Should the Beach Boys have just broken up for good? If so, when?

[drbeachboy]

Legacy-wise, when 2012 rolled around, there really wasn't that much talk about the post 70's stuff, nor about it hurting their critical image, except here. They will be remembered for their studio work, and even with that only 2 albums out of 29 were released between 1986 and 2012. Their legacy will be just fine, even after all this past year's goings on.

[Emdeeh]

... in my fantasy they split up in '74, and Dennis left in '71/2...

in MY fantasy, Carl and Dennis are still very much with us and still Beach Boys. 

[Sheriff John Stone]

I'm not as anti-Mike & Bruce as most, but...

After Carl's death, I wish they would've had some real heart-to-heart meetings and discussed the future of The Beach Boys, over a period of weeks or months. And, I wish they would've adopted an all or nothing policy. Either they - Brian, Mike, Al, Bruce, Dave - all tour together or there is no Beach Boys' tour. I wish they (Mike & Bruce) would've made it easy(er) on themselves and not decided to do extended touring; just a nice, concentrated summer tour and a month, month and a half winter/holiday tour. Melinda is pretty good at making sure that Brian keeps his commitments and she might've agreed to this limited touring agreement, leaving enough time for any Brian solo projects.

I also wish they would've agreed to a new Beach Boys album every two or three years, pooling all of the members' best songs together because none of them have enough quality songs for a solo album anyway.

The only thing they - The Beach Boys - would be sacrificing would be money, and, because money controls everything with The Beach Boys, my wishes never had a chance in hell to happen...

[Nicko1234]

I'm not as anti-Mike & Bruce as most, but...

After Carl's death, I wish they would've had some real heart-to-heart meetings and discussed the future of The Beach Boys, over a period of weeks or months. And, I wish they would've adopted an all or nothing policy. Either they - Brian, Mike, Al, Bruce, Dave - all tour together or there is no Beach Boys' tour. I wish they (Mike & Bruce) would've made it easy(er) on themselves and not decided to do extended touring; just a nice, concentrated summer tour and a month, month and a half winter/holiday tour. Melinda is pretty good at making sure that Brian keeps his commitments and she might've agree to this limited touring agreement, leaving enough time for any Brian solo projects.

I also wish they would've agree to a new Beach Boys album every two or three years, pooling all of the members' best songs together because none of them have enough quality songs for a solo album.

The only thing they - The Beach Boys - would be sacrificing would be money, and, because money controls everything with The Beach Boys, my wishes never had a chance in hell to happen...

I don't think there was ever any chance of that happening at all...

While Brian did say in 1998 that he planned to tour with Mike and Bruce in 1999, I don't think this was ever a realistic proposition. Especially as Al was always going to be fired and there were even problems with David in the touring group at that time.

The only way it could have been all or nothing is if Brian and/or Carl's estate had voted against Mike (I have no idea what happens in the event of a tie).

[Alan Smith]

They split for good after Love You, but the Smile tapes are handed to Phil Spector and released a year later.

Obviously glad that didn't happen, as perhaps no BB's may have led to Brian's doom in the early '80s

[Cyncie]

I’m not saying I agree with this idea, I'm just posing it to you. Would it have been better if sometime in the distant past (70s, 80s) the Beach Boys had just broken up and moved on? They could have an occasional reunion tour, like the C50, but would it have been better for the band and its legacy if they just called it quits, perhaps sometime in the mid-70s? Or is there another period? Do you agree or disagree with this idea?

You know, The Beach Boys didn't go through the phase of early "gelling" as a band. They didn't spend years playing clubs and college dances, working their way up the ranks playing covers and trying out some original material until they got the attention of a record executive. This, to me, is the major difference between them and The Beatles.  The advantage of that kind of dues paying is that you polish your act and your stage presence. You work out who does what best, how to deal with the fans and success, how to manage business issues, and what your creative direction is. The Beatles spent three years playing clubs and figuring that stuff out. The Beach Boys were family and friends, some of whom were just now learning how to play their rented instruments, who recorded a regionally successful song. Within a pretty short time, they were signed to a big time recording contract and the game was on. It was a baptism by fire of sorts.

So, when the whole thing finally slowed down in the late 60's, they were a big name band who were just then going through their period of dues paying. They couldn't rely on that early status anymore, and had to spend the time working out all those little kinks that usually get worked out when you're a nobody. So, Mike goes through his Mick Jagger and Guru phases. Dennis and Carl  explore different stylistic directions. They pull in managers and band members that they hope will give them new direction. And all of that is on stage and on vinyl because this isn't just The Pendletones working this out as they work their way up the ladder. This is The Beach Boys, and everyone's watching. Is it hit and miss? Sure. Is it rough at times? Definitely. But, The Quarrymen got the chance to work the edges off before taking the world by storm as The Beatles. The Pendletones didn't.

So, to answer the OP... Better for whom? The band? The fans? The band did what they wanted and needed to do. After their initial run, they tried new things (some hits and some misses) and kept things going on the touring circuit. Nobody is disputing their place in popular music history, so I don't think anything they did during the "dues paying" time has really damaged their legacy. The only criticism now seems to be about the "oldies" nature of the touring band and Brian's choice of collaborators, and that's not coming from the general public or the music industry, but from the mega fans. So, the band did what they wanted, and we still get this great music. So, no. They shouldn't have broken up.

Who should get to use the name, however, is another issue altogether.


 

[Orange Crate Art]

My opinion...after Carl died. No more Wilsons, no more BBs.

[pixletwin]

Excellent post Cyncie. The angle you spun was one I had never considered before.

[oldsurferdude]

My opinion...after Carl died. No more Wilsons, no more BBs.

[MBE]

Had they done so in late 1973 they would have a flawless legacy.

[drbeachboy]

Why is everyone so concerned with their legacy? After 51 years, they still rank high in post polls. Their 60's output is always lauded. History has improved their lot with the 1967-1973 period. Rarely does what they did over the next 40 years play in to how they are remembered. 

[MBE]

Why is everyone so concerned with their legacy? After 51 years, they still rank high in post polls. Their 60's output is always lauded. History has improved their lot with the 1967-1973 period. Rarely does what they did over the next 40 years play in to how they are remembered. 

As time passes this gets more true. I think I just wish personally and professionally that things had gone different after 1973. I also remember first liking the group in the late eighties and nobody would take them seriously then for obvious reasons.

[drbeachboy]

Why is everyone so concerned with their legacy? After 51 years, they still rank high in post polls. Their 60's output is always lauded. History has improved their lot with the 1967-1973 period. Rarely does what they did over the next 40 years play in to how they are remembered. 

As time passes this gets more true. I think I just wish personally and professionally that things had gone different after 1973. I also remember first liking the group in the late eighties and nobody would take them seriously then for obvious reasons.

Not even themselves. They even disavowed Summer In Paradise last year.

[MBE]

Why is everyone so concerned with their legacy? After 51 years, they still rank high in post polls. Their 60's output is always lauded. History has improved their lot with the 1967-1973 period. Rarely does what they did over the next 40 years play in to how they are remembered. 

As time passes this gets more true. I think I just wish personally and professionally that things had gone different after 1973. I also remember first liking the group in the late eighties and nobody would take them seriously then for obvious reasons.

Not even themselves. They even disavowed Summer In Paradise last year.

That's correct!

[Peter Reum]

The Beach Boys died with Dennis. But they never were the same after the 1977 blowout over Dennis's album. It was quite telling When Dennis's album outsold Love You. The group's ego just couldn't handle that.

[Lonely Summer]

The Beach Boys died with Dennis. But they never were the same after the 1977 blowout over Dennis's album. It was quite telling When Dennis's album outsold Love You. The group's ego just couldn't handle that.

Really? POB outsold Love You?  I thought Love You charted at 50-something, POB 90-something.

[MBE]

The Beach Boys died with Dennis. But they never were the same after the 1977 blowout over Dennis's album. It was quite telling When Dennis's album outsold Love You. The group's ego just couldn't handle that.

I've always felt the same. Good observation/.

[Sunflowerpet]

The Beach Boys were the best and biggest band in the world at 12-1966. I have always thought what would be if Brian had broke up the band then and went solo.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

The Beach Boys died with Dennis. But they never were the same after the 1977 blowout over Dennis's album. It was quite telling When Dennis's album outsold Love You. The group's ego just couldn't handle that.

Really? POB outsold Love You?  I thought Love You charted at 50-something, POB 90-something.

Yes but didn't Love You then drop out of the charts like a stone whilst POB hung around for a while? I could be wrong but I'm sure that's what I've read was the case...

[Mike's Beard]

The Beach Boys were the best and biggest band in the world at 12-1966. I have always thought what would be if Brian had broke up the band then and went solo.

In 66? Brian would have made an album or two under his own name before focusing full time on producing other artists. His mental and drug issues would have still killed his career stone dead by 70/71.

Without Brian The BB's would have had a year or so on the bread and butter circuit before fading into obscurity.

Splitting in 1966 would have been a lose/lose situation.

[Nicko1234]

Yes but didn't Love You then drop out of the charts like a stone whilst POB hung around for a while? I could be wrong but I'm sure that's what I've read was the case...

No. Love You was on the charts for 7 weeks. POB was on the charts for 8 weeks but at a lower level.

[Phoenix]

The Beach Boys died with Dennis. But they never were the same after the 1977 blowout over Dennis's album. It was quite telling When Dennis's album outsold Love You. The group's ego just couldn't handle that.

I've always felt the same. Good observation/.

Indeed.  Hence, my answer on page one. 

[RangeRoverA1]

We could speculate all we want, but truthfully I wouldn't really change anything. Everything happens for a reason, right? The Beach Boys are more than just the members. It's the music that counts.

+1.0000000000...! Nothing to add further.

[Kurosawa]

1977 after the big airport fight. That was when the band really died in a lot of ways, anyway. Dennis should have quit them years before anyway, they completely held him back.

[Nicko1234]

1977 after the big airport fight. That was when the band really died in a lot of ways, anyway. Dennis should have quit them years before anyway, they completely held him back.

Really? In what way?