After Holland , the group maintained a touring regimen, captured on the double live album The Beach Boys in Concert released in November 1973, but recorded very little in the studio through 1975. Following Murry’s death in June 1973, Brian retreated into his bedroom and withdrew further into drug abuse,…
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Early 1972 saw the recruitment of two former members of the South African band the Flames , guitarist/singer Blondie Chaplin and drummer/singer Ricky Fataar , into the Beach Boys. Shortly afterwards, Johnston left the band. Rieley said that he fired Johnston at the request of the Wilson brothers; while Johnston…
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In early 1970, the Beach Boys hired radio presenter Jack Rieley as their manager. One of his initiatives was to encourage the band to record songs with more socially conscious lyrics. He requested the completion of Smile track ” Surf’s Up ” and arranged a guest appearance at a Grateful…
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The group was signed to Reprise Records in 1970. Scott Schinder described the label as “probably the hippest and most artist-friendly major label of the time”. The deal was brokered by Van Dyke Parks, who was then employed as a multimedia executive at Warner Music Group . Reprise’s contract stipulated…
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In April 1969, the band revisited its 1967 lawsuit against Capitol after it alleged an audit revealed the band was owed over $2 million for unpaid royalties and production duties. In May, Brian told the music press that the group’s funds were depleted to the point that it was considering…
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The group’s Capitol contract expired two weeks later with one more album still due. Live in London , a live album recorded in December 1968, was released in the UK and a few other countries in 1970 to fulfil the contract, although it would not see US release until 1976,…
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In July 1968, the group released the single ” Do It Again “, which lyrically harkened back to their earlier surf songs. Around this time, Brian admitted himself to a psychiatric hospital; his bandmates wrote and produced material in his absence. His songwriting output declined substantially, but the public narrative…
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Onstage, the members stopped wearing their longtime striped-shirt uniforms in favor of matching white, polyester suits that resembled the fashion of a Las Vegas entertainment act. They reached their lowest popularity in the late 1960s and their cultural standing was especially worsened by their public image, which remained incongruous with…
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Although Smile had been cancelled, the Beach Boys were still under pressure and a contractual obligation to record and present an album to Capitol. Sessions for the new album lasted from June to July 1967 at Brian’s new makeshift home studio . Most of the album featured the Beach Boys…
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Throughout the first half of 1967, the release date for Smile was repeatedly postponed as Brian tinkered with the recordings, experimenting with different takes and mixes, and appeared unwilling to supply finished versions of songs. Carl refused to be drafted for military service, leading to indictment and criminal prosecution, which…
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