All things Bruce Johnston

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

-Hey Bruce! Will Mike and you end up playing at supermarket openings?
-I don't know. I know we'll play at your funeral.

Doesn't really make sense though...bit of a George Costanza type comeback

[Moon Dawg]

He thinks the president of the USA is a socialist asshole: http://youtu.be/u5Ji6EsgLOQ

"Obama? Unless you're interested in never having any money," said Johnston in a video clip when asked about the President. Johnston reportedly called Obama "an asshole" and suggested the president was a Socialist… "Wait until Obama doesn't have to try anymore," said Johnston. "You're f***ed."

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beach-boys-bruce-johnston-blasts-obama-20120511


 Granted, Bruce comes off as a churlish old jerk in the clip. However, EVERY President since Washington has been the subject of some level criticism so really this should not be a big deal. If  David Crosby had gone on an anti-Bush rant circa 2004 he would have won kudos and applause. Is Obama cooler than W? Sure, but you get the point. Bruce was just being real, which isn't so awful.

 Edit: I messed up the quote here. Sorry.

[Mikie]

Moon Dawg, I think Bruce was around for Wild Honey in late '67.  I think he was for the most part AWOL from Smile/Smiley Smile in the late '66/'67 period. After that, he didn't seem to contribute much in the studio until 1969.

[Moon Dawg]

 Yep Bruce seems absent from SMILEY SMILE and FRIENDS but very much on board for WILD HONEY. I've heard him praise SMILEY and WILD HONEY but FRIENDS just isn't Bruce's favorite. He loves SUNFLOWER but has always been ambivalent about SURF'S UP, even though it does contain his finest song.

 Bruce had the power to make L.A. and KEEPIN' THE SUMMER ALIVE better than the final products. 

[RubberSoul13]

Next to Sunflower and Pet Sounds, Bruce probably praises Wild Honey the most...and he was very active on it. He played a decent share of the instruments on the title track!!! The story he tells about throwing the shitty organ solo together last minute, and on the first try Brian going IT'S PERFECT IT'S PERFECT!!!

[Mikie]

Bruce: “I loved Wild Honey because I thought it was getting us back on the track again. It was probably the funkiest Beach Boys album, very little production, but a lot of music without any complications. I just remember we wanted to be a band again. The whole 'Smile' thing had wiped everyone out, and we wanted to play together again.”

[drbeachboy]

Next to Sunflower and Pet Sounds, Bruce probably praises Wild Honey the most...and he was very active on it. He played a decent share of the instruments on the title track!!! The story he tells about throwing the shitty organ solo together last minute, and on the first try Brian going IT'S PERFECT IT'S PERFECT!!!

I love that organ solo. It's funky as sh*t. One of the best things he has done as a Beach Boy.

[RubberSoul13]

Next to Sunflower and Pet Sounds, Bruce probably praises Wild Honey the most...and he was very active on it. He played a decent share of the instruments on the title track!!! The story he tells about throwing the shitty organ solo together last minute, and on the first try Brian going IT'S PERFECT IT'S PERFECT!!!

I love that organ solo. It's funky as sh*t. One of the best things he has done as a Beach Boy.

I do too!! The way I said that, it sounded more like my feelings...I meant HE described it as a shitty little organ solo! Maybe not his EXACT words...

[drbeachboy]

Next to Sunflower and Pet Sounds, Bruce probably praises Wild Honey the most...and he was very active on it. He played a decent share of the instruments on the title track!!! The story he tells about throwing the shitty organ solo together last minute, and on the first try Brian going IT'S PERFECT IT'S PERFECT!!!

I love that organ solo. It's funky as sh*t. One of the best things he has done as a Beach Boy.

I do too!! The way I said that, it sounded more like my feelings...I meant HE described it as a shitty little organ solo! Maybe not his EXACT words...

I understood that Bruce said it, but he's dead wrong about that one.

[alf wiedersehen]

Is it some sort of mystery who played what on Friends? I can't really seem to find any solid personnel info on anything other than "Busy Doin' Nothin'."

[Moon Dawg]

 Specific credits for FRIENDS are rather elusive. In general, a mixture of group personnel and session people. "Diamond Head" is likely 100% session musicians while "Anna Lee the Healer" is probably all Beach Boys. Is that Brian's organ on "Passing By"?

[Mark A. Moore]

Bruce was one of Jan Berry's earliest musical compatriots. Bruce was a year younger, but he was a regular at Jan's garage studio in Bel Air. And Jan and Bruce would also play piano at Bruce's house.

Bruce was a part of Jan's circle during the genesis of Jan & Arnie in 1958. So Bruce was experimenting with Jan musically at least five years before Jan started working with Brian Wilson. Ironic, given that Bruce later became a permanent member of the Beach Boys.

My wife is not a Beach Boys fan. She's more in to Zappa and Randy Newman. But when she heard Bruce sing "Disney Girls" at one of the 50th Anniversary reunion shows, she said, "Wow, they did some really good stuff I never knew about."

[Lowbacca]

Bruce was one of Jan Berry's earliest musical compatriots. Bruce was a year younger, but he was a regular at Jan's garage studio in Bel Air. And Jan and Bruce would also play piano at Bruce's house.

Bruce was a part of Jan's circle during the genesis of Jan & Arnie in 1958. So Bruce was experimenting with Jan musically at least five years before Jan started working with Brian Wilson. Ironic, given that Bruce later became a permanent member of the Beach Boys.

I never knew that. Thank you. I love this board.

[smilethebeachboysloveyou]

Bruce was one of Jan Berry's earliest musical compatriots. Bruce was a year younger, but he was a regular at Jan's garage studio in Bel Air. And Jan and Bruce would also play piano at Bruce's house.

Bruce was a part of Jan's circle during the genesis of Jan & Arnie in 1958. So Bruce was experimenting with Jan musically at least five years before Jan started working with Brian Wilson. Ironic, given that Bruce later became a permanent member of the Beach Boys.

My wife is not a Beach Boys fan. She's more in to Zappa and Randy Newman. But when she heard Bruce sing "Disney Girls" at one of the 50th Anniversary reunion shows, she said, "Wow, they did some really good stuff I never knew about."

I guess the moral of this thread is that it's impossible to get the full picture about Bruce Johnston by just looking at his years with the Beach Boys.  I wonder what he would have done if he had never joined the band.  I can't help but think that, the songs he contributed in the late '60s/early '70s notwithstanding (all of which I like except for "Tears in the Morning"), he might have left more of a songwriting legacy.

I have two Bruce-related-questions that I thought I'd crowd-source.  One involves the credit for "How She Boogalooed It," the first original song with lyrics that wasn't written by Brian Wilson to appear on a Beach Boys album.  Bruce's name is listed second in the credits, after Mike's.  Does anyone know how the song-writing took place, and how much can be attributed to which author?  I don't generally think of it as a Bruce song, but I don't know whose it is, ultimately.

The second involves the collaboration between Mike Love and the other half of Bruce & Terry that lasted from "Getcha Back" to Summer in Paradise.  Obviously Bruce had collaborated with Terry Melcher well before this and, as this collaboration started after Dennis' death, Bruce would probably have been Melcher's closest friend in the band.  Does anyone know why Bruce wasn't involved in the songwriting during this collaboration?  The only song where he's credited alongside Love and Melcher is "Somewhere Near Japan."

[shelter]

The second involves the collaboration between Mike Love and the other half of Bruce & Terry that lasted from "Getcha Back" to Summer in Paradise.  Obviously Bruce had collaborated with Terry Melcher well before this and, as this collaboration started after Dennis' death, Bruce would probably have been Melcher's closest friend in the band.  Does anyone know why Bruce wasn't involved in the songwriting during this collaboration?  The only song where he's credited alongside Love and Melcher is "Somewhere Near Japan."

Bruce can write songs, he's still a good singer and he's a really good musician. And yet, no new compositions of his have seen the light of day in the last 20 years and he seems to be perfectly happy being a barely audible "cheerleader" on stage. So I guess he just doesn't have that creative urge and the artistic competitiveness that most other musicians do have.

[drbeachboy]

The second involves the collaboration between Mike Love and the other half of Bruce & Terry that lasted from "Getcha Back" to Summer in Paradise.  Obviously Bruce had collaborated with Terry Melcher well before this and, as this collaboration started after Dennis' death, Bruce would probably have been Melcher's closest friend in the band.  Does anyone know why Bruce wasn't involved in the songwriting during this collaboration?  The only song where he's credited alongside Love and Melcher is "Somewhere Near Japan."

Bruce can write songs, he's still a good singer and he's a really good musician. And yet, no new compositions of his have seen the light of day in the last 20 years and he seems to be perfectly happy being a barely audible "cheerleader" on stage. So I guess he just doesn't have that creative urge and the artistic competitiveness that most other musicians do have.

Contentment comes in different ways to different people. Like both Mike & Bruce and I guess even Al, I would prefer performance and entertaining than being in a studio. Like stage actors, they feed off of the audience energy.

[Mike's Beard]

Now, would someone please relate the origin of the pistol-whipping comments?

I honestly cannot remember, yet the more I think about it the odds that Bruce is a pistol whipping, bully-boy are more than probable. Let's look at the facts;

Bruce got the plum job to replace Brian on the road despite not being able to play the bass.
Despite being hired strictly as a live only replacement due to being under contract to another record company which forbade him to record with The Beach Boys, Bruce was singing on their records within mere weeks.
Bruce got to sing more lead vocals on Sunflower than Brian, Mike and Al.
Bruce got to produce the band's late 70's records despite not having a clue as to what was fashionable sales-wise at the time.
Bruce is the only guy Mike lets perform with him as the current Beach Boys despite doing next to bugger all on stage.

The odds that all these things could have happened without the perpetrators being under the threat of a gun butt bashed upside of the skull if they didn't comply is statistically speaking impossible.

[Cabinessenceking]

Now, would someone please relate the origin of the pistol-whipping comments?

I honestly cannot remember, yet the more I think about it the odds that Bruce is a pistol whipping, bully-boy are more than probable. Let's look at the facts;

Bruce got the plum job to replace Brian on the road despite not being able to play the bass.
Despite being hired strictly as a live only replacement due to being under contract to another record company which forbade him to record with The Beach Boys, Bruce was singing on their records within mere weeks.
Bruce got to sing more lead vocals on Sunflower than Brian, Mike and Al.
Bruce got to produce the band's late 70's records despite not having a clue as to what was fashionable sales-wise at the time.
Bruce is the only guy Mike lets perform with him as the current Beach Boys despite doing next to bugger all on stage.

The odds that all these things could have happened without the perpetrators being under the threat of a gun butt bashed upside of the skull if they didn't comply is statistically speaking impossible.

You also forgot that he wore the shortest shorts during the 1980 Knebworth concert when the weather was the usual vile British sort and everyone else present were wearing long-johns and jackets. Bruce was imagining being in Kokomo already back then.

[Dudd]

Endless Harmony is an alright song.

[filledeplage]

Endless Harmony is an alright song.

Delightful, almost "subversive" (a great compliment!) with the way in which Johnston sneaks in "You Still Believe in Me" at the end, almost in a "subliminal code" to lead the listener back to Pet Sounds...Clever! 

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

This is without a doubt, THE most historical thread in the history of the board!

I think with Sunflower, Bruce's voice just fitted that 1970, AM Gold vibe they seemed to be going for.

[shelter]

Contentment comes in different ways to different people. Like both Mike & Bruce and I guess even Al, I would prefer performance and entertaining than being in a studio. Like stage actors, they feed off of the audience energy.

If Bruce is perfectly happy with how his life turned out, I fully understand that. He was born rich, never had to work a real job in his whole life and like some kind of Forrest Gump he got a front row seat for a lot of highlights in pop music history without even trying all that hard. Here's a guy who never really seemed to have all that much drive and ambition and now look at his résumé... Played with Eddie Cochran, Ritchie Valens, Phil Spector and The Everly Brothers in the 1950s. Is a member of America's greatest pop group of all time. Wrote a Grammy Award winning song. Sang on classic Elton John and Pink Floyd songs... This is a seriously lucky guy.

But despite all that, it does seen like a bit of a shame how relatively little Bruce has done with the talent that he undeniably has. He had one song on BB85 and one on SIP, and he keeps touring with Mike to give his live band a bit more Beach Boys credibility. Besides that, what has he really done in the last 30+ years?

[drbeachboy]

Contentment comes in different ways to different people. Like both Mike & Bruce and I guess even Al, I would prefer performance and entertaining than being in a studio. Like stage actors, they feed off of the audience energy.

If Bruce is perfectly happy with how his life turned out, I fully understand that. He was born rich, never had to work a real job in his whole life and like some kind of Forrest Gump he got a front row seat for a lot of highlights in pop music history without even trying all that hard. Here's a guy who never really seemed to have all that much drive and ambition and now look at his résumé... Played with Eddie Cochran, Ritchie Valens, Phil Spector and The Everly Brothers in the 1950s. Is a member of America's greatest pop group of all time. Wrote a Grammy Award winning song. Sang on classic Elton John and Pink Floyd songs... This is a seriously lucky guy.

But despite all that, it does seen like a bit of a shame how relatively little Bruce has done with the talent that he undeniably has. He had one song on BB85 and one on SIP, and he keeps touring with Mike to give his live band a bit more Beach Boys credibility. Besides that, what has he really done in the last 30+ years?

Does he have to do anything? Beach Boys' wise, until 2012 none of them had done nothing studio-wise together. Honestly, I am glad that Bruce is happy singing harmony on Brian's music. I'm not a big fan of Bruce's songs or as a lead vocalist. He's a team guy who stays out of the way unless asked.

[SloopJohnB]

Am I the only one who remembers Bruce once talked about doing a polka album?

To this day I still don't know whether it was a joke or not. 

[shelter]

Does he have to do anything? Beach Boys' wise, until 2012 none of them had done nothing studio-wise together. Honestly, I am glad that Bruce is happy singing harmony on Brian's music. I'm not a big fan of Bruce's songs or as a lead vocalist. He's a team guy who stays out of the way unless asked.

Like I said, I think Bruce is a very lucky guy and I bet that pretty much everyone would love to trade lives with him. So I guess he doesn't have to change anything about what he does or doesn't do. But since the late 70s he's done almost nothing with his talents. That should be hard to understand for any creative person.