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Jim Murphy
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« Reply #10 on: September 12, 2024, 12:11:41 AM » |
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Well, I have to weigh in on this discovery, don’t I?
When the news broke, I was out of town celebrating my mom’s 99th birthday with my family, interspersed with two three-hour Zoom interviews about my book and the band’s early days, and followed by a visit from good friends from South Carolina. So, I’ve had some time to fully absorb it.
In a word . . . WOWZA! Not sure if that’s a word, but that’s pretty close to my reaction.
Kudos to Ian for finding what is clearly the Holy Grail of early Beach Boys photos—the original quintet during Al’s first tenure with the group. Beach Boy researchers, historians, and authors have long mused over the existence of such a photograph as Audree and Murry, Virginia and Donald, and Glee and Milt would have clearly wanted to memorialize their son’s foray into popular music. In one of my many interviews with Bruce Morgan, I hounded him (politely, though) about the possible existence of such a photo. He recalled there was indeed such a photo, although he could not describe it, and believed a copy had been tucked into the original “Surfin’” tape box that Steve Hoffman borrowed for his Lost & Found (1961-1962) project. When I spoke with Steve about the photo he replied, without a hint of snarkiness, “If I had found such a photo in the tape box, don’t you think I would have placed it on the cover of Lost and Found?”
I believe Ian has rightfully deduced this photo was taken in January 1962 or December 1961, and is likely the first “official” photograph taken of the band. Thankfully those uniforms, with the schoolboy ties, did not prevail. By March 1962, they had switched to Pendleton shirts as evidenced by the photograph I found in the Torrance, California, High School yearbook taken during their Prom Week appearance there March 12-16, 1962, and used for the cover of my book. Interestingly, Hogan's House of Music in Lawndale, CA, where the boys rented their instruments, was an authorized Rickenbacker guitar dealer, so it would seem Carl may have rented an electric Rickenbacker for a month or more. But he didn't stay with a Rickenbacker and eventually preferred Fender guitars.
So, why has it taken 62 years for this first photo to surface? Surely the Wilsons, Loves, and Jardines must have had copies. And yet, apparently, not one copy survived in their respective collections. And, as Ian has pointed out, the photo never appeared in a concert program, newspaper article, book, documentary, the 50th Reunion Tour, or the recent Genesis book. It just vanished. And would have been lost to history without Ian’s indefatigable research.
In her “Beach Boys Expenses for 1962” ledger on Tuesday, January 16, 1962, Audree Wilson recorded check number 4021 for $13.52 for six 8" x 10" photographs at Halls Photography (see page 60, The Beach Boys by The Beach Boys). It would seem likely this expenditure was for prints of this early photograph which, of course, included Al Jardine. This is around the time Herb Newman, owner of ERA Record Sales, picked up “Surfin b/w “Luau” for national distribution, repressing the record using Candix record labels and retaining record number 301 for continuity with X Records 301. Sales and chart positions for “Surfin” dramatically improved with Newman’s distribution muscle behind the record. It seems likely Murry was thinking the greater distribution and success of "Surfin" would create a demand for a group photograph for marketing and promotional purposes. But that photo in their matching suits and criss-cross ties would soon hit an early expiration date.
Al left the band sometime after February 8, 1962, the date of the recording session at World Pacific Studio that yielded “Surfin’ Safari,” “Surfer Girl,” “Judy,” and “Beach Boy Stomp (Karate),” and before February 11, 1962, the date on the memorandum from Harry Klusmeyer, owner of Promotional Productions, to Murry Wilson inquiring about instrumentation changes now that the band has gone from a quintet to a quartet. Someone retroactively crossed out Al’s name on the February 8, 1962, session sheet filed with the American Federation of Musicians (AFM). After Al left, the group photo with him became outdated and, perhaps, any remaining copies were discarded. This may explain why a copy never surfaced. However, one would think Virginia and Donald Jardine would have retained a copy as a souvenir of their son’s burgeoning musical aspirations. Perhaps Al will comment publicly on his recollections of the photo.
The band may have remained a quartet for a few days or a few weeks until David Marks was invited to join, reportedly on a Sunday evening (February 11, 18, 25, or March 4, 1962). It is believed David played his first show with the band at the Bel-Air Bay Club, Pacific Palisades, CA, on Saturday, March 10, 1962. Five days later, on Thursday, March 15, 1962, Audree records check number 4101 in her ledger for $10.40 to “Davis Studios (photography).” Three days later, on Sunday, March 18, Audree records check number 4110 in her ledger for “Davis Studios (additional photographs).” It seems likely this photograph includes David in the line-up and, perhaps, is the now familiar photo of the band at the Bel-Air Bay Club (unfortunately, no one thought to ask the man in the background to move out of view). And they changed their dress uniform to skinny dark ties and the mustard-colored sports jackets David so famously disliked. The next entry in Audree’s ledger is not until Tuesday, May 1, 1962, when they pay $120 to rent the Inglewood Women’s Club for their May 4 appearance there. That's another interesting story the ledger has shed new light upon.
So, thank you to Ian for finding this photo and furthering our understanding of the band’s early history. I would have loved to include the photo in my book, as I’m certain Ian would have in his book, but sometimes history gives up its secrets slowly. We’re glad to have it now. And I really wish I had had access to Audree’s expense ledger because just one page of that document has revealed much about the workings of the band in those formative months of early 1962. I’m not sure who the gatekeeper is with Audree’s expense ledger, or how many years she maintained it, but the information it contains would be a tremendous resource to Beach Boys scholarship if that ledger was made available to researchers, historians, writers, and fans. One can only hope.
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