They say there are no second acts in American lives, and third acts are almost unheard of. That's part of what makes Brian Wilson's story so astonishing. As a cofounding member of the Beach Boys in the 1960s, Wilson created some of the most groundbreaking and timeless popular music ever recorded. With intricate harmonies, symphonic structures, and wide-eyed lyrics that explored life's most transcendent joys and deepest sorrows, songs like "In My Room," "God Only Knows," and "Good Vibrations" forever expanded the possibilities of pop songwriting. Derailed in the 1970s by mental illness, drug use, and the shifting fortunes of the band, Wilson came back again and again over the next few decades, surviving and-finally-thriving. Now, for the first time, he weighs in on the sources of his creative inspiration and on his struggles, the exhilarating highs and the debilitating lows. I Am Brian Wilson reveals as never before the man who fought his way back to stability and creative relevance, who became a mesmerizing live artist, who forced himself to reckon with his own complex legacy, and who finally completed Smile, the legendary unfinished Beach Boys record that had become synonymous with both his genius and its destabilization. Today Brian Wilson is older, calmer, and filled with perspective and forgiveness. Whether he's talking about his childhood, his bandmates, or his own inner demons, Wilson's story, told in his own voice and in his own way, unforgettably illuminates the man behind the music, working through the turbulence and discord to achieve, at last, a new harmony.
Those are all memories but I can't get to them all at once. I've had a whole lifetime to take them in. Now I have a whole book to put them out there. Excerpt from I Am Brian Wilson.
I Am Brian Wilson [Autographed Edition]: A Memoir
Mike Love tells the story of his legendary, raucous, and ultimately triumphant five-decade career as the front man of The Beach Boys, the most popular American band in history -- timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of "Good ...
Autobiography of Brian Wilson, of the Beach Boys fame including fame, addiction and frank revelations
In Catch a Wave, Peter Ames Carlin pulls back the curtain on Brian Wilson, one of popular music's most revered luminaries, as well as its biggest mystery.
Believing that “Surfin'” could be a hit, Morgan arranged to have it issued as a single on Herb Newman's Candix Records. The group elected to call themselves the Pendletones, in honor of Dick Dale's DelTones and the Pendleton shirts that ...
23 John Hagethorn recalled, “I only saw Neal a couple of times when I went over to Al's house. Neal was more like their father physically, tall and thin, whereas Al was short and stocky.”24 Neal graduated Hawthorne High in June 1957 and ...
" Lambert, a renowned musicologist, brings to this work to life with both his professional expertise and an infectious personal appreciation of the power of pop music.
The author "reveals the gothic tale of drugs, sex, music, greed, booze, and genius behind the wholesome image of the Beach Boys."--Jacket.
The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys, and the Southern California Experience