The effect of legal minority on the early BBs

[Emily]

I was wondering if any of our early BB experts have reflected much on the effects that the legal minority status of all three Wilson brothers, but most particularly Brian, had on the early choices concerning the Beach Boys. Because they could not sign contracts independently, every legal decision had to be approved by their parents, and the majority of their money was also legally their parents until the age of majority, meaning their parents would have had a lot more leverage than parents of a legal adult. It seems so odd, now, to think that Brian, at the age of 20, was not legally free to make his own decisions.

What impact, beyond the co-founding of Sea of Tunes with Murry and the eventual issues there, do you think their legal status had? I'm thinking of touring decisions, financial decisions, accounting decisions, even recording decisions that may have be affected.

[Emily]

*sigh* I was actually curious about this.l

[SMiLE Brian]

It is a great question!!!

[filledeplage]

It is a great question!!!

Yes, it is. But showbiz and the age of majority/minority is and was a big deal.  People are better represented now.  Most have their own legal representation so as not to fall into the traps of yesteryear.  And whatever Murry was, he did kick doors down and maybe felt entitled to more than he actually was. 

And the record people had a hot act on their hands to milk some dough. They were likely not worried about the boys' rights, only their own.  Had they each had independent counsel, instead of "Father Knows Best" some good boundaries might have been established and rights to authorship and composing might have been better defined.

This story was not uncommon in showbiz.  Lots of performers, both film, stage and in music lost money and rights because of this void of legal representation and agents who were not on the "up and up."

Had they individual representation, history might have been very different.  But, they survived and moved beyond whatever happened back in those days, and I think that is what matters most, now. 

[Andrew G. Doe]

I was wondering if any of our early BB experts have reflected much on the effects that the legal minority status of all three Wilson brothers, but most particularly Brian, had on the early choices concerning the Beach Boys. Because they could not sign contracts independently, every legal decision had to be approved by their parents, and the majority of their money was also legally their parents until the age of majority, meaning their parents would have had a lot more leverage than parents of a legal adult. It seems so odd, now, to think that Brian, at the age of 20, was not legally free to make his own decisions.

What impact, beyond the co-founding of Sea of Tunes with Murry and the eventual issues there, do you think their legal status had? I'm thinking of touring decisions, financial decisions, accounting decisions, even recording decisions that may have be affected.

Certainly, in 1962, Murry called the shots concerning the live shows - if you check them out, they played pretty well any- and everywhere he thought would be good for exposure. Concerning recording, Brian pretty much got his way, it would appear. The rest, I'm leaving up to Jim and anyone else who knows better than I do (which is pretty much anyone).

Shows & sessions 1961-62
Shows & sessions 1963

[JakeH]

It's an interesting question, a confusing one that for me raises various other questions. (but I'm certainly not an early BB expert)

Like a lot of folks on the Board, I've read a ton of stuff on the Beach Boys (including Jim Murphy's recent book) and I don't really recall anyone hitting the age of majority issue that hard. This could be because the parent-child problem in the group totally subsumes any black-and-white legal issue like age of majority. It's not like the parent/lack-of-control issue disappeared once Brian Wilson legally became an adult. The problem was always there, long before the Beach Boys existed, and it lingered well into adulthood, as such problems tend to do. 

Re: Sea of Tunes -- I'm actually not sure what California’s age of majority (for contractual purposes) was in 1962. Most of the stuff you read about the Beach Boys in this era implies that 21 was the age at that time.  For instance Jim Murphy's book says that the LA County Superior Court had to ratify the mid-'62 contract with Capitol because everyone in the group except Mike Love was underage.  (Paging Mr. Murphy for re-confirmation on the age of majority in CA in 1962?)

If I’m interpreting various sources correctly (again, including Jim Murphy), current wisdom is that Murry hijacked Gary Usher’s and Brian’s plan to create a two-person publishing partnership; that in fact publishing was not on Murry’s radar screen until he discovered what Brian and Usher were up to (that's how I interpret what I've read).  To my knowledge nobody has said/written that Murry did this because Brian was a minor, and that therefore Murry’s involvement was a legal necessity. It’s usually portrayed as simply Murry being Murry; that Murry would have done this no matter how old Brian was.

But the OP's question perhaps leads to an interesting question: Even if Brian and Usher (who was over 21) were to set up their publishing company without Murry's interference, would they have been legally able to do it? That is, could they themselves create a legally binding contract as long as Brian remained a “minor?” Or would they have been required to have a "guardian" of some sort sign the papers on Brian's behalf? And if so, who could that guardian have been except dad? What I’m basically wondering about is whether Murry’s involvement in publishing was in fact not just a “hijacking” but also an unavoidable, preordained outcome because no deal entered into between Brian and Usher at that time would have been valid without a “guardian’s” (i.e., Dad’s) involvement. 

[Emily]

It's an interesting question, a confusing one that for me raises various other questions. (but I'm certainly not an early BB expert)

Like a lot of folks on the Board, I've read a ton of stuff on the Beach Boys (including Jim Murphy's recent book) and I don't really recall anyone hitting the age of majority issue that hard. This could be because the parent-child problem in the group totally subsumes any black-and-white legal issue like age of majority. It's not like the parent/lack-of-control issue disappeared once Brian Wilson legally became an adult. The problem was always there, long before the Beach Boys existed, and it lingered well into adulthood, as such problems tend to do. 

Re: Sea of Tunes -- I'm actually not sure what California’s age of majority (for contractual purposes) was in 1962. Most of the stuff you read about the Beach Boys in this era implies that 21 was the age at that time.  For instance Jim Murphy's book says that the LA County Superior Court had to ratify the mid-'62 contract with Capitol because everyone in the group except Mike Love was underage.  (Paging Mr. Murphy for re-confirmation on the age of majority in CA in 1962?)

If I’m interpreting various sources correctly (again, including Jim Murphy), current wisdom is that Murry hijacked Gary Usher’s and Brian’s plan to create a two-person publishing partnership; that in fact publishing was not on Murry’s radar screen until he discovered what Brian and Usher were up to (that's how I interpret what I've read).  To my knowledge nobody has said/written that Murry did this because Brian was a minor, and that therefore Murry’s involvement was a legal necessity. It’s usually portrayed as simply Murry being Murry; that Murry would have done this no matter how old Brian was.

But the OP's question perhaps leads to an interesting question: Even if Brian and Usher (who was over 21) were to set up their publishing company without Murry's interference, would they have been legally able to do it? That is, could they themselves create a legally binding contract as long as Brian remained a “minor?” Or would they have been required to have a "guardian" of some sort sign the papers on Brian's behalf? And if so, who could that guardian have been except dad? What I’m basically wondering about is whether Murry’s involvement in publishing was in fact not just a “hijacking” but also an unavoidable, preordained outcome because no deal entered into between Brian and Usher at that time would have been valid without a “guardian’s” (i.e., Dad’s) involvement. 

Yeah, the age of majority was at the time 21 in California. This meant the following:
-minors could not be held to contracts - if a minor signed a contract, he or she could disaffirm (repudiate, reject, refuse to perform his or her part of) the contract at any time, including after he or she reached the age of majority.
-often, in "show business" a parent would sign in lieu of the minor. The parent would then be legally obliged to enforce the minor's performance of the contract.
-The California Child Actor's Bill (often known as the Coogan Law after Jackie Coogan's parents spent all his money) required that 15% of a minor's earnings be held in trust.
-The Coogan Law also provided a mechanism whereby a court could be petitioned to approve a contract with a minor. If this is done, the contract would be enforceable (the minor could not disaffirm it). Capitol did this with their Beach Boys contract as did most major industry companies at the time with their minority contracts, but other contracts the Beach Boys had were simply signed by the parents, I believe.

So, whenever I've come across, particularly in Murphy's book, all the various contract and accounting and publishing maneuvers in the early BB history, I've thought about the role minority may have played in the politics and wondered if anyone has asked about that, or researched which contracts were taken to court for approval, or which contracts were altered soon after Brian turned 21 or perhaps after Carl turned 21 which would have finally allowed them full legal independence as a group.

[Ron]

I was wrong

[Andrew G. Doe]

Just my opinion.

Murry was a dj, wasn't he?  

Er... no. He ran a machinery/import shop. Was an amateur songwriter who had a very few songs recorded and thus had a few connections to the business, notably the Morgans.