Michael Vosse (May 20, 1941 – January 20, 2014) was an American journalist and

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

publicist. He is best known as assistant to Brian Wilson during the formation 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 ...

Brother Records Brother Records, Inc. (BRI) is an American holding company and record label established in 1966 that owns the intellectual property rights of the Beach Boys, including "The Beach Boys" trademark. It was founded by brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis ...

and the recording of the album ''

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses ...

'' (1966–67). His work also included limited time serving as a television producer, and narrator.

Background

Vosse's father was a man who printed one of the first books in the United States about the drug

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

. Early in his professional life, Vosse was a television production assistant who acted as a liaison between record companies, musicians, other artists, and "the underground". In college, he was friends with

David Anderle David Anderle (July 9, 1937 – September 1, 2014) was an American A&R man, record producer, and portrait artist. He is best known for his business associations with the Beach Boys during the production of the band's unfinished album ''Smile'' a ...

, who later became the first head of

' company

. According to Beach Boys biographer Steven Gaines, Vosse was also "a part-time stringer" for the journalist

Jules Siegel Jules Siegel (October 21, 1935 – November 17, 2012) was a novelist, journalist, and graphic designer who is best known as one of the earliest writers to treat rock music as a serious art, although his writings about rock constituted only a sm ...

Association with Brian Wilson

Vosse was introduced to Brian Wilson by ''Smile'' lyricist

Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album ''Song Cycle'' and for his collaborations with ...

. Beach Boys publicist

Derek Taylor Derek Taylor (7 May 1932 – 8 September 1997) was an English journalist, writer, publicist and record producer. He is best known for his role as press officer to the Beatles, with whom he worked in 1964 and then from 1968 to 1970, and was one ...

arranged for Vosse, then a magazine reporter, to interview Wilson for the forthcoming release of their late 1966 single "

Good Vibrations "Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966 and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record ...

". The day after their meeting, Wilson called Vosse and offered him a job recording sounds of nature. During this time, Vosse appeared with Wilson on ''

The Lloyd Thaxton Show Lloyd Thaxton (May 31, 1927 – October 5, 2008) was an American writer, television producer, director, and television host widely known for his syndicated pop music television program of the 1960s, ''The Lloyd Thaxton Show'', which began as a lo ...

'', with Wilson speaking about the benefits of eating vegetables. The Beach Boys terminated their employment of Vosse in March 1967, as Wilson's bandmates resented the fact that they had been paying the salary of an aide who worked solely for Wilson. In 1969, Vosse penned an article for ''Fusion'' that expounded on his side of the ''Smile'' story, and in 2004, he appeared in the documentary '' Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of Smile''.

Later career

Following his association with the Beach Boys, Vosse worked for the

Monterey Pop Festival The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix ...

committee, and then as an assistant to the vice president of

, and was involved with

the Flying Burrito Brothers The Flying Burrito Brothers are an American country rock band, best known for their influential 1969 debut album, ''The Gilded Palace of Sin''. Although the group is perhaps best known for its connection to band founders Gram Parsons and Chris ...

. He was assigned by the label to accompany them during their infamous cross-country tour in the late 1960s. In 1987, Vosse wrote, produced and narrated the television special "The Music Never Stopped" for

KGO-TV KGO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving as the San Francisco Bay Area's ABC network outlet. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, KGO-TV ma ...

Death

Vosse died on January 20, 2014.

References

2014 deaths 1941 births American entertainment industry businesspeople American music journalists American publicists American writers about music {{US-journalist-1940s-stub