The Beach Boys FAQs

• Second place in popularity (Beatles were first) in the top 40 list of the early 60’s
• The band came together in 1962
• Three brothers, Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson were joined by their cousin, Mike Love, and a friend, Alan Jardine (who was replaced for a time by David Marks, before rejoining).
• Brian Wilson was the leader of the band
• Earliest hits - "Surfin'," "Surfin' Safari," "Surfin' U.S.A.," and "Surfer Girl," all released in 1962-63
• The Beach Boys' first golden era lasted from 1962-65, when they charted 16 hit singles in a very competitive Top Forty.
• Brian quit touring with the band in December 1964 in order to work full-time on their recordings back home in California
• Brian began work in January 1966 on Pet Sounds.
• During the Seventies, the beach boys became an in-demand touring act whose popularity soared as the rock audience rediscovered all the old hits.
• Capitol Records' release of Endless Summer, a double-LP greatest-hits collection, surprisingly streaked to the top of the album charts
• The accidental drowning death of Dennis Wilson happened in 1983
• In 1998 Carl Wilson died of cancer.

Beach Boys Timeline

March 15, 1941
Mike Love was born.

June 20, 1942
Brian Wilson was born.

September 3, 1942
Al Jardine was born.

December 4, 1944
Dennis Wilson was born.

December 21, 1946
Carl Wilson was born.

December 31, 1961
A Ritchie Valens Memorial Concert is held at Long Beach Civic Auditorium, in Long Beach, California. On the bill are the youthful Beach Boys, making one of their earliest appearances.

1963
The Beach Boys reach #3 with "Surfin' USA".

May 25, 1963
The Beach Boys score their first Top Ten hit with "Surfin' USA," Brian Wilson's reworking of Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen."

1964
The Beach Boys reach #1 with "I Get Around".

June 28, 1964
I Get Around (The Beach Boys) was a hit.

OCTOBER 28-29, 1964
The concert film 'The TAMI Show' is recorded in Santa Monica, CA, featuring James Brown, the Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, the Rolling Stones and the Supremes.

May 23, 1965
Help Me, Rhonda (The Beach Boys) was a hit.

1965
The Beach Boys reach #1 with "Help Me Rhonda".

October 4, 1966
After over six months of recording and production work, "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys is released.

December 10, 1966
"Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys tops the charts.

October 30, 1988
Kokomo (The Beach Boys) was a hit.