The Smiley Smile Message Board

Everywhere there is talk about Mikes big ego. It's a big part of the narrative and legacy in the bands history.

But just sake of the argument:
Give me some really good examples of Brian actually caring for someone else post 1965. (Writing lyrics doesn't count)

I could give you many examples of Carl caring for someone post 1965.
Brian? Should be some interesting responses here.

Charity phone-in after Hurricane Katrina immediately springs to mind.

Plus

https://www.changedirection.org/brian-wilson/

And an offer to refund tickets.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2008/jul/24/brianwilsonfansnotwearing

Adopting kids and dogs? I’ll not pass judgment.

There is an interview with Brian from the late 90s, I think 1997 or 98 if memory serves, where he is talking about having been a lousy father early in the lives of his daughters.

He was reflecting, and was talking about where he screwed up and how he wants to make amends for that now because he cares and loves them, and wants to do better.

That to me, is the sign of a caring mensch who can self-reflect as a mature adult.

It always struck me that during the campfire film, Brian was the first person who was concerned that a child was about to walk into the fire.

he helped a lot of people with their records and production back in the day. Jan & Dean and Glen Campbell come to mind immediately.

Van Dyke speaks of Brian's generosity when they first started working together. Brian helped him get a car and paid him before they even got going.

I also admire Brian's ability to speak complimentary of just about everyone, even those who don't particularly deserve it.

Brian went out of his way to call Mike a genius several years ago. I believe he did this to make Mike feel good; it was a very gracious thing to publicly say. Regardless if people agree with Brian's statement or not, regardless if people feel Mike deserved that, I would tend to think that Brian saying it was out of a selfless, caring attitude Brian seems to have.

I seem to recall reading that Brian made contributions to songs in the late 60s and then refused credit. Little Bird comes to mind as one where he told Dennis that he (Dennis) should get sole credit as composer (not lyricist, of course).

Correct me if I'm wrong.

"We can't do this. I have to give the songs to them. They're family and I have to take care of my family"

- Brian Wilson to Chuck Negron/Redwood, Sept. 1967

Good enough?

I get the point of the thread and, nothing against the original poster, but I hate when someone needs to be built up in the face of someone else being torn down.

There is good and bad in MOST people. But, the fact that almost literally every thread on this board ends up turning into a "Mike is Satan" thread is honestly exhausting.

I love the deep knowledge and never-ending discoveries involving the band that come to light here! But, the negativity drags things down to a ridiculous level.

Star Trek V?  ;D

There was also the story of Brian buying an expensive instrument for a member of the Wrecking Crew because it was needed for the session, and then saying "it's yours."

Nice list. Brian also did Musicares and, as I understand it, they raised more money than the honored artists in the past. Brian and Melinda worked as a team on that. She's good at getting contributions for a good cause.

Obviously, I've seen a lot of personal examples of Brian's kindness. Brian never wanted anyone to be hurt. He's so focused that he doesn't always do the standard, polite things. But I know that when he looks back on such situations, he does his best to fix any unintended hurt.

Responding to another post - I didn't take this thread as an anti-Mike thing. At  the worst, it seemed to imply to me, "Brian's not so great, either." Hopefully, that wasn't the intention. Neither of them is perfect and both have made charitable contributions. If anyone thinks Brian hasn't given a lot of love through his music, I'm curious as to why you're here.

We're just all doing our best as flawed mortal beings. So are they. The more we give each other a break, I think the better life is.

Ah, another one just came to mind. Before he was a star, Brian loved teaching kids to play baseball. He was pretty proud of donating his time for that. I understand he did the same with Dylan.

 :lol It is quite possible they all sang Row, Row, Row Your Boat at one point.

I didn't get that "Star Trek" joke. What does it mean?

There was a scene in Star Trek V where they all sang Row Row Row Your Boat, and it’s considered a jump the shark moment

Thank you kindly. :)

Steve Levine said Brian was nice and comforting to him after Al blew his lid over something minor in the studio.

The fact? Your statement is downright false (and easily proven to be false) and a narrative that has been pushed for far too long by people too pissed off that Mike has done enough crap in his life to the point that it is hard to not bring it up in certain threads. That being said, look at the General On Topic Discussion page and most every thread doesn't devolve into a "Mike is Satan" thread....also interesting that lines like this one get completely made up to make the reality look worse than it is. It's kinda funny that when you search "Mike is Satan" on this forum, the only people who have written it are Mike apologists in an attempt to completely exaggerate the issue. So good going guys, the line "Mike is Satan" only exists because of you.

OP asks:

As you prefaced the question with a reference to Mike's egotistical behavior, I assume that the foundation of this thread lies in the idea that in your view "caring" is the opposite of "ego". And while that may be partially correct. Having a big ego means that you very much care only for yourself. Whilst you can have a small ego and still not give great amounts to charity or run into a burning building to save a kitten. My point being, Brian's caring personality has probably done a lot to help people in small ways over the decades. I am very much looking forward to Debbie KL posting in this thread, because I am sure she has a lot of stories about Brian's caring nature. Also, Ray Lawlor, who used to post here probably has many.

And on another note: some of the most selfless people do all their good acts in secret. My grandfather put a plethora of people through college anonymously, my family only found out about it after he had passed away and so many of the kids he helped came to the funeral and talked about his giving nature...but my family never knew about it for 30+ years. Who knows what Brian and Mike do to help others that isn't put into the public light?

I know Mike donates to a lot of charities he is passionate about, I am sure Brian and Melinda do the same.

Brian has indeed admitted to being a bad father and without a doubt he hurt some people during his drug years. But ya know what? It takes a selfless person to publicly admit these kind of faults...and his daughters have since had a healthy relationship with him...and Marylin has probably since forgiven Brian of his behavior. I'm not trying to say Brian is a saint. But his small-ego nature is visible for all to see when he publicly admits his screwups...and admitting such things is an act of caring, because it is the first step to mending broken relationships and moving towards a more positive way of looking at life (which he has done since the Landy years). Brian Wilson has been diagnosed as a schizoaffective with mild manic depression...in light of that, I'd say the amount of caring (per the examples already posted in this thread) show how even through hearing voices telling him to kill himself and being bipolar, he still fights through it to try and bring some light into the world...which I think is pretty incredible.

True I forgot about this one. I remember c-man posted the member was Billy Strange, and I know he was given the guitar, cash, and (I think) even the amp and AMF/union dues.

The story about Brian gifting Billy Strange a brand new Fender Electric XII and Fender amp has been one of the LA studio legends for decades...what a cool move. Brian even got the owner of Wallichs personally to open the shop - they were closed - to get the guitar and amp bought and delivered for Billy.

And what Brian would do - Keep in mind he was not the first nor the only producer/session leader to do this but many producers would not do it - is deliberately let the clock run a few minutes overtime. If the session was 7-10 and Brian had the take he wanted by 10, he'd call for them to play another one, make sure it went overtime, then stop the take. They still got credit for the extra time.

So all the musicians working would get an overtime bonus payment according to union rules, and they didn't need to play a full hour more to collect it. Just a minute or so enough to qualify for overtime.

Another very cool move. That's why the musicians liked doing sessions with Brian, among other reasons of course.

Brian, Carl and Dennis have always given me the impression that they were all deeply caring people who also struggled with great personal difficulties, much of it rooted to how they were mistreated by their father.

That was Billy Strange for a Sloop John B session. A twelve string guitar & amp plus 500 dollars. 

@positivemusic, you made an outlandish accusation that paints this forum in a bad light. Pardon for obviously striking a nerve with you, but I have seen this accusation hurled at this forum far too many times and I will call it out when I see it.

You using a "catchall" that refers to Mike as friggin Satan doesn't at all put fellow posters here who are more critical of Mike in a good light...It just adds to the negativity. I honestly don't understand why an over-the-top metaphor is even necessary in this context...nor why it has been used many times already on this forum.

Frankly, I think, like you, we're all getting tired of the negativity. I think Mike is tired of the negativity. Mike hasn't said a negative word about Brian in the media in quite some time now, this board has been really chill lately because of it. If we don't want negativity, perhaps we shouldn't over-exaggerate things here that paint people negatively.

As for OP's "everywhere there is talk about Mikes big ego" statement, I don't really see how his statement relates to painting this forum in a negative light. OP claimed that Mike's ego is a talking point everywhere - and when Rolling Stone writes a piece on ML, yeah, his ego is mentioned. When Mike goes on a talkshow, traits of his ego are usually brought up. So I don't think I disagree with OP's statement much at all.

But whether you intended it or not, you did imply that people here devolve almost every thread into Mike bashing, which is simply completely untrue.

Since you mentioned Dennis, I read years back that he gave money to some lady (secretary? the other worker?); she got into financial trouble, maybe debt she must pay but couldn't & he, I think, seen her in the street in despair by the car & generously freely gave her money without need to pay it back. Or did he buy her new car? Either event or 2 events towards 2 different ladies. If smb. can tell the truth about it, what really took place, who Dennis helped related above - thank you in advance.

I don't think this is the reference, but when I was a 17 year-old fan/go-pher running errands for the BBs. I actually damaged Fred Vail's car (a Thunderbird, I think). I was trying to pull together the money to pay him for the damage. Dennis heard of this, called me into the "vault" - Nick Grillo's office with a sliding door operated by his secretary - There sat Fred and Dennis. Dennis asked me what happened, and I told him that I had damaged Fred's car and was trying to find other work to pay him back. Dennis immediately threw a wad of cash on the desk and dramatically said, "Is this enough, Fred?" I turned to Dennis and said, "how can I pay you back?" He replied, "the way your face lights up whenever you can do something for us is enough payment." I then left the office tearfully as the little fan. It was very sweet.

I learned decades later from Fred that Dennis immediately took the money back after I left. I thought it was hilarious at that point. I mean, the BBs were paying him, so I'm sure he was financially secure.

So, so Dennis. So, so funny. If that would have actually financially hurt Fred, I'm sure Dennis would have taken care of it...

And roasted "marshmelons" as well.

That's a sweet story. Denny was a good guy to make sure you weren't worried about fixing it.
I wonder if Fred drove his T-bird with Fun, Fun, Fun on the brain.

Dennis was a good guy, with a wicked, irresistible sense of humor. Fred's T-bird was during the time that they were pretty big sedans (obviously bigger than I thought when I rounded that corner  >:D), and it was mint green. Fred had a live-in girlfriend at the time, so I suspect the "fun, fun, fun" was limited.

:) Love to hear these stories, Debbie.