This Week in BBs History-Apr 18-27

Have not written one of these in a long time but I decided to have a go. Anyways on April 18, 1962, the fledgling BBs with Dave Marks performed at Newport (CA) High School Stadium-with The Bel-Airs (most famous for their 1961 surf instrumental “Mr. Moto”), The Vibrants (who recorded the Surf-rock single “Wildfire”), Dodie and Dee Dee and The Fabulous Biscaines. This was a special “Easter Week Stomp”, which took place at the end of a momentous week in which Brian and the group, along with Gary Usher had visited Western Recorders in Hollywood for the first time to record some demos to shop to a label. As Will C has made clear recently, the dates of those sessions were April 14 and 16 (as well as an undated session to record Their Hearts Were Full of Spring). During the Easter break the BBs also played two nights at Redondo High School-again with the Vibrants and the Belairs. Hard to imagine what the BBs played at this time. Clearly Surfin was their big number and some rock and roll covers… question is whether Surfin Safari was performed despite not being released yet.

April 19, 1963-Another Easter break saw the BBs (now Capitol Records stars) performing at the Aragon Ballroom at Pacific Ocean Park, in Santa Monica-with Dick Delvy and the Challengers. I assume Brian played this local show, as well as the gig the next night at Felton Intermediate School in Lennox, CA. The following day (April 21) they taped their first big nationwide TV appearance-The Red Skelton Show-which was a sketch comedy/variety show that aired on CBS TV until 1970. Skelton did not want to work in the summer, so he would tape his opening shows for the fall season far in advance-the BBs had to wait till September to see themselves-dressed in their horizontal striped sailor shirts and chinos-singing Things We Did Last Summer and Surfin USA. A few days later-Brian went into the studio to aid “that pirate Jan Berry” (as Murry referred to him) in recording vocals for their co-written tune Surf City. Murry was less than thrilled when it went to number one. The BBs also were apparently non-plussed-in a 1964 interview Brian noted “I really don’t try to write for many other people. I enjoy writing, mostly for the Beach Boys because I am sort of proud…. I don’t think it’s good to exploit…thin out our success by spreading it to a lot of artists especially when it is a Beach Boys type song. My feeling and style for music comes out through our group and when I write for other people, usually I can’t help but have a flavor of what the Beach Boys come out with so it comes out like our music. Therefore, the guys don’t like to hear our song with other people. It bugs them.”

Apr 24, 1963-The BBs flew to Chicago to start first real tour (they’d played a few shows in Arizona and Washington but had mostly performed in California to this point). As we now know-Brian was already showing a desire to avoid the road when possible and Al returned to the touring band to take his place. Dave’s dad Elmer served as road manager and they all crowded into one rented car for the tour, which took them to a 1930s Big Band Jazz Halls like the Val Air Ballroom in Des Moines- and the Dance Land Ballroom in Cedar Rapids.

Late Apr 1964-It’s possible that the BBs taped their second appearance on The Red Skelton Show for CBS TV around this time. The show aired on May 12 but he taped his shows in advance rather than airing them live. They performed ‘I Get Around’ and ‘In My Room’ (the footage from both performances appeared in the 1985 American Band documentary). As the BBs had completed ‘I Get Around’ around April 10-they could have taped the show any time after that but I have not discovered the exact taping date.

April 19, 1965-The BBs performed at Tinker Field Stadium in Orlando. This was their first show in the Florida town now famous as the site of Disney World (not opened till the 1970s) and Bruce Johnston performed with them-having mastered the bass enough to take Glen’s place in the lineup for a few days. Bruce was also with them the next night at Wilmington State Armory in Delaware. However, Dennis’s drums had missed the plane and he had to play on a borrowed kit. One reviewer noted: “As Dennis Wilson, on the borrowed drums, led into the song ‘Do You Wanna Dance’ tears streamed down the cheeks of infatuated females yelling ‘Yes, yes.’” Glen was still Brian’s official replacement till May 15 and he retook the bass in New Hampshire the next night…but Bruce stuck around offstage for the rest of the tour. Ronnie Oberman of the Washington Star met them on May 24 in DC and reported, “Brian Wilson will not participate in tours in the immediate future. Two other singers, who will alternate, have been found to replace Brian on tours. They are Glen Campbell, who is frequently seen on Shindig, and Bruce Johnston, formerly of The Rip Chords. Campbell appeared on stage with The Beach Boys in Baltimore and Washington and Bruce was around too. ‘I’ve known these guys for three or four years,’ 20-year-old Bruce says, ‘it’s groovy on the road with them. They never hassle. It’s a gas and I just dig them.”

Apr 19, 1966-The final version of Pet Sounds was mixed and mastered. Meanwhile, the BBs decided to make some promo films to help promote it (this was becoming a common industry practice-the Beatles, Stones, Who, etc. all were making short music videos at this time to air on the various teen programs). Keith Badman has claimed that the promo film of Sloop John B was filmed at Brian or Carl’s house on April 24 (which shows the BBs clowning in the swimming pool). Dennis seems to have skipped the filming that day but was present the next day at Lake Arrowhead to film the God Only Knows promo -with Al in Mask, etc.). Like a lot of us fans…I first saw this footage in the American Band doc-so I associate it with the songs Wouldn’t It Be Nice and That’s Not Me…but that was the choice of the producers in the 1980s rather than the original purpose-I still think it works better with those two songs!!

April 18, 1967-With Smile in doubt and a lawsuit against Capitol underway, the group were on a tour of the States before jetting to Europe. For the first time, a mini orchestra, including cellist Igor Horoshevsky of the Robert Shaw Chorale, accompanied the group. Bruce told a reporter, “Our biggest problem on stage had been the actual reproduction of our records sounds. We have solved this problem by bringing our entire band with us on this trip.” On this night they were in Harrisburg, PA with the Pickle Brothers. As I’ve mentioned in the past, the Pickles were a comedy trio that opened for the BBs off and on between 66 and 68. I don’t think there humor has aged particularly well but Mike liked them enough to produce a 45 in 1967, which has showed up on some boots. One of the “Brothers” (who were not related)-Peter Lee wrote a recent book called Leave Em Laughing-which has some BBs stories in it. Tommy James and the Shondells were on some of the dates of this tour. They were on the charts with “I Think Were Alone Now’.

April 18, 1968-The BBs were on their infamous 1968 tour with Buffalo Springfield and the Strawberry Alarm Clock (infamous because many dates were thrown into disarray following the murder of Martin Luther King). On this day they played shows in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. On my site-I have reviews that illustrate the dichotomy developing amongst critics: the college student who attended called them unhip bubble gum pop and declared, “The Beach Boy…sang in the style that most of the upperclassmen on campus twisted to at their high school prom. Songs like ‘Help Me Rhonda and ‘Surfer Girl’ were quite popular five years ago but drew snide comments and yawns from the older element of the crowd. Of course, the twelve-year-olds completely blew their minds” But the reviewer from the local paper stated: ‘The Beach Boys kicked off an impressive 45 minutes with ‘Help Me Rhonda’ and it was immediately apparent a treat was in store. The help their orchestra gave was welcome in the first selections. The brass in ‘Darlin’ was out of sight. Perhaps one of the most complex compositions performed by touring rock groups is ‘Good Vibrations.’ The Beach Boys had all the goods needed to duplicate studio sound on the live stage and they proceeded to do so.’ I have a feeling the second review is more my POV but I should note that even a fanatic like Rob Shepherd-who posted a lot on the boards-told me that when he saw them in 68 ‘The Beach Boys had four or five guys on horns who were sitting behind those little bandstand boxes and when it came time for them to play, they would stand up. Back then you would often see such an arrangement in older adult bands such as the musicians on the Lawrence Welk Show, but it seemed totally uncool to me for a rock band, like something an old geezer like Murry would have suggested’, so perhaps the first reviewer was not totally wrong.
Apr 18, 1969-The Beach Boys played at the prom of the Wilson’s alma mater Hawthorne HS-though the prom took place at a hotel in Beverly Hills. They apparently received just $900 but were enthusiastic. Brian did not join them. According to road manager Jack Lloyd, “We were all decked out in tuxedos for the evening. The Beach Boys played a full dance set; Joe Hicks sang, and the kids loved the show and dance.” Brian and the BBs were working on Breakaway at this time and a session was held for the song on April 23.
April 18, 1970-The BBs started a pretty low-key tour of New Zealand and Australia-at probably their commercial low point. Hard to believe but apparently Brian expressed interest in going and even renewed his passport before chickening out. The tour was promoted with outdated photos from 1964 and some ads even suggested that BW would be present. It was a no-frills affair-Desper was there but without the sound system because they could not afford to ship and reassemble it for the small amount of money they were offered for the tour. As an example, I will quote the review of the Adelaide show on April 25 “Despite sound distortion, microphone feedback and cramped conditions, there was no denying the group’s talent when they got going. Much of their appeal lay in their easy manner, the way out gear they wore and their sense of style and ensemble. Their greatest hits came towards the end, with ‘Barbara Ann,’ ‘Good Vibrations,’ and ‘Johnny B. Good.’ Teenagers went wild and screamed for more, but the boys said goodbye after about an hour on stage.”
Apr 22, 1971-The BBs embarked on a comeback tour of the northeastern US playing much longer sets with new material upfront and oldies mostly saved for the end … leading to some great shows and the occasional irritated audience who wanted Barbara Ann played right away ….The Duke University show on April 24 with the Grateful Dead and Mountain brought out a typical review: Steve Emerson of The Chronicle argued, “The Beach Boys were clearly outclassed in such company…After an hour or so of apologizing for the heavy changes the band had gone through, meaningless guru statements by Mike Love, a lot of wasted time, and some mediocre to poor recent songs backed up by a useless horn section, they realized that if anything was to be accomplished, they’d have to play their old songs and forget about the irrelevance Love wanted to attribute to them. ‘Surfer Girl,’ ‘Good Vibrations,’ ‘Sloop John B,’ and ‘I Get Around’ brought the house down and capitalized on a common level of experience felt by all in the stadium. Jerry Garcia was clapping along, rocking and yelling ‘Little Deuce Coupe’ backstage.”
Apr 18, 1972-The BBs were facing the old deadline doom for the Carl and the Passions LP, which was slated to be released as a twofer with a Pet Sounds reissue. Over the next few days hurried sessions were conducted to complete Hold On Dear Brother, Make it Good and Here She Comes...before the BBs launched a college tour with Blondie and Ricky. Some of these shows got pretty contentious-again some people just wanted to drink beer and dance to Help Me Rhonda and were unwilling to give Here She Comes or Long Promised Road respectful appreciation …For example the Penn State show on April 22 led to fighting between the band and audience: An unnamed BB asked whether many groups came to Penn State to play and when the audience said yes, he asked whether they ever came back a second time. An audience member replied, “Not unless we ask them to!” The BB retorted, “You know we occasionally give refunds.” The audience member shouted back, “Good, please tell us where the lines are forming!”
Apr 18, 1973-The BBs played a gig in Las Vegas before playing Bill Graham’s Winterland (Apr 19) and the Hollywood Palladium (on Apr 20). The latter show even lured Brian onto the stage-though just to receive some applause after the encores. Fan Rob Shepherd happened to be seated right next to the Wilson family –including Murry and Audree, Brian and Diane, as well as Danny Hutton-he noted “It was a terrific concert, by the way, the Beach Boys at their early 70s peak as a performing unit…Ricky Fataar was explosive on drums…Blondie Chaplin also great. The set opened with Dennis walking center stage, taking the mike, and asking "Are you gonna sing along or not?!" Then he launched into "Help Me Rhonda" - I wonder if this was the only time a concert opened with Dennis singing lead?”
Apr 18, 1974-The BBs were again on tour and on this night were in West Virginia…Blondie was now long gone but Ricky was still on drums. Guercio had convinced them to intersperse oldies with newer songs-leading to less audience tantrums-Mike Hasch of the Uniontown Morning Herald reported, “They opened the evening with several old favorites which got most of the crowd in the right mood. Then came several of the newer songs, which I had rarely if ever heard. To be perfectly honest, the group handled themselves quite well on stage and the performance was excellent…For the next hour and a half, the Wilsons, Love and Company kept a fast paced and smooth-running combination of the old and new…I left the Coliseum with the realization that it was one of the best concerts I’d seen in a while.”
Apr 23, 1975-The BBs began rehearsing for their upcoming Beachago tour with Chicago…. It would end up being one of the biggest tours of the year. Still waiting to hear the tapes of what many say was the peak of the BBs as a touring unit. Late April 76-Dennis was working sporadically on Pacific Ocean Blue, while also helping complete 15 Big Ones. April 1977-POB neared completion and was finally assembled on Apri 23 after some last-minute work on End of the Show.

Apr 18, 1978-The BBs were on the “Almost Summer” tour-helping promote the movie (with Mike and his Celebration band performing mini-sets during the show, as well as playing some “Celebration” concerts in-between gigs). This was a somewhat troubled period-all three Wilsons having marital troubles and substance abuse issues-gigs were hit or miss: from 1977-1982 you never knew what you were going to get when you saw the BBs-though most audience members were oblivious to missed cues, bum notes, drunken behavior or tension. As Carl later said-the BBs could play a real turkey of a set and people would say it was the greatest show they ever saw. For example, the April 23 show at the University of Arizona. The reviewer noted that Dennis was “too loaded to do his drumming (and) at one point stalked offstage” …. Brian Wilson on several occasions also had to leave the stage, apparently to see what the condition of his brother was." Dennis was starting to be very erratic onstage and off and was actually arrested that night for picking up a 16-year-old girl and taking her to his hotel. Luckily for Dennis, neither the girl nor her parents chose to pursue the case and charges were dropped in May. However, the episode was national news and pictures of Dennis being frisked were in newspapers across the country. His bandmates, especially Mike, were displeased by the negative publicity.

Apr 20, 1979-The BBs again hit the road-with Ian Matthews. The commercial failure of the LA Light LP led to belt tightening and this was one of the last tours before a number of backing musicians were cut. Reviewing the April 23 show in Carbondale Illinois, Colin Gibson noted, " It was an old favorite, Help Me Rhonda, that brought the near-capacity crowd to its feet halfway through the show...but their disco experiment Here Comes the Night was well received too. ...The group did play some songs that were not likely to be heard at a Beach Boys Concert, like Shortening Bread and Lady Lynda, which was based on a Bach composition... (Brian) Wilson played piano, sat out a few songs and sang one, Sloop John B... His brother, drummer Dennis Wilson, did not appear at all." Sterling Smith recalled, “Dennis…had stayed up all night in a partying mode and he missed the whole show. I think that was the first time that had happened in the whole time I had been there. And we thought, ‘Wow, this is not a good sign.’ It became increasingly common in the next three years. Indeed, by April 1980 Dennis was no longer part of the band-having been asked to leave till he straightened himself out-he’d return for the European tour at the end of May.

Apr 19, 1981-Carl performed a solo concert at the Agora in Dallas with the band he’d organized-which included Myrna Smith of the Sweet Inspirations and his-former brother-in-law Billy Hinsche. I know Bob attended the next night in Houston. The tour would hit LA on April 23-a show that brought out Brian and Dennis in full tuxedo (as Ed Roach’s photos illustrate). Betty Collignon reported in BBFun that "Carl seemed a little nervous performing in his hometown and in front of his family. By the second show he warmed up, relaxed and really enjoyed himself...He sang selections from his album including his single 'Hold Me,' two R&B tunes, 'Too Early To Tell' and 'I Wanna Thank You,' and a special touch of his first song he ever wrote, 'Feel Flows.'"

April 19, 1983-Mike Love and Dean Torrence played a show at the Pony Express in Phoenix, AZ. Mike seemed a little restless during this period-or maybe he just needed the extra income-he was constantly touring-even when the BBs were off the road-he was touring with the Endless Summer band-often with Dean. Young people today would call it his ‘Side Hustle.’ They were at Rockefeller’s in Houston on April 21 and 22.

April 18, 1984-The BBs second real tour after Dennis’s death hit Knoxville. Two days later they were in Tampa with Mick Fleetwood’s Zoo as opening act. The reviewer commented that the BBs were just going through the motions but “the audience didn’t mind that the Beach Boys…have done virtually the same show every time they’ve come to town. They didn’t mind that Brian Wilson-despite promises from the local promoter-didn’t show up. And they certainly didn’t mind the walk-through performance the group gave Friday night.” He did at least praise Carl’s ‘spirited version of John Fogerty’s ‘Rocking All Over the World.’

Apr 21, 1986-The BBs held a session for California Dreamin’-their big 1986 single. Ok….time to wrap this up.

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