too many.

Since I've been cognisant of this video, my life has been seriously worse off.

Sorry to revive such an old thread, but does anyone have a copy of The Boys' appearance.  It was on Patricia's Ultimate Beach Boys Video Collection YouTube channel that was taken down years ago.  If anyone has a copy, it would be awesome.  Thanks!