by Robert Wilkinson
Continuing our birthday celebrations, the Solstice was the 78th birthday of the great Carl Wilson, guitarist and angelic vocalist for the Beach Boys. He's also a last degree Sagittarius!
If you don't know who the Beach Boys were, brothers Carl Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998), Dennis Wilson (December 4, 1944 – December 28, 1983), and Brian Wilson (June 20, 1942) founded the Beach Boys. Carl played guitar with original lead player David Marks, Dennis was the drummer (and only real surfer in the group), and Brian was THE composer, arranger, and early bass player for the Beach Boys who gave us the California sound of the 60s - "Shut Down," "Surfin' USA," "In My Room," "Surfer Girl," "I Get Around," "Don't Worry Baby," "California Girls," "Good Vibrations," "God Only Knows," and about a hundred other songs that millions surfed to, made love to, and listened to during and after school throughout the 60s.
Their soaring intricate harmonies and catchy melodies made the Beach Boys one of the preeminent groups of the 60s, even long after they ceased to sing about hot rods, surfing, and girls, girls, girls. The Beach Boys were one of the only American acts to top the Beatles on the pop charts consistently during the most prolific period of both bands. With each album the Beach Boys released, Brian set the standard that John Lennon and Paul McCartney tried to top, album after album.
Thinking of the Beatles trying to out-do anyone is pretty astounding in itself! After David left the band and was replaced by Al Jardine, Carl took on the lead guitar parts when on tour, though in the studio he was supported by the Wrecking Crew. That said, you can still hear his instrumental parts on the albums, unlike most of the other Beach Boys.
In Brian’s opinion “Carl had the voice of an angel,” and did some pretty amazing vocals throughout the years. He was the lead singer on two of their biggest hits, “Good Vibrations,” and one of the prettiest love songs ever written, “God Only Knows.”
Today we revisit some of their best! They are mostly early music videos from the 60s and so not live, or lip synched performances in a studio. Still, the first batch are very much live studio performances and not lip synched, with the b/w performances from 1964 when they were hot as firecrackers on the American charts!
Because it's the Christmas season, we'll begin with this alternate version of one of their classics! This never made it to their Christmas album, which is the finale of tonight's show. Here's the very rock and roll driven "Little Saint Nick"
And now, back to when they were streaking like a comet into the stratosphere (and up the charts!) Here's the Great "Lost Concert" from 1964!
"Fun Fun Fun" (That “surf guitar” lick was created by Carl, obviously inspired by Chuck Berry!)
This year I cannot find a link to “Long Tall Texan" but you can hear it in the clip of the entire show at the end of this section.
Here’s the whole 22 minute set, in order! The Lost Beach Boys Concert
Their first television performance was July 31, 1962 on the show Parade of Hits at the Azuza Teen Club, with original member David Marks cranking out a great lead with Carl on rhythm, “Surfin’ Safari” (Carl was FIFTEEN and David was THIRTEEN when this was done!) Unfortunately the video is not great, but here’s the intro and first part of “Surfin’ Safari”
While I was poking around, I found an entire The Red Skelton Hour show from September 1963 where the original Beach Boys with David Marks made an appearance! It’s all lip synched, naturally, but this is classic footage of a VERY young group who had just begun their climb to the top. Their music begins about 34 minutes into the clip. “Surfin’ USA” and “Things We Did Last Summer” (Carl’s 16, Dennis is 18, and Brian’s 21! David Marks had just turned 15 when they made this appearance!)
It’s back! This is an amazing live harmonization by the Beach Boys onThe Red Skelton Hour in 1964 of Brian’s iconic 1963 teenage musing “In My Room.” As you can hear from the original studio version of “In My Room” their harmonies are pitch perfect!
From the legendary TAMI Show in Santa Monica in 1964, ”Surfin' USA” – “I Get Around” – “Surfer Girl” – “Dance, Dance, Dance”
Here's a very early and obscure tune that Brian wrote and sang lead. For your enjoyment, since most have never heard of this gem, the original studio version from the Surfin' USA album, "Farmer's Daughter." From the same album, the pensive and beautiful “Lonely Sea”
From the Surfer Girl album, the surfin’ sound of “Catch A Wave” and the beautiful ballad “Your Summer Dream”
From the UK television show in 1964, Ready Steady Go a live performance of "I Get Around" and "When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)"
On September 27th, 1964, they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and did these two monster hits! First, their huge May 1964 #1 hit, "I Get Around" (Brian’s falsetto is perfect in this performance!)
From that same Ed Sullivan Show appearance, “Wendy” (Carl was seventeen!)
And here’s a 1964 audio-only performance in Sacramento of “Wendy”
Here they’re lip-synching one of Brian’s most beautiful tunes on American Bandstand, the incredible “flip side” of “I Get Around,” “Don’t Worry Baby”
Here's an amazingly beautiful gem that Brian wrote and sang for the Beach Boys Today album. "Please Let Me Wonder." Here's a better version of the Shindig performance linked below of "Please Let Me Wonder." (clipped before they cut into "Help Me Rhonda.")
Here are a bunch of single clips from multiple Shindig appearances in 1964-65. For your enjoyment, from the Shindig Christmas Special in 1964, the Beach Boys giving us
"Monster Mash” and “Papa Oom Mow Mow"
We now move into an April 1965 appearance on Shindig, where they perform
And on a slightly later Shindig in 1965,
"Fun, Fun, Fun" (It’s clipped short).
This year that performance of “Their Hearts Were Full of Spring” has disappeared, so instead, live on The Andy Williams Show in 1966, here’s "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring"
From The Jack Benny Show when it was still shot in b/w, Jack and a gag commercial that leads into the Beach Boys performing “Barbara Ann”
From The Jack Benny Show in 1965 in color, the Beach Boys doing a “live” lip-synched performance where Brian’s not looking so good. For your enjoyment, Brian’s tribute to “the cutest girls in the world!” "California Girls"
A remarkable live version of my personal favorite, and one of my top 10 songs of all time, featuring the truly angelic voice of Carl Wilson. Live in 1967 playing for UNICEF, “God Only Knows” A love song I've bowed to for 50 years.
It’s back! This is a rare score, because Brian hadn’t toured in forever. Because Carl had quit because of “lackluster live performances” and “Los Vegas-type engagements,” Brian began touring again. Here he is singing his masterpiece in 1981 at Long Beach. For your enjoyment, a rare live performance by Brian Wilson of "God Only Knows." From that same tour, at the Mall Park in D.C. on July 4, 1981, here’s “cousin Brian Wilson” singing "God Only Knows." (sorry about the obnoxious ad up front, but Brian’s performance is worth it.)
Here’s a rare short gem, with Carl singing solo, accompanied only by Brian on piano, serenating their mom Audree with "God Only Knows" and here they lipsynch in a faux performance set to the original studio version of “God Only Knows”
I also found an amazing clip of the Beach Boys doing "God Only Knows," "Sloop John B," and "Wouldn't it be Nice" a cappella set to stills. As it's described, these harmonies are phenomenal!
Though Brian wasn't touring with them in this era, the Beach Boys still cranked out an amazing sound! Here's a great live performance from 1969 featuring Carl's voice, "I Can Hear Music."
Their live performance in Germany is gone, but I found this video of them on The Ed Sullivan Show in October 1968 performing this song that Brian said was the best collaboration he ever had with Mike Love. Though not composed in their early years, it's a classic return to the surfing sound of the Beach Boys! "Do It Again."
Carl’s looking good and sounding great singing lead on the legendary “Good Vibrations”
From the legendary 1985 Live Aid concert, here are the Beach Boys live (with Brian!) performing ”Surfin’ USA,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” and “Good Vibrations”
From 1969 in France, a complete 54 minute concert!
The Beach Boys Live in Paris – June 1969
Back to videos set to stills or lip synched:
Carl’s singing lead on Shut Down Volume 2’s" “Pom Pom Play Girl”
A cheezy early music video of the Beach Boys lip synching to "I Get Around"
Set to surfing, dancing, and other clips from the early 60s, the flip side of "I Get Around," the awesome "Don't Worry Baby"
Written to honor the memory of JFK after his assassination, “Warmth of the Sun”
In a tribute to their father, here’s Carnie and Wendy Wilson giving us their version of Brian’s “Warmth of the Sun”
From Pet Sounds, "Wouldn't It Be Nice"
Also from the Pet Sounds album, "Here Today." From the same album, the beautiful "Caroline No."
And the old West Indies folk tune rearranged by Brian that went to the top of the international charts, “Sloop John B”From 1969 on The Mike Douglas Show, a 3-part series!
Part 3 with Mike singing and Dennis dancing
Carl’s singing lead again on this obscure classic from Summer Days, “Girl Don’t Tell Me”
From the 1972-73 The Beach Boys in Concert live album, here’s “Caroline No”
Though Brian was not touring with the band, he still wrote and produced all their performance material the whole time. Here's a great clip from 1971 from The Mike Douglas Show of the Beach Boys live, with Carl Wilson on lead vocals doing Brian's "Cool, Cool Water." And I found it again! Sorry for the poor video in these clips, but the performance is classic Carl! "Wouldn't It Be Nice"
From a March 1972 London show at The Crystal Bowl, performing without Brian, but with Elton John for “Help Me Rhonda,” they crank out a live set of “Do It Again,” “Wild Honey,” and “Help Me Rhonda” (20 year old Blondie Chapin singing lead on Wild Honey is amazing!)
Though this was long after Brian no longer toured with the group, and wasn't written by him, because Carl was still the leader of the Beach Boys, I figured I'd include the music video for their last #1 hit, "Kokomo" Here a live version of "Kokomo" by the latter day Beach Boys with John Stamos, but no Wilson brothers.
Here’s a real gem of a live concert! It’s an hour and 20 of all five original Beach Boys with Bruce Johnston, a very rare treat since Brian hadn’t been touring in a long time! And the good news is I found the video again! So for your enjoyment, Good Timin' - Live at Knebworth 1980 (Sorry the video isn’t great, but last year’s disappeared. There are plenty of clearer ones off the DVD at you tube once you’re there.)
Here’s an 1 hour 17 audio-only concert from 1977, featuring Brian with the rest of the band. The Beach Boys Live in Seattle 1977
Here's the original studio version of "Good Vibrations"
After “Good Vibrations,” Carl went on to be the leader of the Beach Boys for the rest of his life, and sang lead on some major hits after that high water mark in their careers. Here he is singing lead on the original studio single of “Wild Honey”
From the 1970 album Wildflower, here’s Carl on lead vocals!
Live at Princeton in 1971 and set to stills, here’s a rocking version of “It’s About Time”
Here’s a treat! I found 4 great video clips of their live performance in Central Park in 1971! Lots of fun! We’ll begin with the opener of Brian’s masterpiece SMiLe! While Al Jardine takes lead vocals, Carl’s harmonies are great! For your enjoyment, the extraordinarily complex “Heroes and Villains.”
From the same show,
A rare gem that’s one of my favorite all-time Beach Boy songs! From SMiLE, a “pocket symphony” Brian swore he’d never release, but he relented to the world’s benefit. Here’s the original studio version of the title track from the 1971 album Surf's Up, "Surf's Up" with Carl on lead vocals.
Also from the Surf’s Up album, here are a couple that Carl wrote and sang lead on, “Long Promised Road” and “Feel Flows”
Here are two tunes from the Beach Boys’ next studio album titled Carl and the Passions – So Tough that Carl produced. He both wrote and sang lead on “All This is That” and sang lead on the hit “Marcella”
From 1979, the studio version of a tune Carl wrote with Brian that became a hit, “Good Timin’”
Here’s the original studio version of a song Carl wrote with Randy Bachman in 1980, “Keepin’ The Summer Alive”
From his second album in 1981, here’s Carl live performing the very beautiful “Heaven”
Here’s Carl very live in concert with the Beach Boys cranking out the lead vocals on “Darlin’”
We'll close today's birthday tribute with a live concert in Buddokan in 1991. Here's Carl at his best, laying down the unforgettable lead guitar lines and exquisite harmonies in “I Get Around,” which we’ll follow with Carl on lead vocals performing the upbeat “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”
And for our encore, we have two different versions of Carl’s most beautiful offering. Here’s the first, performed live with the Beach Boys in 1995 toward the end of his life, “God Only Knows”
And here’s a much more intimate, acoustic solo version of “God Only Knows” Simply beautiful (and I found my imagination filling in the harmony lines from the original recording!)
For our second encore, in the spirit of the season, here's The Beach Boys Christmas Album with their arrangement of classics, as well as original compositions by Brian!
Carl, you and Dennis died way too young. It’s some kind of ironic bad joke that a man with the voice of an angel died of lung cancer. Thanks for all the beautiful vocals through the years. “If there’s a rock and roll heaven, you know they have a helluva band....”
© Copyright 2024 Robert Wilkinson
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