When the Beach Boys started back in 1961, they seemed like little more than a novelty surf band that would vanish from memory by the following summer. But 64 years later, against all odds, their saga remains ongoing. They survived surf music falling out of style, severe mental illness, musical differences, an unfortunate association with the Charles Manson cult, and even the deaths of all three Wilson brothers.
Brian Wilson died on June 11, but the music he created lives on in Mike Love and Bruce Johnston’s touring incarnation of the Beach Boys, and in Al Jardine’s new tour with Brian Wilson’s former backing group, who have been redubbed the Pet Sounds Band. Along the way, the Beach Boys have attracted a multigenerational fan base. Think you know a lot about the Beach Boys? Take this quiz and see how you measure up.
Zero to 30% correct: There’s no shame if your knowledge of the Beach Boys was formed largely by Full House reruns, and dim memories of Time Life Music of the Sixties infomercials. That just means you get to take a journey through one of the greatest catalogs in the history of popular music. You should start with the Endless Summer compilation, spend a lot of time with Pet Sounds, and then brace yourself for the madness and genius of their criminally underrated Seventies output. We especially recommend The Beach Boys Love You. It really holds up well to repeat listenings.
31 to 60% correct: Nice work. If you want to dig deeper, check out the Peter Ames Carlin book Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson. Brian Wilson’s memoir, I Am Brian Wilson, and Mike Love’s autobiography, Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy, will fill in some of the gaps. Once you’ve internalized all of that, dive into the 2011 Smile Sessions box set. It’s the holy grail of Beach Boys artifacts. You won’t be disappointed.
61 to 100% correct: Amazing. There doesn’t seem to be a ton about the Beach Boys you don’t know. But if you want to gain your doctorate of Beach Boys studies, read Timothy White’s book The Nearest Fara Away Place: Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys, and the Southern California Experience. Once you finish that, immerse yourself in Keith Badman’s The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America’s Greatest Band on Stage and in the Studio. Follow it up with The Beach Boys in Concert: The Complete History of America’s Band on Tour and Onstage. If you read all that, there’s no Beach Boys quiz on Earth you won’t ace.
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