Carl Wilson biography due September 29th

[HeyJude]

It was very out of character for him. I may be mistaken, but I don't think there were any other incidents that were ever documented about Carl being inebriated while on stage. While listening to him on stage that day it sounded funny, but I don't think anybody was laughing when he fell down. I think the band understood what happened and forgave him right away. But the Australian press obviously made a big deal about it, and he was still a little high the next day, as can be seen during the press interview. If he'd done it in America, it probably wouldn't have been acknowledged by the press - they were use to seeing singers stoned or drunk on stage all the time. Carl continued having his drinks before/after concerts right up until his last concert. Mike Love was very surprised and thought he should have quit as soon as he found out he had cancer.

If I'm recalling correctly, the extant video of the Largo, MD 1977 show, which I believe is from 1/21/77 or so (a full year before Australia) shows Carl looking pretty toasted or whatever one wants to call it. Not nearly as intense as the Australia '78 shows, but it looks and sounds like Carl had had some drinks that night too. His demeanor at Largo is way different from anything from 1979 and on.

As for Carl drinking right up until his last concert, and I'm not shooting the messenger here, just throwing ideas out, that would be an issue he would take up with his doctor, not Mike Love. When you are terminally ill, there are many degrees of "do's" and "don'ts." For instance, a doctor will tell you in most cases to continue leading a healthy lifestyle. But will having some drinks actually worsen the cancer or hinder treatment? A doctor may say no, statistically not. Just like they may tell you not to eat rare meat or something while doing chemo, because your immune system is weakened. Same with drinking. Some doctors will say if someone is terminally ill and has a few months left from lung cancer, even *smoking* at that stage won't make it any worse than it already is. This is all theoretical, but there are many life decisions one makes in those situations, including how happy or miserable they want to be, and what one's prognosis is as far as treatment. I believe there might be cases where drinking a moderate amount of alcohol would not in any way worsen cancer or hinder treatment.

I've seen some other blurbs where Mike commented that his wife was a registered nurse, "especially pulmonary" (Mike's words from a 1999 interview, where he weirdly points out that his wife correctly guessed that Carl had two months left to live in December 1997), but Carl surely had an oncologist who would have been the person to discuss all of those issues with.

[Mikie]

Doesn’t alcohol break down your resistance and immune system? Wouldn’t it conflict with prescription medications he was taking at that point? To me, that would be the obvious reason Mike made that comment after Carl’s death. Not sure Carl was even smoking medical Marijuana at that time.

But like you allude to, Jude, maybe Carl was already in the advance stages of Cancer and it didn't make any difference anyway.....

[Lee Marshall]

Meanwhile...back at the 'book'...IS it true that Carl's family know nothing about this book and are reserving judgement until they've actually had a chance to read it?  It would also seem that NONE of the 'insiders' here knew anything about this book coming.  That true too?

So how does one write an accurate biography without talking to family or questioning/researching any inside info?  I'm just asking.  I'll wait til I read it to form an opinion...as I will with the Brian book and the Mike book.

Jon?  You talk to anybody before you wrote about Denny and David?  Ot did you just make it all up?   You know...kinda hopin' for the best?   I'm not sayin'...I'm just sayin'.

[bgas]

Meanwhile...back at the 'book'...IS it true that Carl's family know nothing about this book and are reserving judgement until they've actually had a chance to read it?  It would also seem that NONE of the 'insiders' here knew anything about this book coming.  That true too?

So how does one write an accurate biography without talking to family or questioning/researching any inside info?  I'm just asking.  I'll wait til I read it to form an opinion...as I will with the Brian book and the Mike book.

Jon?  You talk to anybody before you wrote about Denny and David?  Ot did you just make it all up?   You know...kinda hopin' for the best?   I'm not sayin'...I'm just sayin'.

  IF the family  didn't help with a Carl book, then there's no reason to buy/read it, plain and simple. Without family/close friend input, this book won't be anything more than recycled twaddle. 

Questioning Jon/ making idle accusations, on the other hand, lacks all respect. Maybe you should be outright banned.... 

[Lee Marshall]

Gawd NO...I wasn't questioning Jon or accusing him of 'it'.  I was hoping for a comment from him on the possibility of anyone pulling off a book of this nature WITHOUT going the exact route you addressed.  It was a redundant question I asked of Mr. Stebbins.  I have NOTHING but respect for Jon.  We all know he put his various books together the RIGHT way.  If it wasn't for HIM I wouldn't be here for goodness sake.  bgas...sorry I didn't make myself understood more clearly man.  Really!!!

Jon is A+++ in my books.  Clear?
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I'm not sayin' the new book was written this way...I'm just sayin'...OK?

[mikeddonn]

Gawd NO...I wasn't questioning Jon or accusing him of 'it'.  I was hoping for a comment from him on the possibility of anyone pulling off a book of this nature WITHOUT going the exact route you addressed.  It was a redundant question I asked of Mr. Stebbins.  I have NOTHING but respect for Jon.  We all know he put his various books together the RIGHT way.  If it wasn't for HIM I wouldn't be here for goodness sake.  bgas...sorry I didn't make myself understood more clearly man.  Really!!!

Jon is A+++ in my books.  Clear?
-----------------------------------------

I'm not sayin' the new book was written this way...I'm just sayin'...OK?

Add Some I don't think you need to worry. I didn't take your post as a criticism of Jon and I'm sure he won't. Bgas just misunderstood. 

[Mikie]

Add Some I don't think you need to worry. I didn't take your post as a criticism of Jon and I'm sure he won't. Bgas just misunderstood. 

Bgas didn't misunderstand at all. He's just bored and wants to start some sh*t.

Do you think the Gaines book was screened by family and close friends and things edited out at their request prior to release? Doubt it. That's how I want this new Carl book to be. In that regard, it might be a good thing they don't read it and make comments afterward. AUTHENTICITY by and author who did his homework thoroughly is what I'm looking for here, not another Badman book.

[mikeddonn]

Add Some I don't think you need to worry. I didn't take your post as a criticism of Jon and I'm sure he won't. Bgas just misunderstood. 

Bgas didn't misunderstand at all. He's just bored and wants to start some sh*t.

I think you could be right Mikie!

[JK]

According to his entry on Wikipedia, he was an ordained minister. Now, THAT I want to know more about.

This is John-Roger Hinkins of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness awarding Carl an Integrity Award.
Seems this gent was not exactly the epitome of integrity himself...   

[Lee Marshall]

Add Some I don't think you need to worry. I didn't take your post as a criticism of Jon and I'm sure he won't. Bgas just misunderstood. 

Bgas didn't misunderstand at all. He's just bored and wants to start some sh*t.

Really?   I got 'punked'?   Jon warned me there'd be days like that here.

f***!!!

[Andrew G. Doe]

Add Some I don't think you need to worry. I didn't take your post as a criticism of Jon and I'm sure he won't. Bgas just misunderstood. 

Bgas didn't misunderstand at all. He's just bored and wants to start some sh*t.

Do you think the Gaines book was screened by family and close friends and things edited out at their request prior to release? Doubt it. That's how I want this new Carl book to be. In that regard, it might be a good thing they don't read it and make comments afterward. AUTHENTICITY by and author who did his homework thoroughly is what I'm looking for here, not another Badman book.

That this book has literally appeared from nowhere would indicate to me that no-one especially close to Carl's family has had anything to do with it. I'm thinking possible cut'n'paste job/

[Emdeeh]

And so far, the family has been mighty quiet on the topic... I'm leaning towards unauthorized bio.

[Mikie]

So Emdeeh wasn't approached for pictures of Carl for the book?  Oh, we're not off to a good start here.....

[Andrew G. Doe]

Been asking around, and a few folk I really would have thought would have been approached... haven't. So, my expectations are sinking, and they were pretty low to begin with.

[guitarfool2002]

Been asking around, and a few folk I really would have thought would have been approached... haven't. So, my expectations are sinking, and they were pretty low to begin with.

And on cue not missing a beat, if this were a TV sitcom, we'd see and hear at least one pairing of board members chime in after this, in tandem, saying "but not as low as our expectations for the Brian book!", cue raucous laugh track, cue background music, slow fade and dissolve to fast food commercial. 

[Bedroom Tapes]

I am hoping this book will at least be better than Adam Webb's Dennis Wilson book.

[Mujan, 8@$+@Rc| of a Blue Wizard]

Been asking around, and a few folk I really would have thought would have been approached... haven't. So, my expectations are sinking, and they were pretty low to begin with.

And on cue not missing a beat, if this were a TV sitcom, we'd see and hear at least one pairing of board members chime in after this, in tandem, saying "but not as low as our expectations for the Brian book!", cue raucous laugh track, cue background music, slow fade and dissolve to fast food commercial. 

You rang, sir?

But in all seriousness, after hearing that no one worthwhile has been approached for this, I'm starting to rank it as a non-entity. Of course, we'll have to wait and see. What's worse? A white-washed authorized bio of a man traditionally unwilling to discuss many aspects of his life...or a cut and paste bio with no new information or insight? Who's to say?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Kent Crowley. Any relation to James Crowley in the U.K.?

Should I know/know of this person ? 'Cause I'm coming up short. 

[Cool Cool Water]

Looking forward to this.

[Smilin Ed H]

Add Some I don't think you need to worry. I didn't take your post as a criticism of Jon and I'm sure he won't. Bgas just misunderstood. 

Bgas didn't misunderstand at all. He's just bored and wants to start some sh*t.

Do you think the Gaines book was screened by family and close friends and things edited out at their request prior to release? Doubt it. That's how I want this new Carl book to be. In that regard, it might be a good thing they don't read it and make comments afterward. AUTHENTICITY by and author who did his homework thoroughly is what I'm looking for here, not another Badman book.

That this book has literally appeared from nowhere would indicate to me that no-one especially close to Carl's family has had anything to do with it. I'm thinking possible cut'n'paste job/

My thoughts too, but he seems an odd choice for a cut and paste job.

[elnombre]

Add Some I don't think you need to worry. I didn't take your post as a criticism of Jon and I'm sure he won't. Bgas just misunderstood. 

Bgas didn't misunderstand at all. He's just bored and wants to start some sh*t.

Do you think the Gaines book was screened by family and close friends and things edited out at their request prior to release? Doubt it. That's how I want this new Carl book to be. In that regard, it might be a good thing they don't read it and make comments afterward. AUTHENTICITY by and author who did his homework thoroughly is what I'm looking for here, not another Badman book.

That this book has literally appeared from nowhere would indicate to me that no-one especially close to Carl's family has had anything to do with it. I'm thinking possible cut'n'paste job/

My thoughts too, but he seems an odd choice for a cut and paste job.

Not so much when it's by an author who's previous book was titled 'Surf Beat' and with a Brian movie, book and album on the way and Mike's book next year, surely? If anyone was going to do a cut and paste job on Carl, I would think that they'd imagine now to be about the perfect time. Having said that I would also hope that anyone familiar with Carl's legacy would also feel that he deserves a better effort than that.

[Mikie]

Kent Crowley. Any relation to James Crowley in the U.K.?

Should I know/know of this person ? 'Cause I'm coming up short. 

Isn't/wasn't there a Crowley that use to frequent the BBB board and attended a convention or two over there? Maybe I got the name wrong and it just sounds like Crowley. I'm probably way off (which has been known to happen).

[Jon Stebbins]

Been asking around, and a few folk I really would have thought would have been approached... haven't. So, my expectations are sinking, and they were pretty low to begin with.

Ok...let's not fit Mr. Crowley for a noose before he's been given a fair hearing. I was approached as a contributor, many months ago, and Kent seems like a good guy. His passion is for surf music, and surf guitar, and his motivation for writing the book was to credit Carl for being an underrated and often uncredited innovator and influence on generations of guitarists which I think is pretty cool. I can't vouch for post '60's content because I have not read the book, but Kent will do a great job on the early days no doubt. FYI I tried to steer him away from the myths and toward what is true, acknowledging that Carl is the guitarist on so many Beach Boys classics that he sometimes gets no credit for due to misinformation and myth. Hopefully that helped. But it should be said that Kent's an energetic guy who knows his sh*t about '60's music and i really liked his positive vibe. I wish him the best, and look forward to checking the final product out. Oh, and I know he interviewed some great people who were as close to Carl as you can get, so let's hope for the best.

[The 4th Wilson Bro.]

Been asking around, and a few folk I really would have thought would have been approached... haven't. So, my expectations are sinking, and they were pretty low to begin with.

Ok...let's not fit Mr. Crowley for a noose before he's been given a fair hearing. I was approached as a contributor, many months ago, and Kent seems like a good guy. His passion is for surf music, and surf guitar, and his motivation for writing the book was to credit Carl for being an underrated and often uncredited innovator and influence on generations of guitarists which I think is pretty cool. I can't vouch for post '60's content because I have not read the book, but Kent will do a great job on the early days no doubt. FYI I tried to steer him away from the myths and toward what is true, acknowledging that Carl is the guitarist on so many Beach Boys classics that he sometimes gets no credit for due to misinformation and myth. Hopefully that helped. But it should be said that Kent's an energetic guy who knows his sh*t about '60's music and i really liked his positive vibe. I wish him the best, and look forward to checking the final product out. Oh, and I know he interviewed some great people who were as close to Carl as you can get, so let's hope for the best.

Damn, Jon, don't you realize you're screwing with the narrative of the board elite?  The board cynics won't take kindly to such news.

By the way: The announced date of the book's release date is my birthday as well – 9/29/50.

[Emdeeh]

Jon, thanks for the input. I hope Jerry Schilling was one of the people interviewed.