Brian Wilson - You Never Need To Doubt It

Many years ago, I wrote that "I may not always love you, but sure as there are stars above you; you'll never need to doubt it, I'll make you so sure about it.  God only knows what I'd be without you" were the most beautiful words ever written.  Not sure, twenty-five years down the road, if I wasn't right.

One of the first gigs I got as an extra in L.A. was for a TV miniseries called "The Beach Boys: An American Family."  I got to wear '60s clothes and have my hair combed/cut into an era-appropriate style, and play a fan at an early Beach Boys performance.  And between takes, I hung out (briefly) with the actors playing the band, asking them about their characters.  "I drown," proclaimed the one playing Dennis Wilson.  "And I just died," said the one playing Carl Wilson.  

I liked the Beach Boys' music, and to get paid to pretend to listen to them, while hanging out with the mom on "The Wonder Years,"* felt like I had made it.

Well, the Beach Boys DID make it--they're probably the greatest American band of the 1960s--with more hit songs that you could shake a surfboard at.  And Brian was behind it all, the chief songwriter, the genius with a shorthand that spoke to a great many young people about the ocean and fun and young love and excitement and California.**

Brian Wilson, founder and chief songwriter of the Beach Boys, died this week, at the age of 82.  There was a bit of fanfare, a few tributes, and at least one person expressed that "Finally, he is at peace," which struck me as unsettling, but yeah, the man had his demons.  His contributions to music can't really be overstated, though I do wonder if any young person alive today knows who the Beach Boys are.  If not, it's certainly their loss.

I probably haven't listened to Surfer Girl since my twenties.  And yet, while I stood by the library doors, waiting for everyone to leave, I surprised myself by remembering every single line from "Little surfer, little one," to "surfer girl, my little surfer girl."  And that's kind of amazing.

Brian Wilson had a ton of problems, and had burned a lot of bridges.  But he had absolutely nothing to do with their 1986 hit Kokomo, and that's a huge point in his favor.

Rest in peace, Brian.  Only God knows what music would be without you.

*During lunch, I asked Alley Mills if she minded if I called her "Mom," since my mom was a thousand miles away.  She said sure, and I said, "That must seem pretty weird to you," and she said, "No, I get that all the time."

**This guy may have done as much good for the ocean as Steven Spielberg did bad.  Whachoothink?