The first official release credited to Wilson as a solo artist was the 1966 Beach Boys single "Caroline, No" (b/w "Summer Means New Love"), due to being the single's arranger and sole vocal presence. Around the same time, Wilson also produced cuts for other artists such as The Beach Boys' spear counterpart The Honeys (member Marilyn Rovell was Wilson's first wife), and Jan & Dean, whose "Surf City" became a #1 hit single. The 1977 album Love You and the unreleased Adult/Child (recorded during the same sessions) were tentatively considered for release as Brian Wilson solo albums, although the idea fell through. Love You would be last Beach Boys albums to feature Wilson's extended involvement for the better part of 35 years.
Brian's solo career, despite a few false starts, began in earnest with the 1987 single "Let's Go to Heaven in My Car" (b/w "Too Much Sugar"), featured in the film Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol. A year later, his debut solo album, the eponymous Brian Wilson, was released, at the time hailed as a 1980s equivalent of what is widely regarded as Wilson's magnum opus, 1966's Pet Sounds. A follow-up in much the same vein, Sweet Insanity, was scrapped due to various personal issues.
Also left on the shelf was a fruitful collaborative project with multi-instrumentalist Andy Paley, informally known as "The Paley Sessions". Over the years, a few tracks were released through various albums, but dozens more have been bootlegged, and a comprehensive release has yet to be assembled.
Instead, 1995 saw the release of two albums: I Just Wasn't Made for These Times, a collection of re-recordings seemingly meant to reintroduce him to the public, and Orange Crate Art, a song cycle written by one-time lyricist Van Dyke Parks with contributions by Wilson, were released. An album of new compositions entitled Imagination followed in 1998.
Wilson began performing live again in 1999, and with his confidence as a performer growing ever stronger, he chose to release a live album documenting the Imagination tour (Live at the Roxy Theatre). In 2002, he began incorporating Pet Sounds in its entirety into his live performances; this, too, was documented in a live album titled Pet Sounds Live.
In 2004, Wilson revived and completed SMiLE, his unfinished 1967 album, performing the work in its entirety on a celebrated tour. The positive response lead him to record a studio version which met similar acclaim; the album cut "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental. That same year, he released Gettin' in Over My Head (containing many songs originating with the ill-fated Sweet Insanity album), featuring guest musicians Elton John, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, and brother Carl, who passed away in 1998. Brian's song "Lay Down Burden" was written in tribute of his brother.
Brian released a collection of Christmas songs entitled What I Really Want For Christmas in 2005. His 2008 album, That Lucky Old Sun, marked his return to Capitol Records. As part of a two-album deal with Disney, Wilson released Reimagines Gershwin (2010), a tribute to his idol George Gershwin, and In the Key of Disney (2011), a collection of cover songs from various Disney films.
2012 saw the The Beach Boys celebrate their 50th anniversary, reuniting a majority of surviving band members including Brian, for a worldwide tour as well as the release of an album, That's Why God Made the Radio, composed almost entirely by Wilson with an assortment of co-writers. The album became the group's biggest chart success in decades, peaking at #3 on the Billboard album charts. Status quo was restored as the group members went their separate ways again after the conclusion of the tour.
In 2015, Wilson released his eleventh studio album, No Pier Pressure. Originally conceived as a follow-up to That's Why God Made the Radio before The Beach Boys reunion fell through, the album features guest appearances by contemporary artists such as Kacey Musgraves, She & Him, and Nate Ruess (of fun.), as well as former Beach Boys Al Jardine, Blondie Chaplin, and David Marks. Summer 2015 will also see the public release of Wilson's autobiographical motion picture Love and Mercy (named after Wilson's 1988 comeback single), with actors Paul Dano and John Cusack starring as a younger and older Wilson.
Surf
Brian Wilson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hand in hand some drummed along, oh
To a handsome man and baton
A blind class aristocracy
Back through the opera glass you see
The pit and the pendulum drawn
Columinated ruins domino
Are you sleeping?
Hung velvet overtaken me
Dim chandelier awaken me
To a song dissolved in the dawn
The music hall a costly bow
The music all is lost for now
To a muted trumpeter swan
Columinated ruins domino
Canvass the town and brush the backdrop
Are you sleeping, Brother John?
Dove nested towers the hour was
Strike the street quicksilver moon
Carriage across the fog
Two-Step to lamp lights cellar tune
The laughs come hard in Auld Lang Syne
The glass was raised, the fired rose
The fullness of the wine, the dim last toasting
While at port adieu or die
A choke of grief heart hardened I
Beyond belief a broken man too tough to cry
Surf's up
Aboard a tidal wave
Come about hard and join
The young and often spring you gave
I heard the word
Wonderful thing
A children's song
Child, child, child, child, child
A child is the father of the man
Child, child, child, child, child
A child is the father of the man
A children's song
Have you listened as they played
Their song is love
And the children know the way
That's why the child is the father to the man
Child, child, child, child, child
Child, child, child, child, child
Na na na na na na na na
Child, child, child, child, child
That's why the child is the father to the man
Child, child, child, child, child
The lyrics to Brian Wilson's song Surf in 2-3 long paragraphs paint a picture of a world that is both beautiful and haunting. The first stanza is crafted with imagination and metaphors using a diamond necklace as a playing pawn, some drumming hands walking hand in hand, and an opera glass that sees the blind class aristocracy with a pit and a pendulum drawn. This stanza creates a sense of a divided world with those with all the wealth and those without. The following stanza brings words of hope, conveying a sense of a world that was once beautiful with towering ruins and a canvas waiting to be brushed with a backdrop of a young man asking, "are you sleeping?"
The song transforms into another dimension where the singer is in another place, an hour was something to be struck as it brings a quicksilver moon lighting the streets where the carriage steps into a lamp light cellar tune. The hour was a moment of laughter in Auld Lang Syne where a glass was raised with wine, and it was blissful. The song would end with the singer hearing the word "Surfs Up!" a phrase of hope and excitement that the tide is turning, and the young people were coming to join in the spring they had given.
Line by Line Meaning
A diamond necklace played the pawn
The wealthy and powerful use material possessions to manipulate and control others
Hand in hand, some drummed along
People blindly follow the crowd, without thinking for themselves
To a handsome mannered baton
They follow the lead of someone who appears confident and in control
A blind class aristocracy
People of higher social classes are often ignorant to the struggles of those in lower classes
Back through the opera glass you see
Viewing society from a distance can help one see the bigger picture
The pit and the pendulum drawn
The constant struggle between good and evil, represented by the pendulum swinging between two extremes
Columnated ruins domino!
The destruction of ancient architectural wonders is a sad reminder of the fleeting nature of human existence
Canvas the town and brush the back-drop.
Take a step back and analyze your surroundings, then take action to influence them for the better
Are you sleeping?
A rhetorical question asking if someone is truly aware of what is happening around them
Hung velvet over taking me.
Feeling overwhelmed and suffocated by luxury and excess
Dim chandelier awaken me.
Realizing the emptiness of material possessions and seeking a deeper purpose in life
To a song dissolved in the dawn.
Fleeting moments of beauty and inspiration can be found in unexpected places
The music hall, a costly bow.
The extravagant lifestyles of the wealthy are a facade that conceal their inner turmoil
The must all is lost for now
Despite being materially rich, the wealthy are often unhappy and unfulfilled
To a muted trumpeter swan.
The powerful silence those who oppose them, including those who could offer alternate viewpoints
Canvas the town and brush the back-drop.
Take control of your life situation and make the most of your surroundings
Are you sleeping? Brother John?
Asking someone if they are aware of the world around them, and if they will take action to make it better
Dove nested towers,
The beauty of nature, represented by the organic structures built by birds
The hour was strike the street, quicksilver moon.
The passage of time is beautiful yet fleeting, represented by the silvery moon and the sounds of the city
Carriage across the fog-two-step to
Navigating life is like dancing through the uncertainty and confusion of a foggy day
Lampight cellar tune.
Finding beauty and solace in small pleasures, such as the flickering of a lamp
The laughs come hard
Even in moments of joy, there is often great pain and hardship
In Auld Lang Syne.
The fleeting nature of time and the inevitability of change
The glass was raised, the fired-roast.
Celebrating life's pleasures while they last, such as the warmth of a fire and the clinking of glasses
The fullness of the wine.
Enjoying life to the fullest, even in the face of adversity
A dim last toasting.
Recognizing that all good things must come to an end, and appreciating the good times while they last
While at Port, adieu or die.
Reflecting on the fragility of life and the inevitability of death
A choke of grief, heart-hardened eye,
Overcoming great sadness and learning to toughen up to avoid being hurt again
Beyond belief, a broken man too tough to cry.
Feeling so much sadness and pain that one becomes desensitized, no longer able to shed tears
Surf's Up! Aboard a tidal wave.
Life is full of ups and downs, and one must learn to ride the waves of change with grace
Come about hard and join the young
Incorporating youthful energy and spirit into one's life can bring newfound joy and vitality
And often spring you gave.
Finding inspiration and hope in the cycles of nature, particularly in the bountifulness of spring
I heard the word.
Having an epiphany or moment of clarity, realizing a profound truth about oneself or the world
Wonderful thing!
Experiencing deep joy and appreciation for the beauty of life
A children's song.
Finding wisdom and meaning in simple pleasures and moments of innocence
A children's song, have you listened as they play?
Asking if one has truly listened to the joys and lessons that can be learned from children
Their song is love and the children know the way.
Children often embody pure love and can teach adults about the importance of compassion and understanding
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: Brian Douglas Wilson, Van Dyke Parks
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@1997calvert
They’re a great couple John and Dan. I would like it if John didn’t die in 1982 because then he and Dan would have been a great Abbot and Costello, or Crosby and Hope of the 80s.
So here’s my top 15 movies that John should have lived to star in with Dan:
1 It Came from Hollywood (1982)
2 Doctor Detroit (1983)
3 Twilight Zone the Movie (1983)
4 Ghostbusters (1984)
5 Nothing Lasts Forever (1984)
6 Spies Like Us (1985)
7 Dragnet (1987)
8 The Couch Trip (1988)
9 Ghostbusters ll (1989)
10 Loose Cannons (1990)
11 Masters of Menace (!991)
12 Nothing But Trouble (1991)
13 Rainbow (1995)
14 Sgt. Bilko (1996)
15 Blues Brothers 2000 (1998
@memorialled_zeppelin-warew1346
Hey Brian.... The surfboard fin goes at the back.... Lol.
Sorry not sorry.
Also don't know why people assume the Brian was the only beach boy who surfed. The late Dennis Wilson was a avid surfer.
I do feel for Brian he was clearly clinically depressed. Probably from years of abuse from his overbearing father Murray.
He probably had what they call now PTSD.
But wow what a set of pipes ... Those notes he hit. On point with oressision.
Yes I saw them live many years ago. Brain thankfully was on your with them.
Hearing him sing was totally mind blowing.
And at least he's not up himself like Mike Love is. Carl was lovely . Wish I could have seen their early shows.
This video with Bulushi and Ackroyd is awesome. Hope Brian felt a bit better after this sketch. Poor man looked so down.
@AMeatBeetle
Who would have thought, in 1970, that in 2012 the only surviving Wilson brother would be Brian?
@FantomasXZ7
But still didn't surf!
@RicardoAlonso77
@@FantomasXZ7 who cares
@marguskiis7711
10 yers later Brian still intact.
@rongwynne3824
Carl knows.
@christomorpho
😂
@titostacos
Brian when he was clinically depressed, Belushi when he was alive, Mike Love when he thought he was Mick Jagger, and So Cal when it was still awesome...
@iamcasihart
Indeed...but to be fair, SoCal is still fucking glorious. I lived in El Segundo, Redondo Beach (worked in Hermosa) and in Long Beach (over 10 years).
There's good & bad, but for a gal who grew up in a small town in Western Kentucky, SoCal was & will forever be the only place that ever felt like home, like magic, like it was so alive. I moved from there 8 years ago, and I miss it every single day.
@1401minstrel
Dennis and Carl Wilson when they were still alive too.
@countof3everybodyOD
Carl and Dennis before they were angels, and Dan Akroyd before the aliens