Good vibrations? This is the real story of the Beach Boys

Musically, few could touch the harmonies of the surfing rockers, but after the late 1960s the story of the band is far less glamorous. David Lister tells the tale of their collapse

Surf’s up: (from left), the clean-cut band in 1964; Brian Wilson in 2004; Wilson with his questionable psychologist, Dr Eugene Landy (right), in 1976; and murderous cult leader Charles Manson in 1969 (Getty/The Independent)

It’s been 60 years since one of the greatest groups in pop history released their debut album. In 1962, The Beach Boys released Surfin’ Safari, its cover showing the group with their surfboards on the way to the beach for an afternoon of innocent fun. Musically, few could touch the rich harmonies of the band when they were allied to the compositions and arrangements of their most talented member, Brian Wilson, the composer of such timeless classics as “Good Vibrations” and “God Only Knows”.

Along with brothers Carl and Dennis, cousin Mike Love, and boyhood friend Alan Jardine, Brian and the band sold more than 75 million records and conveyed an atmosphere, not just of sun, sea, surf and sand, but also of pure innocence, borrowing daddy’s car and cruising past the hamburger stand to have “Fun, Fun, Fun”. Innocence was the quality that epitomised 1962 in both the US and UK, before the Sixties became more complex.

Fast forward six years to 1968. The Beach Boys were outwardly unchanged, still scoring hit after hit with their close and complex harmonies and infectious melodies, and still exuding that air of innocence. One of their hits that year was a smart take on the 1950s song “Bluebirds over the Mountain”. But turn that record over and on the B side you will find one of the band’s more obscure ditties, “Never Learn Not to Love”, which was a tweaked version of a song called “Cease to Exist” written by one of Dennis’s close buddies – Charles Manson.