The Beach Boys announced a new version of their 'Sounds of Summer' compilation, with a new mix of 'Good Vibrations,' to mark their 60th anniversary in April 2022.
As a new documentary about Brian Wilson arrives, we take on the near-impossible task of sorting his band’s best, from lustful-teen pop to meditative balladry
Saturday (December 4th) marks what would've been the 77th birthday of Beach Boys co-founder and drummer Dennis Wilson. For most of his life, Dennis was overshadowed by his older brother Brian, who wrote most of the group's hits, and by his younger brother Carl, who sang lead on songs such as "God Only Knows" and "Good Vibrations." As a youngster, Dennis was considered the least musical of the Wilson brothers, but it was his idea for Brian and cousin Mike Love to first write about surfing which resulted in their 1961 debut single "Surfin'." It was the Wilson's mother Audree who urged the group to include Dennis, who was then forced to play drums because, according to legend, he couldn't play anything else. Dennis' good looks and powerful live drumming provided the group with a much-needed boost in the wake of the "British Invasion." Brian Wilson often used direct instances from Dennis' life as the foundation for