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THE 11 (OFFICIAL) BEACH BOYS
And now. the most convoluted band history of all time. The original lineup, circa 1961, was: brothers BRIAN WILSON (#1), CARL WILSON (#2), DENNIS WILSON (#3), their cousin MIKE LOVE (#4) and their friend AL JARDINE (#5). When Jardine stepped out to attend college in 1962, he was replaced by DAVID MARKS (#6), A year later, Jardine reclaimed his spot.
In 1964, when Brian Wilson decided to be a studio-only member and not perform live with the group (due to mounting personal health problems), session musician and future variety show host/mugshot icon GLEN CAMPBELL (#7) was hired as his live-show-only replacement, contributing keyboards, bass, lead guitar, and some vocals. But after just a year, Campbell was out.
From 1965 to 1972, the band had a consistent roster of Love, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, A! Jardine, Brian Wilson in the studio, and BRUCE JOHNSTON (#8) as his live stand-in. Johnston left in 1972 to pursue production, engineering, and songwriting work full-time, So the band made do with Love, the three Wilsons (Brian, increasingly unhinged, remained studio-only), and Jardine, with the addition of South African bassist/singer BLONDIE CHAPLIN (#9) and drummer RICKY FATAAR (#10) hired because their usual drummer, Dennis Wilson, got in an argument with his wife and punched a plate-glass window that so severely injured his hand that, for a couple of years, he was only able to sing and play keyboards a little.
In 1973, Chaplin left, then Dennis Wilson recovered, which made Fataar redundant. The Beach Boys reverted to its original five, with even Brian performing on stage, until 1978, He retreated inward again, and so Johnston came back. In 1983, Dennis Wilson left the band, subsequently drowned to death, and was replaced with MIKE KOWALSKI (#11). Brian Wilson, a wreck inside and
out, left the band completely in 1986, bailing before the Beach Boys woeful county fair touring circuit era, experienced by Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and Mike Kowalski.
Brian Wilson rejoined in 1995 before leaving again in 1997, Carl Wilson would follow in 1998. owing to the conflict of his death from cancer. The Wilsons' two-for-one replacement: one-time early '60s temporary Beach Boy David Marks. He is still just considered a temp, as from 1999 to now, the only "official" Beach Boys are Mike Love and Bruce Johnston, making Love (who controls the band's affairs) the only original and continuous member. The touring support musicians are not given official member status, even drummer Mike Kowalski, who has been with the group since 1983. Other supporters include John Cowsill (of the Cowsills) and Christian Love, which is an admirable concept, a terrible name, and the son of Mike Love.
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