The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame

Happy 81st Birthday To The American Treasure Brian Wilson Who Has Proven He’s The Ultimate Survivor :

He’s the first musical artist to be credited on a record as writing, producing, arranging, and performing his own material.

Considering that Brian Wilson has lived to be 81 years old when most people thought he would never live to even be 41 is an amazing feat.

He has now lived over 26 years longer than his father Murry did who died at the age of 55 in 1973. Even outliving both of his younger brothers Dennis and Carl and shockingly his controversial therapist Eugene Landy, he’s now the last surviving member of his original immediate family. One thing it definitely proves is Brian is the ultimate survivor.

Today he is considered a living legend. An American treasure. Along with Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney he’s on the “Mount Rushmore” of the most influential living musicians. (You could argue Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell,Stevie Wonder, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards also for that 4th spot.)

In many ways the accolades he’s received through the years still doesn’t give him the justice he deserves. Known for being one of the architects of what’s known now as the “California Sound”, that’s really just one facet to his overall talent.

When you think of Brian’s childhood and how right off the bat he pretty much had to deal with such a demanding/abusive father you can understand why he’s dealt with mental health issues his whole life. His father Murry saw Brian was something special early on. In many ways Murry envied and even became jealous of his son because things came easy to him musically that Murry could never master. Which is beyond shocking since Brian lived his whole professional life by being basically deaf in one ear. (To this day we still don’t know the true story of how that happened. The popular story is that Brian was hit by his father Murry with a 2x4 piece of wood so hard on his head that it caused the irreversible hearing loss. Yet that tale has never been truly confirmed.)

One thing you have to give Murry credit for is knowing Brian’s talent could not go to waste. It still would’ve been interesting to have been a fly on the wall when Murry took Brian to the Capitol Records building in early 1962 after being turned down from a few other record labels claiming his son could not only write songs, play instruments but also had the talent to arrange and produce records.

In the end Capitol records got the deal of a lifetime having a songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and glorious singing voice all in one person. Not that they ever truly appreciated what they had in Brian. There’s a picture of Brian from 1964 where he’s sitting with Capitol Records President Alan Livingston. In the picture Alan looks like the cat who swallowed the canary knowing what a deal he was getting with Brian as the whole package. Not that it mattered and not that they were gonna respect him. They pretty much treated Brian like a prized race horse, getting everything out of him they could in a short period of time.

Also at every turn with his creativity, never embracing anything but “the formula”. Pushing him over and over to write hit songs like an assembly line. It’s no surprise that he would eventually have a nervous breakdown and pretty much lose any innocence he had left. And worst of all not paying him even a producer’s fee on the band’s songs from 1962-1969. (Which caused Brian to file a lawsuit for back royalties by the end of the decade.)

Also having to bear the weight of dealing with his father Murry who eventually became a liability to Brian and the band by 1964, then having to fire him as their manager. To this day the influence of Murry still effects Brian in both good and bad ways.

The second half of the 1960s he would take music to places it had never been. That’s why Brian Wilson was justifiably considered a genius during those times. He didn’t follow trends, he invented them. From the way he produced, arranged, and recorded music he was doing things that no one before him, with maybe the exception of Buddy Holly, ever envisioned. It was the sounds in his own head that he couldn’t teach or show another musician or artist how to create.

Brian even helped to invent things by accident. Especially with his home recording studio, one of the first of its kind and definitely the first for a rock and roll artist. It’s funny how an idea of “bringing the music to Brian” so he wouldn’t leave his home would become a whole new industry soon after. Today pretty much every legendary artist has a recording studio in their home.

Not that being innovative and the first to create things was going to be easy. Those sounds would be rejected by his band and his label for making music that “wasn’t made for the times”. Would even have most of his American fan base turn on him. Where Capitol records was bending over backwards to promote anything The Beatles were doing, that wouldn’t be the case with The Beach Boys and especially Brian. From the way the company disrespected Brian’s masterwork “Pet Sounds” by releasing a best of compilation album just weeks after its release. That move would shatter Brian’s confidence in ways that he has never recovered from even today.

Then having fans turn on him (in America that is) when the hyped album that never ended up being released at the time (SMiLE), wasn’t finished, to the huge blunder (although it could’ve been a blessing too) of skipping the “Monterey Pop Festival” that changed the course of Rock And Roll history just overnight, many American fans thought Brian’s best days were long behind him. Of course years later those fans would come back but at that time it was devastating to him.

Yet sadly the most devastating thing of all was to come. Especially when Murry sold the Beach Boys’ publishing catalog of Brian’s songs known as “Sea Of Tunes” to Irving Almo music at the end of 1969 for $700,000, ( the equivalent of about $5 to $7 million in 2023.) That move by his father sent Brian into a tailspin of depression that in many ways he never got over. All these years later we still don’t know Murry’s true intentions of why he did it. Could’ve been jealousy, could’ve been spite because Brian had fired him years earlier.

Murry also could’ve thought he was doing the right thing. All these years later it’s easy to play “Monday Morning Quarterback” with the situation but one has to remember the financial state The Beach Boys were in by 1969. In many ways Murry thought they were finished and wanted to get something for the songs before they became worthless (in his mind anyways.) To say selling the catalog was the biggest blunder Murry ever made would be a huge understatement. To this day Brian doesn’t own those songs and they are now worth hundreds of millions of dollars. That being said thanks to the 1976 Copyright Act that allows artists to gain back ownership of their work, Brian was given a chance to finally own his songs. Yet his handlers instead decided to sell it to Universal Music for a deal that doesn’t seem to be that much better than the one Murry made decades ago.

All through the late 1960s/early 1970s even during his darkest periods of drug abuse and depression Brian always found a way to create beautiful music. Granted hardly anyone at the time heard it but thankfully it’s all still available to us to go back and re-examine it’s brilliance. A perfect example of this is the two albums released at the beginning of the 1970s. When both “Sunflower” and “Surf’s Up” came out they both sold well below expectations even though both of those records contained some of Brian’s finest moments as a songwriter. All these years later in 2023 both of those albums have been celebrated with massive box sets that has more enthusiasm from fans now than either album did the day they were released.

It also shouldn’t be a surprise that Brian no longer considered The Beach Boys a priority to him in the early 1970s. I mean why would he? He had poured his heart and soul into music that wasn’t being heard by anyone. So it shouldn’t be shocking that he was much more interested in collaborating with other artists like Fred Vail, Steven Kalinich, and even with his wife Marylyn for the project that became known as Spring (or American Spring) giving his heart and soul to these projects yet gaining very little fanfare at the time.

In the mid to late 1970s Brian fell deeper into his mental problems, depression, gorging on food, and drug use. He would spend time pretty much in the isolation of his bedroom, ballooning in weight to over 300 pounds. To save his life at the time his first wife Marilyn would hire Dr. Eugene Landy who would become a part of Brian’s life two separate times from the years of 1975-1992.

That’s obviously a much too complex story to get into here but In a nutshell Mike Love may have said it best:

“Landy achieved the near impossible, he saved Brian’s life, but left him in worse shape than when he found him”.

No truer words have ever been spoken and to this day Brian still suffers the effects from the controversial treatment Landy gave him.

In the 1980s and early 1990s Brian’s resolve was tested even more and he would show during these years that he was much mentally stronger than people gave him credit for. First emerging again on the music scene with The Beach Boys for their 1985 self titled album to be told that he needed voice lessons. To his 1988 solo record that cost a fortune to make and performed way below expectations. Also dealing with his band mates The Beach Boys having success with “Kokomo” which was also very hard on him. Then to have his second solo album “Sweet Insanity” rejected by the record company and eventually losing his solo deal. And if that wasn’t bad enough, feuding with his little brother Carl. (Thankfully the two brothers would make some peace before Carl’s death in 1998.)

But Brian would prove again that you can never count him out. The past 25 years though have been much brighter with the exceptions of losing his mother Audree and brother Carl. Not only has Brian remarried (to his wife Melinda) and now has a whole new family of children and grandchildren. We have also seen an abundance of creativity from Brian which has led to some of his best music since the 1960s. From finally finishing his Legendary “SMiLE” project to becoming something that many people never would’ve expected in the 1970s and that’s his life back on the road. Playing shows throughout the world with an excellent band that shows his music the respect and care it deserves.

In the recent “Long Promised Road” documentary Bruce Springsteen made an interesting comment about Brian’s band, how they love and respect Brian’s music just as much as he does. With projects like “Pet Sounds”, SMiLE”, and “That Lucky Old Sun” it would be easy to use backing tracks on some of the complex pieces that are hard to duplicate live. Yet the band plays everything. Nothing is prerecorded proving how much heart and soul they put into that music to present to the fans. A absolutely brilliant statement that I couldn’t agree more with!

At 81 years old Brian is obviously still battling his demons. He still hears voices in his head that sometimes tell him bad and negative things. He still gets afraid at times just out of the blue for no apparent reason other than what he thinks and feels. He had to cancel a tour in 2019 because of mental and health issues. Yet once again seemed to have conquered his demons for the time being back on the concert stage playing a summer tour with the band Chicago and even considering the idea of a 60th anniversary reunion with the surviving Beach Boys. Though it’s most likely there wouldn’t be any type of tour, the members seem open to some type of celebration to document their impressive history.

It’s debatable on whether Brian is still on road because he wants to be, or if it’s other people pushing him with an agenda. Yes he’s had voice issues. Yes he’s been in a wheelchair. And yes at times during the show he doesn’t look as engaged as we would like. That being said if Brian wants to be on road then who are we to question his abilities or why. This man has earned the right to do whatever he wants.

One thing is for sure. If there’s any man who deserves some peace in his life it’s Brian Wilson. Hopefully he has many more years to enjoy the twilight of his life. It’s one thing to talk about Paul McCartney making it to 81 years old. But Brian? It’s an absolute miracle and we should all be thankful for all the beautiful music he has given us just in the past 20 years alone.

For me it’s been worth it just for songs like “From There To Back Again” and “Whatever Happened”. Yet he’s given us so much quality music that continues to enrich his indelible legacy. A legacy that has actually grown by leaps and bounds.

Both of his younger brothers Dennis and Carl didn’t have the privilege of living to see the re-examination of The Beach Boys’ legacy. Brian definitely has and I’m sure he’s beyond grateful to see that all of that hard work paid off in the long run after all.

So please join me in not only wishing Brian Wilson a very happy 80th birthday, but also to say “thank you”.

Thank you Brian for being a huge part of the soundtrack to our lives.

***Brian’s story is so vast, so complex it’s hard to even write an essay about it to do him justice. Even when the two hour biopic on his life “Love And Mercy” was released many wished for a miniseries because so many important topics were overlooked. Not that the film wasn’t great because it was. But it’s impossible to tell Brian’s story in just two hours. ***

Essential Albums :

Beach Boys -
Surfin’ Safari (1962)
Surfin’ U.S.A. (1963)
Surfer Girl (1963)
Little Deuce Coupe (1963)
Shut Down Volume 2 (1964)
All Summer Long (1964)
The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album (1964)
The Beach Boys Today ! (1965)
Summer Days (And Summer Nights !!) (1965)
Beach Boys’ Party (1965)
Pet Sounds (1966)
Smiley Smile (1967)
Wild Honey (1967)
Friends (1968)
20/20 (1969)
Live In London (1970)
Sunflower (1970)
Surf’s Up (1971)
Carl And The Passions : So Tough (1972)
Holland (1973)
The Beach Boys In Concert (1973)
15 Big Ones (1976)
The Beach Boys Love You (1977)
Adult Child (Unreleased) (1977)
M.I.U. Album (1978)
L.A. (Light Album) (1979)
Keepin’ The Summer Alive (1980)
The Beach Boys (Self Titled 1985)
Good Vibrations : Thirty Years Of The Beach Boys (Box Set) (1993)
Endless Harmony Soundtrack (1998)
Hawthorne CA : Birthplace Of A Musical Legacy (2001)
Good Timin’ Live At Knebworth England 1980 (2002)
That’s Why God Made The Radio (2012)
The Smile Sessions (Box Set) (2011)
Made In California (Box Set) (2013)
1967-Sunshine Tomorrow : Wild Honey Sessions (2017)
The Beach Boys With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2018)
1968-Wake The World : The Friends Sessions (2018)
1968-I Can Hear Music : The 20/20 Sessions (2018)
Feel Flows : The Sunflower And Surf’s Up Sessions 1969-1971 (Box Set) (2021)

Solo-
Brian Wilson (Self Titled) (1988)
Sweet Insanity (Unreleased) (1991)
I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times (Soundtrack) (1995)
Orange Crate Art (With Van D**e Parks) (1995)
Imagination (1998)
Live At The Roxy Theatre (Live Album) (2000)
Brian Wilson Presents Pet Sounds Live (2004)
Gettin’ In Over My Head (2004)
Brian Wilson Presents Smile (2004)
What I Really Want For Christmas (2005)
That Lucky Old Sun (2008)
Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin (2010)
In The Key Of Disney (2011)
No Pier Pressure (2015)
At My Piano (2021)

Jay Johnson goes in-depth on transfer recruitment of Paul Skenes LSU head coach Jay Johnson went into the recruitment of Paul Skenes and how the plan has unfolded since arriving in Baton Rouge.

We are absolutely honored to be one of Buddy Guy’s stops on the Damn Right Farewell Tour. If you love music, you are NOT gonna want to miss your chance to see music history in the making as this could be your last chance to see this living legend in PDX.

"After playing live for half a century, Guy is saying bye to touring by performing across the globe. It’s the last full-scale tour of Guy’s storied career and the last time fans will witness the blues master at his finest – enthralling audiences with his untethered playing style: bending notes to the breaking point and the parry and pause of his impeccable timing.

Exit tours are commonplace, but the 'Damn Right Farewell Tour' is something more. It’s a bittersweet sendoff not just for the nine-time Grammy winner, but the very bedrock of the format fashioned by Guy and his long-passed peers."

Read the full article from Pollstar at the link below.

https://news.pollstar.com/2023/06/12/the-damn-right-farewell-tour-the-great-buddy-guy-hits-the-road-one-last-time/

ROCKING BIRTHDAY

So make a stand for your man, honey
Try to can the can

Happy Rocking Birthday to Detroit's own SUZI QUATRO who turns 73 today.
Raised in a Grosse Pointe, she is the third youngest of four sisters in a household filled with music, at an early age Suzi began to study piano and percussion. At fourteen she joined her sister Patti's band, the Pleasure Seekers. She played bass guitar and eventually sang lead. As music styles began to shift the Pleasure Seekers band evolved into Cradle, taking on a harder rock edge. In 1971 Suzi decided to begin working with the successful music producer Mickie Most, moving to England in the process. Suzi later worked with the songwriters Chinn and Chapman. That resulted in a huge hit, “Can the Can”, which went to #1 in May of 1973. It went on to sell two and a half million copies worldwide. Between 1973 and 1980 Suzi was on the British charts for more than 100 weeks. Thus far Quatro has released nearly twenty studio and Live albums and has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. Quatro's acting role in the 1970s TV show Happy Days, as the character Leather Tuscadero, got her a lot of attention and the character remains a favorite with Happy Days fans. She has other acting credits as well, in both film, television, and the theatre. Quatro performed the title role in a musical about the life of actress Tallulah Bankhead, a production that Suzi co-wrote. Rolling Stone Magazine put her on the cover in 1975. In the mid-seventies Suzi was the opener for Alice Cooper's first solo tour, performing nearly sixty dates. Suzi is the first female bass player to become a major rock star, and that has helped to break down some barriers for women in Rock music. A documentary film about the artist was released in 2020, Suzi Q, and I recommend seeing it. The lady has had quite a career and Suzi continues to tour..

Father's Day on Music Row...

Hank Williams and Hank Williams Jr.

Happy birthday to American singer-songwriter, musician and actress, Susan “Suzy” Quatro (June 3, 1950).

Happy birthday PAUL McCARTNEY!!
James Paul McCartney
(June 18, 1942)
The most successful rock composer of all time, with John Lennon co-wrote 21 US #1 and has over 30 US #1 singles as a solo artist and frontman for his band Wings

Gave Our All For LSU Today

Skenes brings heat as LSU takes down Tennessee in Tigers’ CWS opener: https://tinyurl.com/4srsuxts

SYRACUSE, NY: Catch Buddy tonight, Saturday June 17, at The New York State Blues Festival, one of the largest free music festivals in the Northeast. See you there! - Team BG

Coming up on the Damn Right Farewell Tour:
6/17 Syracuse NY - New York State Blues Fest - TONIGHT!
6/18 New York NY - SummerStage NYC Central Park
6/22 Milwaukee WI - Summerfest
6/23 Grand Rapids MI - Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
6/24 Rochester Hills MI - Meadow Brook Amphitheatre
6/25 Huber Heights OH - The Rose Music Center At The Heights
6/28 Ottawa, ON - Ottawa Jazz Festival
6/30 Montreal, QC - Festival International de Jazz de Montréal
7/03 Portland, OR - Waterfront Blues Festival

View the full list of Damn Right Farewell tour dates and get tickets at buddyguy.net. (📷 by Casey Mitchell)