What are the Beach Boys up to these days?

After Carl Wilson passed away February 6, 1998, the group broke up. Here are the current touring groups:

Brian Wilson

The Beach Boys featuring Mike Love and Bruce Johnston

Endless Summer Band, Family & Friends Beach Band featuring Al Jardine

This Band features Matt Jardine on vocals and percussion, Adam Jardine on vocals, Billy Hinsche on keyboard, Ed Carter on bass, Bobby Figueroa on drums, Craig Copeland on guitar, Tom Jacob on keyboard and organ, and Richie Cannata on sax.

Beach Party! featuring former Beach Boy David Marks

David Marks has performed shows with three different bands: The Marksmen, The Marks-Clifford Band, and Beach Party!, which features five members of Al Jardine's Family & Friends Beach Band.

Where do I find bootleg CDs of concerts and outtakes?

Besides ads in "Goldmine" magazine the best way to get some of these items is the direct contact with fans (check out the message boards and the possibility of private messages).

What CDs should I buy first?

Get startet with a Best Of CD like the Platinum Collection or the Good Vibrations Box Set. Very good albums you should buy first are:
Pet Sounds
Today!
Sunflower
Summer Days

Personally I would recommend also:
Light Album
1985 The Beach Boys
Surf´s Up
20/20

What are the Beach Boys' biggest hits?
The Beach Boys have had four #1 hits on the Billboard charts:
I Get Around (1964)
Help Me Rhonda (1965)
Good Vibrations (1966)
Kokomo (1988)

Other US top ten hits among many others include:
Barbara Ann (1965)
Surfin USA (1963)
Dance Dance Dance (1965)
Wouldn't It Be Nice (1966)
Rock & Roll Music(1976)

A handful of songs reached the top ten in other countries but not in the US:
Cotton Fields (1970)
Then I Kissed Her (1965)
Lady Lynda (1979)
Do It Again (1969)

What are these "Sea of Tunes" (SOT) CDs?

SOT actually stands for Sea of Tunes, the name given to a bootleg label established in 1997. These tapes contain actual session material and are of pristine sound quality. They are bootlegs, and the tapes were basically stolen from the Beach Boys' vaults.

What videos are named to be the best to buy first?

The Beach Boys: An American Band
Endless Harmony: The Beach Boys Story
I Just Wasn't Made for These Times

Are the Beach Boys' solo albums available on CD? Where can I find them?

Brian Wilson's solo albums are still available on cd.

Carl Wilson's two solo albums, 1981's Carl Wilson and 1983's Youngblood, have been released on CD in Japan. They are circulating on bootlegs but are still not available anywhere on CD.

Dennis Wilson's solo album, 1977's Pacific Ocean Blue, was released on CD in the early 90's, along with the Beach Boys' 70's and 80's albums, on Caribou/CBS. But along with the Beach Boys' albums, this solo album also went out of print and is no longer available.

Mike Love's 1981 solo album, Looking Back With Love, has never been released on CD. It has been bootlegged on CD, however.

What are some good books to check out about the group?

There have been some really great books written about the Beach Boys.
Unfortunately, some of them are out of print. Check out the book section of this website to find out.

Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys: How Deep Is the Ocean? by Paul Williams

Heroes and Villains: The True Story of the Beach Boys by Steven Gaines

Back to the Beach: A Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys Reader Edited by Kingsley Abbott

Look! Listen! VIBRATE! SMILE! by Domenic Priore

The Beach Boys and the California Myth (David Leaf)

Surf's Up! The Beach Boys On Record 1961-1981 (Brad Elliott)

This Whole World: The Complete Beach Boys Single And EP Cover Collection (Manfred Schmidt and Christian Haschke)

The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary Of America's Greatest Band on Stage And In The Studio (Keith Badman)

Who is Reggie Dunbar?

Reggie Dunbar is a pseudonym that Brian's father Murray Wilson used for his cowriting credit with Brian for the song "Break Away" in 1969.

Did Bruce Johnston write "I Write the Songs?"

Yes, he did.

Who did "Beach Baby?" Was it the Beach Boys?

No, "Beach Baby" was produced by the UK-based group First Class. It was their only hit, and it had no Beach Boys on it.