"Surf's Up" & America

[Bill Tobelman]

In Brian's bogus bio there is the tale about the night Brian & Van Dyke wrote "Surf's Up." According to the bio-Dennis Wilson was there for at least part of the evening. Dennis was talking about how the Beach Boys' striped shirts had prompted some negative remarks from London's hip folks. Van Dyke saw this as an example of the shame America was feeling vis a vis the war in Vietnam.

So then, Van Dyke said they should "hit it head on," Brian agreed, and they stayed up and wrote "Surf's Up."

The idea that I want to put forward is that it is very very possible that SMiLE got its broader "Americana" theme at this point (the "Surf's Up" writing session). It makes sense given the idea that "America" was a topic that came up in the course of the evening's conversation (and was enthusiastically received by Brian!). It also is hinted at via the "Surf's Up" lyric "canvas the town & brush the backdrop"- which seems to indicate a broadening of scope. Also, Van Dyke indicated in recent years that the Americana theme was agreed upon by both he and Brian "in a room" which fits into this scenario as well.

Another point to be made is that given this very possible revelation it is worth noting that "Heroes & Villains" then was NOT conceived out of any grand "Americana" idea.

[Jeff Mason]

That would make sense.  So much of Smile is NOT Americana that I wonder how much that is overrated.  And in addition, H&V is old West, but that would not have been where I would have started on an Americana kick.  Had I seen that as a concept, I would have started either at the beginning or in celebrating more local (i.e. California) sites.  Plus, the way H&V is described as being writtern doesn't leave room for a grand theme to govern it.  Just some spontaneous inspiration.

[Aegir]

In Brian's bogus bio there is the tale about the night Brian & Van Dyke wrote "Surf's Up." According to the bio-Dennis Wilson was there for at least part of the evening. Dennis was talking about how the Beach Boys' striped shirts had prompted some negative remarks from London's hip folks. Van Dyke saw this as an example of the shame America was feeling vis a vis the war in Vietnam.

So then, Van Dyke said they should "hit it head on," Brian agreed, and they stayed up and wrote "Surf's Up."

Is that from the "Wouldn't It Be Nice" book? I wouldn't trust anything from there.

[Jeff Mason]

In Brian's bogus bio there is the tale about the night Brian & Van Dyke wrote "Surf's Up." According to the bio-Dennis Wilson was there for at least part of the evening. Dennis was talking about how the Beach Boys' striped shirts had prompted some negative remarks from London's hip folks. Van Dyke saw this as an example of the shame America was feeling vis a vis the war in Vietnam.

So then, Van Dyke said they should "hit it head on," Brian agreed, and they stayed up and wrote "Surf's Up."

Is that from the "Wouldn't It Be Nice" book? I wouldn't trust anything from there.

Take it with a grain of salt no doubt, but I know for a fact that there are true Brian Wilson stories embedded in that book.  I don't know if my analysis is still online somewhere, but Brian's account of meeting Elvis is proof that whoever compiled that book had access to stories that only Brian could have known.

[Aegir]

Well, my way of looking at it is if the stories can't be confirmed through other sources (like the Elvis story for instance), then they should be assumed false.

[Jeff Mason]

The Elvis story wasn't exactly confirmed by other sources....

No documentation exists prior to the publishing of the bio for Brian and Elvis meeting in BB books that I have found.  Brian puts it in 1969 or so in an LA studio.  He has Elvis calling him "Duke".  But the thing is, Elvis didn't record in 1969 in LA save for one last movie, and that was not at a time when Brian was in the studio. 

However,  Ernst Jorgenson has documented an encounter with Brian in an LA studio in 1975 that fits the description from the bio.  Here's what I think happened: Brian told them the gist of the encounter but couldn't recall when it happened.  The author figured that if the encounter was in a studio, it must have been for a movie session and so had to happen between 1968 and 69 to fit Brian's mental profile at the time.  What the author didn't know was that Elvis did one last LA session in 1975.  Also unknown to the author was that Elvis' bass player was named Duke, and Elvis didn't like him and made fun of him.  So Brian could have thought that "Duke" referred to him when it really was the bassist.

So, no other source has exactly confirmed it, but we know enough externally to know that Brian had to have told the story and gotten details confused and the author did not get it all right.

[MBE]

Brian and I spoke of it the one time I interviewed him and he pretty much confirmed the Todd Gold version. He met Elvis in 1975 when both were quite big so the mental image of Brian attacking him is fairly funny. Jerry Shilling in interviews added that Elvis didn't know who Brian was because of Brian's beard and weight. He said Brian asked Elvis for his opinion on the stuff he was working on and Elvis didn't like it.

[MBE]

One more thing Elvis did call people Duke or chief when he forgot their name. Elvis' live 1974 LP has hm call someone Duke then tell his bass player Duke that he didn't mean him.

[Jason Penick]

..

[Jason Penick]

Had I seen that as a concept, I would have started either at the beginning or in celebrating more local (i.e. California) sites.

Holland!  Holland is the Beach Boys Americana album!!!  They just didn't finish it off.

[Jeff Mason]

One more thing Elvis did call people Duke or chief when he forgot their name. Elvis' live 1974 LP has hm call someone Duke then tell his bass player Duke that he didn't mean him.

Uh, you sure about that?  I have no documentation on that (Ian?).  That 1974 LP is him talking to the aforementioned Duke Bardwell, bass player, again in a mocking fashion.

Exact quote:

"Anyhow...Duke.  Not talking to you personally Duke, just trying to kill time so I can drink water...."

Where do you get in that that Elvis isn't talking to Duke, then is?

[MBE]

Duke says so in an interview with Elvis The Man and His Music. He said he found it comical. that he was being told that he wasn't being addressed. Various session tapes reveal Elvis to do this, also watch Elvis on Tour you see Elvis call a guy chief. Elvis' cousin Billy also mentioned Elvis calling people chief when he could not remember names in his book.

[Bill Tobelman]

As far as Brian's bio being unreliable...it is. However, I've had great success by believing the stuff that sounds like it could only come from Brian.

The story at the top of this thread about Dennis being there during the writing of "Surf's Up" is in the bio, AND, I also heard Jon Stebbins pretty much back up the bio's account (Stebbins found out from a different source). So I have good reasons to believe that there is a lot of truth to it.

[Lorenschwartz]

In Brian's bogus bio there is the tale about the night Brian & Van Dyke wrote "Surf's Up." According to the bio-Dennis Wilson was there for at least part of the evening. Dennis was talking about how the Beach Boys' striped shirts had prompted some negative remarks from London's hip folks. Van Dyke saw this as an example of the shame America was feeling vis a vis the war in Vietnam.

So then, Van Dyke said they should "hit it head on," Brian agreed, and they stayed up and wrote "Surf's Up."

Is that from the "Wouldn't It Be Nice" book? I wouldn't trust anything from there.

Hey Adios, cool it down, my friend, it's not you know The Holy Bible or anything...shheesh.

[MBE]

Anything lifted from another book or tabliodized can be safly disregarded. I find the only truly interesting parts of the book are in small details. Things like Brian's first comeback concert in 1983, the Steve Levine sessions, Meeting Elvis and Spector.  These type of things seem to be true. Still it is the worst Beach Boys book because Brian's name on it has spread many lies that ill informed writers take as gospel.

[cta]

Smile...an "Americana" album...yeah, right.

Maybe in certain sections and by P.R. babblers who are trying to give it a definition consumable by the public.   No one will ever say, "Brian and fellow pothead Parks wanted to make a bunch of songs in the manner of Good Vibrations but kookie lyrics and stop/go melodies, which they did work very hard and fast on."

To me, it sounds like lots of pot smoking with a lot of musicians and money at ones disposal to make a weird compilation of lyrical imagery and strange flows to pull themselves away from the surf rock and also to keep up with the creative period of music that was just about to plateau in 1967.

Surf's Up is a very great song; probably my fave of Brian's. 

[Lorenschwartz]

Smile...an "Americana" album...yeah, right.

Maybe in certain sections and by P.R. babblers who are trying to give it a definition consumable by the public.   No one will ever say, "Brian and fellow pothead Parks wanted to make a bunch of songs in the manner of Good Vibrations but kookie lyrics and stop/go melodies, which they did work very hard and fast on."

To me, it sounds like lots of pot smoking with a lot of musicians and money at ones disposal to make a weird compilation of lyrical imagery and strange flows to pull themselves away from the surf rock and also to keep up with the creative period of music that was just about to plateau in 1967.

Surf's Up is a very great song; probably my fave of Brian's. 

probably the most cynical take, man Whew...

[Bicyclerider]

According to most accounts, Surf's Up was written "in one night" BUT AFTER it was written, according to Van Dyke, Brian was playing it for Dennis after coming back from their European tour (so that would be November, right?  Don't have Badman handy) and Dennis had been complaining about the striped shirt reception and how people had laughed at them.  Dennis was overcome after hearing Surf's Up and asked what the title was - and that was when Van Dyke dubbed it Surf's Up, despite the fact there was no surf's Up lyric in the song at that time, to indicate his support for what the Beach Boys represented and that it was nothing to be ashamed about.  Then the coda was written to include the surf's Up lyric.

I'm ignoring a recent Brian interview in which he said Surf's Up was written in three days, one section per day.

[Bill Tobelman]

That's the clearest explaination I've ever read on the embracing of the America thing. Nice going.

You can see the same coming together of the surfing image and the America thing in the artwork for Brian Wilson's cancelled July 3 show.
http://www.lakearrowhead.net/mountainconcerts.html

[Peter Ames Carlin]

Hi: Just to toss my .02 into the mix...I've spoken to both of those guys, Brian and Van Dyke, about the themes and ideas in "Smile." And though Brian tends to defer to VDP regarding the meaning and substance of the lyrics, VDP is very clear that they both were on the same page throughout the process about the various themes they wanted to strike in the piece. Brian had already written much of the music for "H&V" before VDP came over for the first time, and when VDP said it reminded him of an old west song, Brian agreed instantly, and said he'd been thinking of calling it "Heroes and Villians. "And so they were off, gradually finding themselves pulled toward this musical journey from east to west, through the American frontier of their imaginations. There are some very precise and vivid quotes from VDP in my book ("Catch A Wave," coming at the end of June) about what was on their minds at the time. And of course he describes the night in the late fall of '66 when Dennis came back from the UK to describe how the hipsters had giggled at their striped shirts, and how this aggrieved VDP so deeply -- adding to a beef stemming from the ubiquity of Brit groups in the US in the mid-60s -- that he suggested they call their work-in-progress "Surf's Up." At which point they finished the final verse of the song, which we all know and love.

So that's how the tale was told to me.