Music Beach Boys 1

By Jeff Maisey

 

Everyone knows a Beach Boys melody. Name a song instantly the tune is recognizable – “Good Vibrations,” “Surfer Girl,” “I Get Around,” “Surfing USA.”  It’s a list as long as an endless summer!

When Bruce Johnston joined the band in 1965, Beach Boy-mania rivaled Beatlemania in America. I recently caught up with Johnston to learn more about his experiences with the band.

 

Take us back to 1965 when you were brought in to tour with the Beach Boys in place of Brian Wilson and bassist Glen Campbell. How did that all happen?

 

I had a really cool job. I was on staff as a record producer and A&R man at Columbia Records. I thought that was the path for me. Because I knew everybody and I was young – and I could sing, Mike Love called me and explained the problem of no Glen, no Brian.

I called several people to see who was available and no one was. I said, “Mike, it’s pretty early in the morning so I could get down to New Orleans and cover the spot for the weekend.” That’s how it started.

 

What was it like for you to go out on the road and sing Brian Wilson’s part? Did the fans accept you as a replacement?

 

Well, honestly, the whole country was singing Beach Boys songs. So you did not not know them. The band was pretty young. The audience was very screamy girls. So there was a lot of room for mistakes.

I was young and had movie star hair. I was 22 years old and knew the songs. I was a surf guy, too. I’m part of the Surf Rider Foundation. I was culturally a California guy, music guy, surf guy, single guy.

We didn’t have drugs. We were not a deterioration of this country. There was still a lot of hope back then.

 

You are credited as being the guy who flew to London in 1966 and played a recording of “Pet Sounds” for John Lennon and Paul McCartney of The Beatles. What was their reaction to the recording?

 

First of all it’s true, and accidental. The term “don’t shoot the messenger,” well it was the opposite.

I was the only thing in England connected to The Beach Boys that was breathing at the time, and I just happened to bring two albums. I had some interviews set up. I became friends with Keith Moon (The Who) and he brought them (Lennon and McCartney) around to my hotel and I was able to play “Pet Sounds” – it was about 37 minutes – twice.

That was when everybody was dressing up and wearing great suits and things. The guys were enjoying their newfound wealth and driving Rolls Royces. It was really fun.

I went over to Doris Day’s house. Her son was my best friend. He produced The Byrds’ “Tambourine Man” and all that stuff. We all, with Brian Wilson, Mike Love, myself, we listened to “Rubber Soul” and that got Brian on the path of making a thematic album.

So when I ran into The Beatles in May of 1966 they were doing the “Revolver” album. People always say “Pet Sounds” influenced The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s.” I have no idea but I do know that for “Here, There & Everywhere” that was an important move. Back in those days where you had Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis and all those guys doing thematic albums. So Brian reacted to “Rubber Soul” and comes up with “Pet Sounds.”

“Pet Sounds,” when I played it for The Beatles, was a year away from when I was sitting in a club the Bee Gees called The Speakeasy. It was five in the morning. The band playing three sets was Procol Harum trying to promote “Whiter Shade of Pale.” An engineer from Abbey Road walks in and said, “I brought a recording – not the final recording – and I just mastered the new Beatles album called “Sgt. Pepper’s,” would you like to hear it?”

The Bee Gees flipped out. I flipped out. It was so brilliant.

Music Beach Boys 4

 

Some rock music critics used to debate the topic of competition between The Beach Boys and The Beatles. Were you aware of these comparisons and analysis?

 

There was never completion. Just a show of respect. This was Brian’s thing “Pet Sounds.” Those myths are just myths. I sometimes read that when I wrote “I Write the Songs” that it was written for Brian Wilson. Well, I would never write a song for another songwriter.

 

What, in your view, makes “Pet Sounds” one of the greatest albums in pop/rock music history?

 

There was so much momentum in the Beach Boys’ world. Then there’s this radical new direction. It just kind of happened at the right time. The album probably got more notoriety because it was so unusual. It took over 20 years for it to sell a million copies.

Our record label at the time just wanted the patent formula “two hits plus some tracks.” They didn’t want to work at promoting the album. That injured us. I think when I took it to England with all the attention The Beatles and other artists gave the album that got the out-of-America label to work on it really hard. The guys here were pretty lame on promotion.

 

You mentioned “I Write the Songs,” a tune Barry Manilow had a hit with in the early ‘70s. You had embarked upon a solo career in 1972 after leaving The Beach Boys. Why did you take that break before rejoining in 1978?

 

I did not want to play in The Beach Boys and be around half the band being drug addicted. That was not my thing. I just didn’t want to be around it. I will say Mike Love and Al Jardine never got involved with drugs. The weakness of these guys doing that made me not want to be any place close by. I would always get a call to come sing on a track with the band, but fate had me meeting my wife, and I would never have had the songwriting success had I stayed in the band.

It was not my idea to rejoin the band. Mike and Brian told me they were really stuck and they needed my help. They asked if I could just come and produce this album or two and get them back on track.

 

What can you tell us about the 50th anniversary tour in 2012 and having Brian Wilson back on stage with the band?

 

I can only tell you how much admiration I have for Brian Wilson’s truly amazing talent. I know he can’t keep the kind of pace Mike and I do. We did 175 concerts in 2015. I don’t think Brian would ever want to do that. It was great to reprise our Beach Boys magic for 73 concerts. We signed up for 50 but did 73. That was a lot for Brian.

 

The Beach Boys

February 19

Sandler Center

www.sandlercenter.org