1961-Brian WilsonVocals, bass, keyboards1965–1976, 1990–2011, 2012–2025
Carl WilsonGuitar, vocals1961–1982, 1997–1998
Dennis WilsonDrums, vocals1961–1983
Mike LoveVocals1961-
Al JardineGuitar, vocals1961-
Bruce JohnstonKeyboard, vocals1965–1972, 1978–2026
One of the most popular and influential groups of their era, The Beach Boys were led by the three Wilson brothers - Brian, Carl and Dennis - and their cousin, Mike Love. Their guitarist, Al Jardine, was Brian Wilson's classmate.
Brian Wilson was their creative force, but he was very troubled, tormented by drug problems and a difficult childhood. By 1965, he stopped touring with the band and focused on writing and producing their songs. He was replaced on tour by Glen Campbell, who played on their
Pet Sounds album and on their landmark "
Good Vibrations."
In 1968, Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson became friends with Charles Manson, who thought of himself as a songwriter. Wilson let Manson and his followers stay at his home and covered most of their expenses. When it became clear Manson was mentally unstable, Dennis was too afraid to evict him directly, so he simply let the house's lease expire and never returned. Manson and his "family" carried out a notorious murder spree in 1969. Before any killings took place, the Beach Boys had already recorded a reworked version of Manson's song "Cease to Exist," released as "
Never Learn Not To Love."
Dennis Wilson died in 1983 when he drowned while swimming near his friend's boat in California. US president Ronald Reagan gave special permission so his body could be buried at sea.
They became the first major American rock group to play in a communist country when they performed in Czechoslovakia in 1969.
Along with Chynna Phillips, Brian Wilson's daughters Wendy and Carnie formed the popular early '90s group Wilson Phillips. Brian and Carnie were estranged for many years, but reconciled in 1994.
You know that Barenaked Ladies song "
Brian Wilson," where they sing, "Lying in bed just like Brian Wilson did"? That's a reference to Wilson's famous funk in the late 1960s and early 1970s when he sometimes spent weeks in bed and ballooned to over 300 pounds. That song also mentions Wilson's sandbox, which is another part of his lore: When he was writing the
Smile album, Wilson had a sandbox built in his dining room and put his piano in the middle.
Brian Wilson stopped touring with the band because he hated performing, but he also hated to fly, so much of the travel on their early tours was by bus. It was surprising when, in 1999 at age 56, he launched his first solo tour.
The Beach Boys don't like being referred to as "oldies." In their concert riders, the band explicitly states that no advertising or promotional materials should contain the word "oldies" in conjunction with their name or logo. Other requirements that have shown up in their riders include a masseuse/masseur qualified in Swedish or Oriental deep muscle massage, and recycling bins.
Dennis Wilson was married five times (twice to the actress Karen Lamm) and had four children. His last marriage was to Shawn Love, who was Mike Love's daughter. Shawn, who had control of Dennis' body when he died and had him buried at sea, died in 2003 of liver failure.
Remarkably, The Beach Boys didn't win a Grammy Award until 2013, when they picked up Best Historical album for The Smile Sessions.
The first album Brian Wilson ever bought was Four Freshmen and Five Trombones by The Four Freshman, which he said "changed my life."
The Four Freshman were an American male vocal band quartet that blended open-harmonic jazz arrangements with big band vocal group sounds. Four Freshmen and 5 Trombones was a major seller during the 1950s, reaching #6 nationally in 1955 and residing on the charts for over eight months. One of the most innovative and imitated jazz vocal quartet ever to grace vinyl, The Four Freshman's harmony singing was a big influence on the Beach Boys.
Speaking about his influences to Billboard magazine, Brian Wilson said: "As a writer, I've had a few influences, and Chuck (Berry) is primary. As a producer, he also informed my sense of how a record should feel."
"There were only two other producers I studied closely," he added. "The first was Phil Spector, who taught me how to make tracks and craft what some might call 'baroque' backgrounds. The second was Bob Crewe, famous for his work with Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, who showed me how to utilize horns to sharpen and sculpt an overall sound."
Brian Wilson could not contain his excitement upon seeing Elizabeth II in the flesh at a 2002 royal gala. On seeing the English monarch, he shouted: "Hey, Queen!" The Beach Boy legend recalled to The Guardian: "I yelled it out. She didn't say anything back."
In spite of its complex multi-layered tracks and harmonies, their famous album Pet Sounds was mixed not in stereo but in mono - largely because of Brian Wilson's lack of hearing in his right ear.
Dennis Wilson emerged as a songwriter during the late '60s. Uncut magazine asked Bruce Johnston if he knew he had it in him. "None of us did, including Dennis," he replied. "In January 1966, we were in Japan and had a lot of time on our hands. We played about 14 shows, so I started showing Dennis how to play the piano and how to chord. I kind of unlocked what was already in there and he started putting it all together."
Their hits dried up in the '70s, but in 1988 they went to #1 with "
Kokomo," their first chart-topper since "Good Vibrations" in 1966. Brian Wilson wasn't part of this lineup - he released his first solo album that year.
After Carl Wilson's death in 1998, Mike Love got control of the band name and toured as The Beach Boys with Bruce Johnston, who started with the group in 1965. Meanwhile, Al Jardine gathered up various musicians that played with the group over the years and toured under names like Beach Boys Family and Friends and The Pet Sounds Band, so there have long been two competing groups. When Bruce Johnston left the group in 2026, it left Mike Love as the last original member.
