New Xmas Single from Al

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

One of the great mysteries to me will always be why a guy like Al Jardine (there are many other examples in pop music) can be so damn talented, a great singer, decent songwriter.... why a guy like him never made it big solo.  


The only way I reconcile it in my mind, and this goes for pretty much all the beach boys including Brian... is that they're all kind of amateurs.  Best music ever, best singers ever, but they never really did things in a professional way in my opinion.  Not because they are irresponsible or anything, they show up when they say they will, they treat their fans with respect, they're authentic... but they've always kind of been self-taught and seem to out of of their way to NOT make smart business decisions that might move them towards a bigger market.  

So you end up with situations like having a 70 something Al Jardine who sounds better than 90% of the musicians on the radio but yet he doesn't appear to be making any money off of it.  Whole thing is just strange.

Meanwhile Mick Jagger could probably make millions of dollars doing a solo show somewhere.  Steve Perry has been retired for 20 years, would probably make 10mil plus if he did a show somewhere.  Al sounds better than both.

Those are insightful comments... agree completely. I think you could make the case that Al and the other BBs' management over the years (or lack thereof) has had a lot to do with it too.

I'm very happy Al is in Brian's band, but I would also love to see him do a limited-run solo tour or other projects. Anything that keeps him active and shows off his wonderful voice.

[KDS]

One of the great mysteries to me will always be why a guy like Al Jardine (there are many other examples in pop music) can be so damn talented, a great singer, decent songwriter.... why a guy like him never made it big solo.  


The only way I reconcile it in my mind, and this goes for pretty much all the beach boys including Brian... is that they're all kind of amateurs.  Best music ever, best singers ever, but they never really did things in a professional way in my opinion.  Not because they are irresponsible or anything, they show up when they say they will, they treat their fans with respect, they're authentic... but they've always kind of been self-taught and seem to out of of their way to NOT make smart business decisions that might move them towards a bigger market.  

So you end up with situations like having a 70 something Al Jardine who sounds better than 90% of the musicians on the radio but yet he doesn't appear to be making any money off of it.  Whole thing is just strange.

Meanwhile Mick Jagger could probably make millions of dollars doing a solo show somewhere.  Steve Perry has been retired for 20 years, would probably make 10mil plus if he did a show somewhere.  Al sounds better than both.

Those are insightful comments... agree completely. I think you could make the case that Al and the other BBs' management over the years (or lack thereof) has had a lot to do with it too.

I'm very happy Al is in Brian's band, but I would also love to see him do a limited-run solo tour or other projects. Anything that keeps him active and shows off his wonderful voice.

As great as Al's voice is, it's a pretty well kept secret.  Other than Help Me Rhonda, Al didn't sing on any of the iconic hits from the glory years. 

Mick Jagger and Steve Perry, on the other hand, sing lead of two whole catalogs full of iconic songs. 

[Sound of Free]

One of the great mysteries to me will always be why a guy like Al Jardine (there are many other examples in pop music) can be so damn talented, a great singer, decent songwriter.... why a guy like him never made it big solo. 

Al never really tried to be a solo star. He was in a band until he was in his mid-50s, and as great a singer as he is and even though he sang lead on a No. 1 hit, he wasn't the face or voice of the band. And he's not a prolific songwriter.

I'm sure everyone has someone whose music they really like who they wonder how this person never became a big star. For me it's Marshall Crenshaw. He released a ton of great music but only got one top-40 hit out of it.

I'm 50 now. My ex-wife is 8 years younger than me. When we started dating, I was 35 and she was 27. We had a long car ride, and I asked her if she wanted to listen to Marshall's "This Is Easy" compilation on the ride. She said sure, and a few songs in she said, "Why haven't I ever heard of this guy?"

[Emily]

I think a lot of it has to do with charisma, or lack thereof.

[HeyJude]

The fact that Al has never been a "star" on his own is not surprising. He doesn't have that type of personality. With the possible exception of Dennis, I don't think any of the guys had that potential in terms of image and personality.

So it's not surprising that Al never busted out a bunch of hit solo albums.

However, it seems like he could have spent the last 15-20 years doing smaller gigs and working on studio material. He has the vocal chops and ability and time to do that. Not "surf city" gigs, or re-recordings of hits, or quickie shows with pick-up bands. But small, intimate deep cuts-filled shows, and maybe hiring an outside producer simply to wade through his archive of recordings to pick some stuff to put out (and/or to actually "produce" Al recording new music). He would have made little money off of this over the years (at least at first), but I think he could have built up a rep for that sort of thing.

I'm guessing he must prefer to work in a group setting for whatever reason, whether it's C50, or Brian's band, or his regular backline guys in concert.

[Ron]

I can see the Charisma argument... I guess if you think about all the solo acts that were really big had a lot of Charisma...

[Emily]

I can see the Charisma argument... I guess if you think about all the solo acts that were really big had a lot of Charisma...

Yeah - see? If Al walked out and showed us how it's done the way Aretha just did...

[Smilin Ed H]

I don't think Al has the writing chops and, perhaps, the self-discipline to attain the work-rate necessary to be a solo star. I don't mean to be rude here, but his love of re-working old numbers is well-known.  I never saw him as a Paul Simon or Bob Dylan, but I love the guy anyhow and it's interesting now, despite the fact he doesn't have many leads that are well known to the public, that we have come to appreciate how versatile his voice is, how important it was/is to the band and how bloody good it always was and still is. I hope he comes to the UK this year. I'd love to see him with Brian (or with your own band...). I know someone who'd put you up. Just bring your guitar... 

[Tony S]

I think Hey Jude hit it right on the nose!

[tpesky]

Even though Al may not have many signature leads of his own,  he sang many of the most important parts in the hey day of the touring act because he covered Brian's parts! More people have heard Al sing Sloop, WIBN, Heroes, YSGTM, Surfer Girl etc than those who have heard Brian sing them. Think of Knebworth, his voice is all over that.

[HeyJude]

I don’t think much of anyone doubts Al could *lead* a live band (and of course an album) with his voice. I think he could have easily built a solid career on his own post-1998 by cultivating a career doing deep-cuts live shows and interesting studio material, as opposed to doing the oldies circuit like the cruise he’s doing next month on the bill with a bunch of other reconstituted elements of old bands. Either way, this would be cultivating a solid career with a smaller but devoted fan base, with some potential good critical response from music journalists. It would still not be a case of being a “star.”

But he might make more coin off of that one cruise gig than doing five or ten or twenty club shows, so that part of it makes sense.

[PhilSpectre]

I would compare Al to Art Garfunkel in many ways, Both are great singers with lovely, 'pure' voices, both have strong a background in folk music and early rock n' roll, but are arguably not the most charismatic performers. But they don't need to be, their voices are charismatic for them.   

[“Big Daddy”]

Did anyone donate to Al’s cancer charity and win one of the 50 signed CDs? Just wondering what the CD looks like.

[HeyJude]

I contributed but couldn't tell whether I was one of the first 50 to do so; it kind of looked like I was, but I'm not sure. Haven't received any CD or anything thus far. I assumed it was most likely a signed copy of "A Postcard from California", as I don't think there are any other Al CDs in print.

[“Big Daddy”]

I contributed but couldn't tell whether I was one of the first 50 to do so; it kind of looked like I was, but I'm not sure. Haven't received any CD or anything thus far. I assumed it was most likely a signed copy of "A Postcard from California", as I don't think there are any other Al CDs in print.

Ah yes, that’s very likely. With the fundraising drive’s tie-in to the Christmas single I was confused whether they had a small number of CD singles. Your theory makes much more sense.

[RangeRoverA1]

I got it from Smiley pal last year - cool song! There is vid of Al singing Little Saint Nick & he was as good as Mike. It's time for Al to make Christmas album. 1st side - original tunes in the vein of Hurry Up; 2nd side - traditionals (We wish you a merry christmas; Jingle Bell Rock). It could chart well on Billboard.