The Beach Boys Greatest Hits Full Album 2016
Mike Hughes, For the Lansing State Journal 7:38 a.m. EDT May 27, 2016
The Beach Boys history in the nations capital includes performing the July 4 concert for six straight years, drawing hundreds of thousands of people.(Photo: Photograph courtesy AP)
The Beach Boys will be back in a familiar spot Sunday singing to the masses (and to TV viewers) in Washington.
We have a huge history with Washington, D.C., Mike Love said. Its been monumental literally.
That last part is a pun about national monuments, but the first part is an understatement: For a six-year stretch, Love says, the band had Washington shows each 4th of July; once, they did two cities.
Crowd estimates are fuzzy, but he was told the band drew 900,000 people in Philadelphia that afternoon and almost as many in Washington. They could only hold 750,000; we got a standing ovation.
This time, its a different holiday (Memorial Day eve) and the approach is varied. The concert will range from country (Trace Adkins) to classical (Renee Fleming, Alfie Boe), plus American Idol alumni Trent Harmon and Katharine McPhee.
Harmon, 25, was born shortly before the Beach Boys turned 30 and Love turned 50. A few years ago, I won radio tickets to see them play, he said. Man, they put on a great show.
Theyve survived turmoil within the group and from the outside world.
In 1983, Secretary of the Interior James Watt announced no more rock bands would perform at the Capitol, because they attract the wrong element. Without mentioning any group by name, he said: Were not going to encourage drug abuse and alcohol, as was done in the past.
The uproar was instant. Nancy Reagan called and apologized, Love said. She said, Ronny and I have always been big fans.
The Beach Boys returned the next year. Meanwhile, the PBS telecasts, which had begun in 1981, became ratings hits; in 89, PBS added the concerts on Memorial Day eve.
Either event is logical for the Beach Boys, Love said. Weve had letters from Vietnam veterans, telling how much our music has meant to them.
Its an American sound songs about fun and sun and blue-sky freedom. Its the same kind of music we used to sing at my cousin Brians house, with my sister Maureen, Love said.
Thats Brian Wilson, whose brothers (Carl and Dennis) started joining in. Brian talked at length about the harmonies of the Four Freshmen and the Everly Brothers and more.
In 1961, the three brothers became the Beach Boys, along with Love and Al Jardine, Brians former football teammate. Like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, this had two opposites at the core.
I both envied and felt intimidated by my cousin Mike, Brian wrote in Wouldnt It Be Nice (HarperCollins, 1991). Tall and blond, he exuded confidence and swagger. He had a big ego. He wasnt especially nice. I looked at him and knew I couldnt measure up.
Brian was the genius at composing music and blending sounds. Ive never known anyone who knew as much about vocal music, Love said.
Love provided many of the early lyrics. He didnt surf only Dennis Wilson did but he knew the California life of convertibles, blondes and sunshine. He became the guy who talked to audiences. By early 1965, Brian had quit the road and focused on the studio, with Bruce Johnston joining the group.
By the end of that year, the Beach Boys had already had eight top-10 Billboard hits including two (I Get Around and Help Me Rhonda) that reached No. 1. The next year, Good Vibrations also was No. 1. I wrote the words to that on the way to the studio, Love said.
That song turns 50 on Oct. 10; the classic Pet Sounds album turned 50 on May 16. Love married, with four ex-wives, nine children and decades of transcendental meditation seems vibrant at 75.
He and Johnston bought the band and tour with it, with others including John Cowsill, former drummer of the Cowsills filling the other slots. We did 172 concerts last year, Love said. Thats not bad for someone who was 74.
Watch the Beach Boys
National Memorial Day Concert, 8 p.m. Sunday, PBS; repeats at 9:30
Beach Boys plan to do five hits. Also performing: Trace Adkins, Katharine McPee, Renee Fleming, the National Orchestra. Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna host; Trent Harmon sings the National Anthem.
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Source: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/entertainment/television/2016/05/27/beach-boys-forever-fun-sun-music-returns-nations-spotlight/85024098/
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