Remembering when the Beach Boys had their own Santa Monica clubhouse

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Today, 1454 5th Street in downtown Santa Monica is home to an apartment building, squeezed between a restaurant and a Target store. However, fifty years ago, it was the Beach Boys’ Brother Studio. This unique recording space, once a porn theater, was where the band tried to help their creative leader, Brian Wilson, regain his focus and return to making music after a difficult period.

The Beach Boys’ albums from the mid-1970s, like “15 Big Ones,” “The Beach Boys Love You,” and the previously unreleased “Adult/Child,” weren’t their biggest hits – except in the opinion of Brian Wilson, who often said he loved the synthesizer-heavy “Love You.” A decade after the critically acclaimed “Pet Sounds” (which famously inspired the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s”), the Beach Boys were no longer at the forefront of popular music. Brian Wilson, in particular, had become more private, dealing with mental health challenges and the effects of drug use.

The album Yet Brother provided a space for the band to creatively reconnect, and it was likely the last time they truly worked together harmoniously before years of conflict began.

Al Jardine, a founding member of The Beach Boys, recalls the feeling of the band reuniting. The group originally formed in Hawthorne in 1961 with Brian Wilson, his brothers Dennis and Carl, and their cousin Mike Love. Following Brian Wilson’s passing in June at the age of 82, a new collection of their music celebrates that era, highlighting the creative energy led by Wilson’s renewed vision.

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Brian Wilson, who passed away on Wednesday at the age of 82, was a remarkably innovative musician. He explored the boundless potential of sound in a way few others have.

As a huge Beach Boys fan, I was really excited about “We Gotta Groove: The Brother Studio Years,” and it definitely delivered! It’s a massive collection – 73 tracks! – covering 1976 and ’77. You get everything from early takes and demos to a beautifully remastered version of the “Love You” album. But the real treat is the official release of “Adult/Child,” which has always been a bit of a holy grail for fans. It’s got Brian Wilson’s incredibly emotional vocals set against these lush, big-band orchestral arrangements – it sounds amazing. A couple of tracks really stood out to me. There’s a stripped-down, just voice and piano version of “Still I Dream of It” – apparently, Brian wrote it hoping Frank Sinatra would record it! – and a stunning take on “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” that proves, even during a tough time in his life, Brian Wilson was still a genius in the studio.

I’ve been following Brian’s journey, and it’s great to hear he was in a good place to create again. I’m really excited about the upcoming show with the guys from his touring band – we’re playing the whole ‘The Beach Boys Love You’ album at the United Theater in L.A.! That album is special – it’s got some really unique songs, like the sweet one about his daughter, Carnie, and even a quirky tribute to Johnny Carson. Plus, I got to sing lead on ‘Honkin’ Down the Highway,’ which is always a blast. It’s become a bit of a favorite among serious Beach Boys fans, and I can see why – it’s just a really heartfelt and fun album.

Says Jardine of the LP: “Brian’s spirit — his songwriting soul — is really strong on that one.”

Around 1974, The Beach Boys established their own recording studio, Brother Studio, located near 5th Street and Broadway, not far from the beach. Before opening Brother Studio, they recorded their album “Holland” in the Netherlands. Prior to that, they often recorded at the home studio of band member Brian Wilson in Bel-Air, although he frequently spent time in his bedroom rather than working with the group.

After Brian Wilson’s elaborate “Smile” project fell apart, the other Beach Boys had more influence on their music, notably on the well-regarded 1970 album “Sunflower.” However, a string of unsuccessful singles eventually became a problem. According to Mike Love, 84, Brian’s wife, Marilyn, ultimately decided they needed a change because their home was constantly overrun with people with little to show for it. He describes it as a matter of self-preservation.

According to engineer Stephen Moffitt’s notes for the album “We Gotta Groove,” he transformed the studio space – previously a building he cleaned of unwanted materials – by installing a circular stained-glass window to create the perfect atmosphere. An old advertisement highlighted the studio’s professional equipment, along with recreational areas like a video lounge and a game room featuring Pong, pinball, and bumper pool.

“It was a respite,” Love says. “A place to go and be creative.”

Right when the band was starting to gain momentum again, the Beach Boys had a surprising hit with the 1974 compilation album, “Endless Summer.” This double LP featured their early songs like “Surfin’ Safari,” “Don’t Worry Baby,” and “California Girls,” and quickly reached the top of the Billboard charts, eventually selling over 3 million copies. A similar collection of hits, called “20 Golden Greats,” was equally successful in the United Kingdom. According to Love, the album was a massive success, with approximately one in five families owning a copy.

For a while, people had overlooked the Beach Boys’ collaborative projects. But then, everyone remembered what they truly loved about the band: the songs written and produced by Brian Wilson.

The band began recording “15 Big Ones” at Brother Studios, an album that included both new songs by Brian Wilson and covers of classic hits like “Chapel of Love” and “Blueberry Hill.” It was the first Beach Boys album since “Pet Sounds” where Wilson solely produced it, and it launched with a big marketing push called “Brian Is Back!” Wilson was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone with the headline “The Healing of Brother Brian,” and he made a comeback to live performance, showcased in a Beach Boys television special filmed at Anaheim Stadium.

Earle Mankey, an engineer who worked with Brian Wilson in the mid-1970s, believes the album “15 Big Ones” wasn’t so much Wilson trying to make a comeback as it was other people trying to help him. Mankey remembers Wilson seeming very nervous when he arrived at the studio and saw familiar session musicians from the Beach Boys’ earlier years. This period also marked the beginning of Wilson’s relationship with psychologist Eugene Landy, a connection that would later become quite controversial in the early 1980s.

Love acknowledges the claim that Brian’s return was overly hyped with the phrase “Brian Is Back!” He now clarifies that while Brian had improved, he wasn’t fully back to his peak condition. “One hundred percent? Perhaps not,” he admits.

Honestly, all that promotion really paid off! “15 Big Ones” climbed all the way to number 8 on the Billboard 200, which was the best a Beach Boys studio album had done in over ten years. And even better, the single they released from it – a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Roll and Roll Music” – became their first Top 5 hit since “Good Vibrations!” It was a fantastic comeback for them, and as a fan, I was thrilled.

Perhaps even more significantly, the financial success allowed Wilson to make a genuine artistic return with “The Beach Boys Love You.” The album remains striking for its raw emotion and Wilson’s unique production style. Listen to the wonderfully uneven rhythm of “Mona,” sung by Dennis with a husky, raspy voice, or the haunting electric guitar melody woven through the Wilson brothers’ harmonies in “The Night Was So Young.” Pay attention to Brian and Marilyn’s vulnerable and honest exchange of vows in their duet, “Let’s Put Our Hearts Together.”

According to Darian Sahanaja, who collaborated with Brian Wilson for over twenty years, this album is Wilson’s most deeply personal work since ‘Pet Sounds.’ He suggests it might even be more personal, explaining that while Tony Asher co-wrote many of the lyrics for ‘Pet Sounds,’ Brian Wilson wrote the majority of the lyrics for this new album, offering a more direct glimpse into his own thoughts and feelings. Sahanaja believes the album truly captures the essence of the Brian Wilson he knew.

“Love You” didn’t perform well commercially, reaching only No. 53 on the charts – even lower than “Holland.” Sahanaja jokingly notes that, despite his fondness for the album, it’s surprising anyone thought Brian Wilson would attempt to cater to popular rock music tastes.

He wasn’t focused on popular music at the time. He simply wrote whatever he felt, without worrying about what other artists were doing – he wasn’t thinking about bands like Fleetwood Mac at all.

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So, the director who brought us that fantastic Elvis biopic a few years back – the one that earned an Oscar nomination – is revisiting the King with a concert film. It’s exciting to see him return to this subject matter, and I’m really curious to see how he approaches it this time around.

Wilson truly pushed boundaries with his album “Adult/Child.” He hired Dick Reynolds, who had previously arranged music for The Four Freshmen (a group Wilson admired), to create orchestral arrangements. Both Love and Jardine are unsure why the album was never released, with Love suggesting it might not have been what the record company was looking for at the time. He notes that even the critically acclaimed “Pet Sounds” initially caused concern, with the record company questioning if they could instead create a song more similar to their hit, “I Get Around.”

After the issues with the “Adult/Child” project, Wilson became less involved with the band’s later albums and eventually started a solo career. In 2012, he produced a somewhat unremarkable Beach Boys reunion album, though it didn’t include Dennis, who had passed away in 1983, or Carl, who died in 1998. Throughout much of the 2000s, Wilson and Jardine toured as “Brian Wilson,” while Love continued to tour performing as The Beach Boys. (Love’s version of the band is scheduled to perform three shows at the Hollywood Bowl in July.)

You know, people keep asking me what it’s like playing with Brian’s music after he’s gone, and honestly, it feels like he’s still right there with us. I’ve even seen Al Jardine get emotional while we’ve been rehearsing songs from ‘Love You’ for this tour. It’s really special, though, seeing a whole new generation of fans discovering what I consider the Beach Boys’ peak – it makes all the effort worthwhile.

The response to this has been incredible – more enthusiastic than anything we’ve experienced with Brian before. It’s like people have discovered something special that really resonates with them. Seriously, the fans are going wild – jumping, singing along to every word, and just having a blast.

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2026-02-28 01:33