California Music was an American rock
supergroup that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1974. It was originally a loose collective of studio musicians, with participation from
Bruce Johnston
Bruce Arthur Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who is a member of the Beach Boys. Johnston also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Bru ...
,
Terry Melcher
Terrence Paul Melcher (born Terrence Paul Jorden; February 8, 1942 – November 19, 2004) was an American record producer, singer, and songwriter who was instrumental in shaping the mid-to-late 1960s California Sound and folk rock movements. His ...
,
Gary Usher
Gary Lee Usher (December 14, 1938 – May 25, 1990) was an American rock musician, songwriter, and record producer, who worked with numerous California acts in the 1960s, including the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and Dick Dale. Usher also produced fict ...
,
Curt Boettcher
Curtis Roy Boettcher (January 7, 1944 – June 14, 1987), sometimes credited as Curt Boetcher or Curt Becher, was an American singer, songwriter, arranger, musician, and record producer from Wisconsin. He was a pivotal figure in what is now t ...
,
Dean Torrence
Jan and Dean was an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music styles ...
, and
Brian Wilson. Equinox Records released three singles by the group from 1974 to 1976, after which the band went inactive. In 2021, the group was reformed by members of
the Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...
and their children.
Omnivore Recordings
Omnivore Recordings is an independent record label founded in 2010. It specializes in historical releases, reissues and previously unissued vintage recordings, as well as select releases of new music, on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Omnivore Re ...
released their first album: ''California Music Presents Add Some Music''.
1970s: Original iteration
The group was conceived by then-former
Beach Boy Bruce Johnston
Bruce Arthur Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who is a member of the Beach Boys. Johnston also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Bru ...
and
Terry Melcher
Terrence Paul Melcher (born Terrence Paul Jorden; February 8, 1942 – November 19, 2004) was an American record producer, singer, and songwriter who was instrumental in shaping the mid-to-late 1960s California Sound and folk rock movements. His ...
. Though still under contract to
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
,
Brian Wilson signed a sideline production deal with Johnston and Melcher's Equinox Records in early 1975. Together, they attempted to establish the loose-knit music collective with
Gary Usher
Gary Lee Usher (December 14, 1938 – May 25, 1990) was an American rock musician, songwriter, and record producer, who worked with numerous California acts in the 1960s, including the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and Dick Dale. Usher also produced fict ...
, and
Curt Boettcher
Curtis Roy Boettcher (January 7, 1944 – June 14, 1987), sometimes credited as Curt Boetcher or Curt Becher, was an American singer, songwriter, arranger, musician, and record producer from Wisconsin. He was a pivotal figure in what is now t ...
. Biographer
John Tobler described the project as involving Johnston, Melcher, Wilson
Dean Torrence
Jan and Dean was an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music styles ...
, "and a few others ... who had recorded previously as the Legendary Masked Surfers." Wilson was paid a bonus advance of $25,000, described by Johnston as "probably the highest production royalty any producer's ever received." Due to Wilson's irresponsible expenditures, his income had been redirected to the bank account of his wife
Marilyn. According to biographer
Timothy White, Wilson "begged her" to place the money in an account separate to hers.
![Brian Wilson 1976](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Brian_Wilson_1976.png)
Wilson was involved with California Music's renditions of "
Why Do Fools Fall in Love" and "
Jamaica Farewell
"Jamaica Farewell" is a Jamaican-style folk song (mento). The lyrics for the song were written by Lord Burgess (Irving Burgie), an American-born, half- Barbadian songwriter. It is about the beauties of the West Indian Islands.
Harry Belafonte ...
", acting as co-producer, instrumentalist, and backing vocalist. Melcher spoke of his contributions: "He wouldn't even touch anything in the control booth; he acted like he was afraid to. He'd offer suggestions, but he wouldn't go near the board. He knows his reputation, so he makes a lot of unfinished records; sometimes, I feel that he feels that he's peaked and does not want to put his stamp on records so that peers will have a Brian Wilson track to criticize." Melcher was reportedly "crushed" upon seeing Wilson in his poor mental and physical state, unable to recognize his former
Wrecking Crew associates that Melcher had hired for the project. According to biographer
Steven Gaines, Wilson refused to finish any more tracks for California Music.
Wilson remembered meeting
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
at RCA Victor Studio on the day of recording "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" and inviting the singer to listen to what they had recorded.
According to
Memphis Mafia
The Memphis Mafia was the nickname given by the media to a group of Elvis Presley's friends, associates, employees and cousins whose main functions were to accompany, protect, and serve Presley from the beginning of his career in 1954 until his de ...
member
Jerry Schilling
Jerry Schilling (born February 6, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American talent manager, best known for his association with Elvis Presley and as a member of Presley's Memphis Mafia from the latter part of the 1960s. His other clients h ...
, "After a few tracks, Brian says, 'Well? Do you think they're any good?' Elvis looks up and replies, 'Nah,' before leaving. I don't think he had any idea that the guy was Brian Wilson."
Pursuant to his contract with Warner Bros., Wilson was liable to be sued by the label if he did not contribute a certain percentage to the Beach Boys' studio recordings. Johnston recalled, "Brian spent a day and night talking to us about it; he was really desperate for an outlet, because basically the deal at Warners was for the Beach Boys." At the behest of Marilyn, he was legally ousted from California Music in order to focus his undivided attention on the Beach Boys, who perceived the sideproject as Brian's attempt to pay for his growing drug expenses.
Mike Love
Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bas ...
's brother and Beach Boys manager Stephen Love said, "He
rian
RIA Novosti (russian: РИА Новости), sometimes referred to as RIAN () or RIA (russian: РИА, label=none) is a Russian state-owned domestic news agency. On 9 December 2013 by a decree of Vladimir Putin it was liquidated and its asset ...
said to me 'Don't try to reach me! Don't try to get to me!' He was so upset Marilyn didn't want
he Equinox dealto happen." The bonus advance was soon transferred to an account belonging to Marilyn at a different bank.
In the meantime, The Beach Boys' recent ''
Endless Summer'' compilation was selling extremely well, and the band — without Brian — was touring non-stop, making them the biggest live draw in the United States. According to Love: "We were under contract with Warner Bros., and we couldn't have him going on a tangent. If he was going to be productive, it's gotta be for the Beach Boys." With Wilson gone, California Music immediately disintegrated. Afterward, Boettcher soon collaborated with Johnston and the Beach Boys on the 1979
disco version of their song "
Here Comes the Night
"Here Comes the Night" is a 1964 song, written by Bert Berns. It became a hit for Northern Irish band Them, fronted by Van Morrison, in March 1965, charting at No. 2 in the UK and No. 24 in the US. Them's single is listed at either No. 33 or No. ...
", which appeared on the album ''
L.A. (Light Album)
''L.A. (Light Album)'' is the 23rd studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on March 16, 1979, and their first issued through CBS Records. Recorded during a period of acrimony between the band members, it was a critical an ...
'' and marked Johnston's return to the Beach Boys.
2020s: Reformation
In 2021, a new iteration of California Music was organized and produced by David Beard, the editor and publisher of the Beach Boys fanzine ''Endless Summer Quarterly''. The grouping consisted of Johnston and fellow Beach Boys Mike Love,
Al Jardine
Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as " Help Me, Rh ...
and
David Marks
David Lee Marks (born August 22, 1948) is an American guitarist who is best known for being an early member of the Beach Boys. While growing up in Hawthorne, California, Marks was a neighborhood friend of the original band members and was a freq ...
, as well as children of the band members:
Carnie and
Wendy Wilson
Wendy Wilson (born October 16, 1969) is an American singer and television personality who is a member of the pop trio Wilson Phillips. She co-founded Wilson Phillips with her older sister, Carnie, and childhood friend Chynna Phillips when th ...
(daughters of Brian); Justyn Wilson (son of
Carl Carl may refer to:
*Carl, Georgia, city in USA
*Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
* Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name
*Carl², a TV series
* "Carl", an episode of te ...
); Christian, Hayleigh, and Ambha Love; and
Matt Jardine
Matthew Alan Jardine (born December 9, 1966) is an American musician, best known for his work as a vocalist and percussionist for the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson. He is the son of original Beach Boy Al Jardine.
Biography
Jardine is the son of ...
. Their debut album, ''California Music Presents Add Some Music'', was released via
Omnivore Recordings
Omnivore Recordings is an independent record label founded in 2010. It specializes in historical releases, reissues and previously unissued vintage recordings, as well as select releases of new music, on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Omnivore Re ...
on April 23, 2021.
Discography
Album
* ''California Music Presents Add Some Music'' (2021)
Singles
* "
Don't Worry Baby
"Don't Worry Baby" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their March 1964 album ''Shut Down Volume 2''. Written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian, Wilson's lead vocal on the track is considered one of his defining performance ...
" (b/w "
Ten Years Harmony") (1974)
* "
Why Do Fools Fall in Love" (b/w "Don't Worry Baby") (1975)
* "
Jamaica Farewell
"Jamaica Farewell" is a Jamaican-style folk song (mento). The lyrics for the song were written by Lord Burgess (Irving Burgie), an American-born, half- Barbadian songwriter. It is about the beauties of the West Indian Islands.
Harry Belafonte ...
" (b/w "California Music") (1976)
*"
Add Some Music to Your Day" (2021)
See also
*
California Sound
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
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*
{{Mike Love
Musical groups established in 1974
Musical groups disestablished in 1976
Brian Wilson
RCA Records artists
Rock music supergroups
Rock music groups from California
Musical collectives
California Sound