An Analysis & Conference of the Bushy Evolution of the Beach Boys's Facial Hair

[alf wiedersehen]

Much like their beards, the Beach Boys' history of and relationship with facial hair is a long and tangled mess. Henceforth, I feel a proper consultation to sort out this knotted ordeal is in order, and perhaps, through our efforts, we can make it easier to traverse this woolly path. What I would like for us to to achieve is compiling a visual progression of the fuzzy patches that adorn(ed) the faces of the band members. Some were early endorsers, like Mike and Carl (who was keepin' the beard alive for perhaps the greatest amount of time), and some were late endorsers, like Brian (but, boy, did he go for it).

It is here that I ask for your help in locating the beginning, end, and different shapes/sizes/stages of the various whiskers grown by the members.

[Dave in KC]

Yes I watched the progression. But from the time of their new growth through the mid 70's, beards and facial hair were the rage here in the US. Again, ahead of their time. When did the Beatles start growing theirs?

[adamghost]

OK, I'll get started.  Here's a general timeline, people will no doubt correct it for specifics:

Mike - 1966-1982 (but he had a handlebar at one point:  https://arcmusic.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/beach_boys.jpg)
I've seen pictures of him with moustache/goatee recently.
Carl - 1970-1997/8 (shaved it in '77 just prior to the Grammy awards, but seems to have immediately started growing back)
Al - 1971-1983
Dennis - 1968, 1976-1980, 1982
Brian - 1975-1985 (shaved right before Knebworth '80, but grew it back)
Bruce - had a mean goatee at some point

I need to get out more.

(I'm currently working on a two week beard, so this is close to my heart)

[Mike's Beard]

OK, I'll get started.  Here's a general timeline, people will no doubt correct it for specifics:

Mike - 1966-1982 (but he had a handlebar at one point:  https://arcmusic.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/beach_boys.jpg)
I've seen pictures of him with moustache/goatee recently.
Carl - 1970-1997/8 (shaved it in '77 just prior to the Grammy awards, but seems to have immediately started growing back)
Al - 1971-1983
Dennis - 1968, 1976-1980, 1982
Brian - 1975-1985 (shaved right before Knebworth '80, but grew it back)
Bruce - had a mean goatee at some point

I need to get out more.

(I'm currently working on a two week beard, so this is close to my heart)

Don't forget Brian sported a beard briefly around the Wild Honey era.
Bruce sported a beard briefly in the 20/20 era and also had one during an interview promoting KTSA.

[alf wiedersehen]

A synchronization:

[Mike's Beard]

With the exception of Carl they all looked rough as anything there.

[pobfan]

Love this thread!
Although they all had their timing with and without facial hair, it always amazed me how much it changed Dennis' appearance. Especially within the few short weeks between Knebworth and the Washington DC show...it's like two different people.

[The Heartical Don]

Can I make a case for the motion picture classic Summer Dreams? AKA The Beard Movie, it made fake beards hip, after all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5taTzrv400

[HeyJude]

Can I make a case for the motion picture classic Summer Dreams? AKA The Beard Movie, it made fake beards hip, after all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5taTzrv400

The fake beards are one of the best parts of "Summer Dreams." Awesome stuff.

Ironically, while the fake beards of "An American Family" were marginally less fake-looking, that was the movie where the actor playing Mike Love has his beard peeling off during a scene at one point, and they didn't even bother to re-shoot it.

[HeyJude]

OK, I'll get started.  Here's a general timeline, people will no doubt correct it for specifics:

Mike - 1966-1982 (but he had a handlebar at one point:  https://arcmusic.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/beach_boys.jpg)
I've seen pictures of him with moustache/goatee recently.
Carl - 1970-1997/8 (shaved it in '77 just prior to the Grammy awards, but seems to have immediately started growing back)
Al - 1971-1983
Dennis - 1968, 1976-1980, 1982
Brian - 1975-1985 (shaved right before Knebworth '80, but grew it back)
Bruce - had a mean goatee at some point

I need to get out more.

(I'm currently working on a two week beard, so this is close to my heart)

Mike definitely got rid of the full beard in 1982. But he eventually started growing various iterations of beards/goatees. I think the goatee has been on and off since around 1998 or so. I'm glad he ditched the goatee for the C50 tour.

The earliest post-1982 example I can remember is early 1988 at the R&R hall of fame:



The only time I've ever seen Mike with more or less a full beard after 1982 is, I believe, 2011:





Bruce had a pretty epic 'stache circa 1971:



That pic also may reveal the genesis of Al's beard.  

Here are very late era pics of Al's beard, from April and June of 1983 respectively:





By June/July, it was gone, and he did all of a sudden look like 20 years younger (for a time):





Here's a random bonus image. Late era bearded Brian letting the beard get a little shaggier than he usually did in the 80's, circa 1984:

[HeyJude]

And in a goodwill gesture to John Stamos, I will note that he got in on the action in the 90's: 

[Micha]

Carl's voice sounded best while he was clean shaven.

[rab2591]

The study of the evolution of Beach Boy beards has become sort of a hobby of mine in recent years.

My first case study was Mike Love. Mike's facial hair dominance in the pop music scene was no accident.

Michael Edward Love....Born a Pisces (known for being quiet, artistic, humble people - all obvious characteristics of Mike Love - if this doesn't make you believe in astrology I don't know what will). Late 1960s, Mike will begin a path of life that will change the course of human history forever. He discovers the beard growing powers of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. He descends deep into the teachings of Maharishi, and in doing so, lets his facial hair grow as free as the cosmos will allow.

In exhibit A, we see Pisces Brothers George Harrison and Mike Love creating what is known as a ‘Pisces Brother Beard Energy Orb’. Only seen around true followers of TM, the 'Pisces Brother Beard Energy Orb’ is the climactic pinnacle of all TM practice.



In a line graph that mirrors that of the shocking graph we saw in Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, we see the correlation between receding hair line, TM practice, and beard growth (Exhibit B):



The evolutionary changes in Mike Love's beard growth have been long lasting but swift to change. He is a model for all students of facial hair growth.

More case studies will follow. For now, I'm back to practicing levitation techniques as I listen to Mike Love's soothing tune 'Pisces Brothers'

Mike Love is a true Pisces Brother.

[Joel Goldenberg]

OK, I'll get started.  Here's a general timeline, people will no doubt correct it for specifics:

Mike - 1966-1982 (but he had a handlebar at one point:  https://arcmusic.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/beach_boys.jpg)
I've seen pictures of him with moustache/goatee recently.
Carl - 1970-1997/8 (shaved it in '77 just prior to the Grammy awards, but seems to have immediately started growing back)
Al - 1971-1983
Dennis - 1968, 1976-1980, 1982
Brian - 1975-1985 (shaved right before Knebworth '80, but grew it back)
Bruce - had a mean goatee at some point

I need to get out more.

(I'm currently working on a two week beard, so this is close to my heart)

Don't forget Brian sported a beard briefly around the Wild Honey era.
Bruce sported a beard briefly in the 20/20 era and also had one during an interview promoting KTSA.

Brian also had a beard, IIRC, in photos of the Smile I Love To Say Dada sessions.

[Lowbacca]

OK, I'll get started.  Here's a general timeline, people will no doubt correct it for specifics:

Mike - 1966-1982 (but he had a handlebar at one point:  https://arcmusic.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/beach_boys.jpg)
I've seen pictures of him with moustache/goatee recently.
Carl - 1970-1997/8 (shaved it in '77 just prior to the Grammy awards, but seems to have immediately started growing back)
Al - 1971-1983
Dennis - 1968, 1976-1980, 1982
Brian - 1975-1985 (shaved right before Knebworth '80, but grew it back)
Bruce - had a mean goatee at some point

I need to get out more.

(I'm currently working on a two week beard, so this is close to my heart)

Don't forget Brian sported a beard briefly around the Wild Honey era.
Bruce sported a beard briefly in the 20/20 era and also had one during an interview promoting KTSA.

Brian also had a beard, IIRC, in photos of the Smile I Love To Say Dada sessions.

I'm not sure this is from the "Dada" sessions, but here you go:

[Joel Goldenberg]

OK, I'll get started.  Here's a general timeline, people will no doubt correct it for specifics:

Mike - 1966-1982 (but he had a handlebar at one point:  https://arcmusic.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/beach_boys.jpg)
I've seen pictures of him with moustache/goatee recently.
Carl - 1970-1997/8 (shaved it in '77 just prior to the Grammy awards, but seems to have immediately started growing back)
Al - 1971-1983
Dennis - 1968, 1976-1980, 1982
Brian - 1975-1985 (shaved right before Knebworth '80, but grew it back)
Bruce - had a mean goatee at some point

I need to get out more.

(I'm currently working on a two week beard, so this is close to my heart)

Don't forget Brian sported a beard briefly around the Wild Honey era.
Bruce sported a beard briefly in the 20/20 era and also had one during an interview promoting KTSA.

Brian also had a beard, IIRC, in photos of the Smile I Love To Say Dada sessions.

I'm not sure this is from the "Dada" sessions, but here you go:

That's the one I'm thinking of. I saw this and another one in black and white in the Badman book, where Brian is said to be recording "water sounds."

[adamghost]

Al's beard looks scary in '83 when it was tightly trimmed.  He looked much better in '70s bushy mountain man mode.  Glad he shaved it off.

[NickandthePassions]

Dennis should have kept the beard in 1983.  He started aging badly in the face.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Dennis should have kept the beard in 1983.  He started aging badly in the face.

The problem was that it (the beard) was starting to come in mostly gray/white. A lot of times that's when guys STOP growing their beards (cough)...

[HeyJude]

Al's beard looks scary in '83 when it was tightly trimmed.  He looked much better in '70s bushy mountain man mode.  Glad he shaved it off.

It does look a bit weird.



I would imagine, as alluded to above regarding Dennis, Al probably shaved the thing because it was going grey. You can see it going grey in the chin area in the '83 shots that are out there.

And if anyone wants to be a bit more creeped out, there's the uncropped version of that Brian pic, apparently dated January 1984:

[Orange Crate Art]

Best thread in months!

[The Heartical Don]

@rab2591 -

thanks for that hilarious 'scientific' post above! It really made me laugh, and I await further installments with eager anticipation.

[Lowbacca]

Some more Brian and Cats:

[rab2591]

@rab2591 -

thanks for that hilarious 'scientific' post above! It really made me laugh, and I await further installments with eager anticipation.

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[leggo of my ego]

Al's beard looks scary in '83 when it was tightly trimmed.  He looked much better in '70s bushy mountain man mode.  Glad he shaved it off.

It does look a bit weird.



I would imagine, as alluded to above regarding Dennis, Al probably shaved the thing because it was going grey. You can see it going grey in the chin area in the '83 shots that are out there.

And if anyone wants to be a bit more creeped out, there's the uncropped version of that Brian pic, apparently dated January 1984:

And from these pictures we see that beards come and go depending on the mood of the wearer (or not wearer) and while Mike and Brooth are preferring to sport the clean shaven look to accompany their smart sporty look, Alan has opted to fuzz out a little to achieve that artsy-fartsy appeal thats just so musicianly. Carl of course just looks more like Carl with a hefty supply of whiskers.

Now next month the picture may complete change.

And evolution marches on.