2.  1950’s and 1960’s saw a huge influx in people looking for new opportunities in California  Many travelled with the hopes of fun, sun and jobs.  California represented a new music that was bright, fun, and playful  Glorified beaches, bikinis, and hot rods which all promoted this “California Myth”

3.  Originated in Hawaii and became extremely popular in the 1950’s in California  100,000 teens became surfers virtually overnight  Music sprung up around the surfing movement and became the soundtrack to their lives

4.  Surf music reflected and promoted the myth of the California wonderland  Glorified one of the most attractive elements of the California myth….  Beaches and Girls….

5.  Surf music originated with Dick Dale and the Deltones  Musician fused his 2 passions in life…surfing and music  During the summer of 1961, Dale was playing around California at parties and dances  Released records for surfers: › “Surf Beat”, “Surfing Drums”, “Lets go Tripping”

6. Dick Dale: Audio Clip, Video from R n R Part 2

8.  Brought surf music to the main stage  Consisted of: Brian Wilson, his 2 brothers, a cousin, and a classmate  Smoothed out the edges of the rougher sounding surf music by combining beautiful harmonies and pop music  Within weeks of recording their first single, “surfin” hit the top 100 charts

9.  In May of 1963, they released “Surfin’ USA  In 1964, scored a huge hit with “Surfer Girl”  Video: Surfer Girl, Surfin Safari

10.  Sound began to evolve away from the pop surf sound they were famous for  Brian Wilson took control (genius)  By 1964, the road became too much for Wilson and he suffered an anxiety attack and quit touring  Wanted to focus on recording and producing

11.  Sound evolved and was heavily influenced by the psychedelic movement  Released “Pet Sounds” with the hit “Good Vibrations”  Video: Good Vibrations

12.  Wilson became a frequent user of LSD  Led to a nervous breakdown  Put the album they were working on on the shelf

13.  Wilson heard the Beatles’ “Rubber Soul” in 1965 and wanted to write a response to it and he was moved by the album  Then wanted to make the “…greatest album ever made!”  Released pet sounds in 1966  Songs were sophisticated and complex

14.  Heavily influences by LSD  Complex harmonies  Layered instrumentation  Experimenting with recording techniques and instruments  Hits included: “Wouldn’t it be Nice, “God Only Knows”  Received praise from critics but album sales were low

15.  Brian withdrew from touring to complete the album  Beach Boys were touring in Japan and upon their return, the record was nearly complete  Mike Love and the members were strongly against this new approach  Started issues in the band that would never really go away

16.  Single releases in 1966  Song became the band’s biggest hit  Spent more money on this single than most bands did on entire albums  Took over 3 months to record at 3 different studios  Features the theremin

17.  Began recording in late ’66 and early ’67  Wilson solo album  band didn’t agree  Wilson was under a tremendous amount of pressure to finish the album  He was addicted to a variety of drugs  The album was shelved and not released until 2004

18.  Drugs took over his life  1969-1970: healthy, lost weight  Following his father’s death in 1973, Wilson slipped into a deep depression  Took a lot of drugs and overate  Voice deteriorated (smoking, drugs)  Stayed in bed for months